Japan Candy Box Review

Review of the September 2018 Japan Candy Box: Autumn Traditions!

Disclosure: I received the September 2018 Japan Candy Box in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. The giveaway is sponsored by Japan Candy Box.

Japan Candy Box

Japan Candy Box is a subscription service featuring Japanese snack favorites and more unique picks centered around a specific theme each month. Many items are seasonal with limited-edition flavors that are often difficult to find outside of Japan. Popular brands include Glico, Meiji, Hi-Chew, Pretz, Milky, Puccho, Nestle KitKat, Lotte, and more. Here are some examples of other boxes featured this year: October 2018 Halloween Party, August 2018 Natsu Matsuri, and July 2018 Ice Cream Carnival.

The boxes are available monthly with options of 1 month (currently $19.90), 6 month ($18.90/month), and 12 month ($17.90/month) plans. When ordering, the first box is shipped immediately with subsequent boxes shipping at the end of the month.

As a note, the company cannot guarantee whether the products are gluten-free or vegetarian/vegan.

Shipping is included in the price and can take 2-4 weeks or up to 8 for some countries. In my case, it was a bit slow at over 4 weeks. From Asia, the box went all the way to New York and hung out for a bit in customs before making its way back across the United States to Los Angeles (I was able to keep an eye on it with tracking).

The September 2018: Autumn Traditions box was filled with 10 packages of fall-related candy. Some were individual pieces while others held a few in one package. The included guide has illustrations for each of the candies with a short description and the type of snack (Popular Snacks, Traditional Treats, DIY Candy Kits, Character Snacks, Chocolate, Exclusive Snacks, and Dagashi). There were also little facts about a notable day in the month (September 24th O-tsukimi moon viewing festival) and word of the month: あき (秋/Aki- Autumn).

Glico Almond Caramel Cubes

The Glico Almond Caramel Cubes were my personal favorite. Each individually wrapped cube has a chewy caramel texture with bits of crunchy almond throughout.

Heart Girls Treat Lemon Peppermint Gummy

The Heart Girls Treat Lemon Peppermint Gummies are little lemon gummies infused with peppermint. They are used as an “etiquette snack” for when feeling hungry at social gatherings. We actually weren’t a fan of these. It just reminded me a bit too much of cough drops, but I can see how it can be refreshing.

Tirol Chocolate Matcha Mochi

This Tirol Chocolate Matcha Mochi is perfect for matcha lovers. Each candy has a mochi-filled center flavored with matcha. The package holds seven individually wrapped pieces.

Mochi Mixed Flavor Candy Box

Claire really enjoyed the colorful Mochi Mixed Flavor Candy Box. The package comes with four types (apple, banana, cherry, and orange) of little chewy mochi candies and even a toothpick for serving.

Nihon Kibi Dango Snack

The Nihon Kibi Dango Snack is a traditional treat modeled after the Kibi Dango, a Japanese dumpling from the 1800s made with millet flour.

Yaokin Sour Paper Candy Green Apple

This Yaokin Sour Paper Candy Green Apple was Chad’s favorite. The sugar-coated strip is full of rich green apple flavor.

Yaokin Umaibo Cinnamon Apple Pie

The Yaokin Umaibo Cinnamon Apple Pie is another autumn-flavored treat. Umaibo translates to “delicious stick” and refers to a puffed corn snack. This limited edition version has a savory Cinnamon Apple Pie flavor.

Meiji Takenoko No Sato Chocolate Biscuits

Meiji Takenoko No Sato Chocolate Biscuits are a popular snack shaped to resemble bamboo shoots with the biscuits covered in milk chocolate. Unfortunately somewhere during the shipping process with the late summer heat, the bag opened, melted a bit, and ended up with little pieces of the chocolate scattered throughout the box (customer service was very quick to offer to replace the bag).

Hi Chew Chewy Candy Ishigaki Okinawa Pineapple

I also enjoyed the Hi Chew Chewy Candy Ishigaki Okinawa Pineapple. Hi-Chew was created in 1975 by Morinaga and this particular flavor is a limited edition made with real pineapples from Ishigaki Island in Okinawa.

Bourbon Choco Anpan Melon Pan Flavor

Bourbon Choco Anpan Melon Pan Flavor was the favorite for Evan. This bite-size version of the traditional Melon Pan sweet bun has a thin layer of crispy crust enclosing a creamy white chocolate filling.

Overall, we had such fun with this box and trying all the different flavors. I had not previously come across any of the items in local stores, so I especially enjoyed how everything was new to me.