The Japanese love their snack foods, but unlike in much of the Western world, chocolate is not a major seller—except for Pocky, which is immensely popular. Pocky consists of long, straw-like pretzel sticks coated in chocolate or other flavours, including nuts and seasonal varieties. There are even a few savoury flavours, such as pumpkin, pizza, and sweet potato. It is estimated that Glico, the manufacturer, sells over 30 billion yen worth of Pocky in Japan each year.
Most Japanese candy features cute, characters on the packaging, and many have quirky English names. Some favourites include Hello Panda, a biscuit-based treat filled with a sweet centre, Watta, a chewing gum brand, and Chocolate Collon, a product with a rather unfortunate name.
Chewing gum is also quite popular, but it doesn’t just come in mint or fruit flavours. Coffee-flavoured gum is extremely popular, and in true Japanese fashion, there are even seafood-flavoured gums, including octopus, shrimp, and seaweed.
Potato crisps, corn chips, and rice crackers are widely loved, but they go far beyond the typical BBQ, salt and vinegar, or chicken flavours found in the West. Japanese snack aisles are filled with unique and sometimes adventurous flavours, each with its own distinctive aroma. How do octopus-flavoured corn tubes, sea cucumber chips, or seaweed and teriyaki crackers sound? Then there’s Kyabetsu Taro—corn balls flavoured with nori and brown sauce. Another variety, Cabbage Taro, comes in a package featuring a frog in a sailor suit, which alone is enough to make you want to buy it. However, don’t expect actual cabbage in the product—it’s made from corn.
One of Japan’s popular corn tortilla chip brands is Don Tacos, which comes in hamburger sauce, super hot chilli, and seafood flavours. If the super hot chilli variety isn’t spicy enough for you, try Bokun Habanero potato chips, which feature an evil-looking chilli pepper character on the packaging. Judging by his sinister grin, these snacks are not for the faint-hearted. For a slightly milder option, there’s Bebita, a version designed for kids, featuring Tyrant Habanero’s little sister chilli on the package. The habanero pepper is one of the world’s hottest chillies, so even the “milder” version might still pack a punch.
Japan also offers a wide range of seafood-based snacks, featuring ingredients like squid rings, shrimp, and octopus. Some popular choices include Yotchan Ika, a fried squid and vinegar snack, Ebi Senbei, a shrimp cracker, and Miyako Kombu, which consists of kelp with bonito flakes and vinegar—a flavour combination that may appeal to the more adventurous snack lover.
