Trying Japanese Candy - Fun Treats For Christmas

We had a fun treat this Christmas that I wanted to share. I am not sure exactly what the treat names are, or actually what is in any of them since they are all written in Japanese, but we wanted to share our experience with you just the same. 


A few months back, Princess Four sent some interesting treats for us to try that Princess Five and I tried and then as we saw other girls, we would have them taste the treats so that everyone got a chance.

It is hard when we aren't all together but I think everyone was able to try them after a month or two of shuffling them. 


This time, it was wonderful that most of us were all there to try the items together and I could video the experience and give a fair reaction with more people than just one persons opinion. 

I didn't get the beginning of the experience as they started without me but I recapped it on the video of the items they tried before I arrived. I am fairly sure that the items were dried squid strips and shredded octopus or squid. 

The first ones smelled like a strong ocean tuna smell and the strips which I think were squid due to the length and texture were SUPER hard and chewy. It reminded me of rawhide. It looked a lot like the dog chew toys you can purchase. 

It was so hard I almost had to spit it out. I was worried it would go down stiff and gag me. I kept chewing and chewing and finally got it down but then I ended up with shreds of it in-between my teeth and had to floss it out. 

I WOULD NOT recommend these treats. However, Princess Threes boyfriend thought they were like beef jerky and didn't mind them as much as the rest of us. There was some discussion of giving the treats to the dog however so I really don't know the fate of these treats. 

The second bag was very similar to the first but was shredded into a more chewable format and could be the same thing but it has to be either squid or octopus as they smelled so fishy. I didn't think saving these for the other family members to try was worth it as I was worried the smell would permeate the bag and the other treats so just know if you are going to try these treats, they smell very strong!!!! 

I think we got the worst over quickly and the next ones were ones I couldn't try as we figured they had gluten in them so I avoided those treats. There were a few  containers of round crackers marble size and shape but they were like oyster crackers you would put in soup. I don't think they were sweet at all. 

The girls didn't like the oyster cracker things either so I think we gave those to Princess Threes boyfriend to snack on in the car as well.

The next item was one I couldn't try as well as they were cute little chocolate mushrooms on a breadstick. Kinda like a pretzel but more like a little breadstick. The girls said they were ok but in general, the chocolate there is hard and has no flavor. It tastes more like the dipping chocolate used to make molded chocolate in the states, greasy with no flavor. 

They were cute but no one was thrilled with them. The next treat was a "Black" something and was like a Twix bar. But, they also commented on the chocolate not being the same as it is hard and crumbles rather than sticking to the bar or insides. They weren't really excited about them, as you can see with Princess Five eating hers. 

The treat after that was a hit with everyone and I know would be a hit with the neighbor kids. They are whistle candy. They look like lifesaver mints but the hole in the center is smaller and they whistle as you blow into them. We all enjoyed these. They are chalky when you chew them and taste like "Razzles" but weren't gum.

It came with a little boxed surprise toy similar to "Cracker Jacks" and I can really see a child enjoying these, but even more, if all their friends are making noises with them at the same time. The more the merrier with this candy.

I feel like most of the candy was really chalk like and fruity or gummy in texture. I think Americans have had generations to refine their sweets and find out what works and what sells the best. Americans eat way more sweets than most countries of the world and because of that, more companies have created things that appeal.

These treats at the end are like non-name brand jelly beans, or the no name chocolate you would purchase at the dollar store.

They do fill all the space on their packages. There are so many little icons and decorations that the packages are a bit overwhelming but part of that may be their written language being somewhat art in itself.

There was one candy that we all enjoyed that tasted like passion fruit and was gummy in nature but had some of the sweet / sour sugar on the outside. That was the only candy that everyone enjoyed. 

The one everyone did NOT enjoy in the video, I later tried one of the smaller candy balls rather than the larger one I tried first, and it tasted like fish/vinegar on the outside of the candy ball. I felt like maybe they were trying to add sugar to some fish waste they needed to dispose of and made a candy out of it. NONE of us finished the candy. We all spit it out.

There were two or three larger candy's inside that were fruit flavored and had a caramel center similar to chewy Jolley Ranchers but you only get a few in the bag of toxic fish parts so I wouldn't recommend anyone purchasing that candy. You can see the bag in the video. It is also perfect choking size for children so this candy gets a double no, or if you count all five of us that tried it, it gets a "FIVE NO" on this candy. 

We all enjoyed the taste testing of the candy from Japan. 

Thanks Princess Four for sending us a fun treat! Have a BLESSED DAY!