Japanese snacks: chips, Kit Kat, Hi-Chew and candy from Japan

Kit Kat Mini Rich Matcha shows in a single bar what makes Japanese snacks different: a flavor you rarely encounter in Europe, in small, individually wrapped pieces. Japanese manufacturers love to release seasonal flavors, such as chestnut in the fall and sakura in the spring. There are also flavors that belong to a region, such as matcha from Uji near Kyoto or Amaou strawberries from Fukuoka. Sweet and salty often go together, think of chips with sweet soy sauce or candy with the fresh tartness of Calpis. And because the packages are small, you can try three flavors without being left with half a bag.

Koikeya Wasabi Nori is a good start if you want to know what Japanese chips taste like: thin and crispy, with the sharpness of wasabi and the salty tone of seaweed. Japanese chips often go a step further than paprika or plain, with flavors that come from the kitchen instead of a spice rack.

Koikeya Teriyaki tastes like the sweet, glossy soy sauce you know from grilled chicken and fish. Koikeya also makes chips with sweet and sour pickled plum, the flavor of umeboshi, and Kara Mucho, a spicy potato snack that lingers on the tongue. Chip Star from YBC are stacked chips, here with the flavor of wagyu yakiniku, Japanese grilled meat. And the Cheetos from Japan are a separate edition, just a little different from those you know from America.

Calbee Grill-A-Corn comes from Calbee in Hong Kong: light, grilled corn snacks that are sweet and salty at the same time. Besides barbecue, there are garlic and eel kabayaki, the flavor of eel glazed with sweet soy sauce. That might sound strange for a chip, but it tastes especially sweet and savory, and after the first bite you understand it immediately.

Himemaru Wasabi is senbei, the Japanese rice cracker you eat with tea, here with a spicy wasabi seasoning. Orchids' Tokyo Mix is a bag of small, crispy rice crackers with sesame seeds, perfect for sharing. Noriten is seaweed fried in a thin batter, and this bag also has a spicy wasabi kick.

Kit Kat Mini Strawberry is just one of the many flavors Kit Kat has released in Japan. The name sounds like kitto katsu in Japanese, which means something like "you're sure to win", and that's why students receive them as good luck charms for their exams. Nestlé has been playing on this for years with flavors for every season and region, and the mini bars are individually wrapped, so you can easily share them. In the webshop you can find strawberry, Rich Matcha, Matcha Latte with the tea brand Itoen and Mont Blanc, with the flavor of the namesake chestnut pastry. Chocolate doesn't like heat, so store your Kit Kats cool and dry and follow the label.

Meiji Hello Panda is still known by many from the past: crispy cookies with a panda on top, filled with chocolate, milk cream or strawberry. Meiji also has Kinoko no Yama, small mushroom-shaped cookies with a chocolate cap, here with matcha from Uji. Uproll are thin waffle rolls with milk and strawberry chocolate. Of Pocky, the thin biscuit sticks with a layer of chocolate, the matcha version is now available in the webshop. And Meito makes Puku Puku Tai, a fish-shaped waffle, just like taiyaki, with chocolate inside.

Morinaga Hi-Chew is a soft, chewy candy with a rich fruit flavor, individually wrapped, and comes in mixes with fruit, tropical flavors and desserts. Milk candy is another Japanese classic: creamy milk candies, which you can find at Kanro and Sakuma in a matcha flavor. Calpis Candy tastes like Calpis, the fresh, slightly sour drink made from fermented milk that everyone in Japan knows. Calpis Candy is a refreshing, slightly sour and creamy treat.

Tohato Chocobi fits perfectly in the dagashi category: cheap, small and cheerfully packaged, the kind of candy that children in Japan buy with their pocket money at the dagashiya, the candy store on the corner. Chocobi is the favorite candy of Shin-chan from the anime Crayon Shin-chan, and you can see that on the bags. You can find the same idea in a Pokémon wafer from Lotte, a fish-shaped wafer from Meito or a bag of caramel corn with Amaou strawberry: a few grams, a few bites, and you can easily fit a handful of them in a snack box.

Seiki Matcha Mochi are soft rice cakes with a matcha filling, making them a Japanese snack unlike any other: not crunchy, but soft and chewy. Mochi is made from glutinous rice, and in our webshop you'll find both Japanese and Taiwanese mochi. Read Mochi Explained to discover the differences, the various shapes, and how to eat them.

Hata Ramune Yuzu is a Japanese lemonade in a bottle sealed with a glass marble. Push the marble in with the cap, and it will fall into the neck and rattle with every sip. In addition to yuzu, there is also a matcha version. If all that sweetness leaves you craving something warm, check out our guide to instant noodles.

Not sure where to start? Grab a bag of Koikeya Wasabi Nori for something salty, a box of Kit Kat Mini Rich Matcha for something sweet, and a bag of Hi-Chew to share; then you'll experience in one go why Japanese snacks have such a unique character.