Hia Shuwa Cola

Hia Shuwa Cola

(Japan Crate: December 2015)

[Japan Crate description: A cola flavored adventure with 3 different levels: Fizzy, soothing, and gummy. Each bag also includes one big tropical flavored hard candy.]

Kimberly Says:

I got one of the fizzy candies. It...wasn't bad. I actually kind of liked it and the way it popped against my tongue. I don't understand why so many things in the Japan crates are soda flavored, though. xD

It wasn't...bad, but it wasn't thrilling.

Melissa Says:

While one of them was fizzy, I had the “soothing” candy. It had a covering of sugar over a normal, cola-flavored candy. It was as it said – oddly very soothing! I wouldn’t mind having it again. I didn’t have all of it, though, since it gets boring after a while. Tasted exactly like cola, too.

Konpeito

Konpeito

(Japan Crate: September 2015)

[Japan crate description: A very traditional Japanese candy from the 16th century!]

Melissa Says:

These are super cute little sugar balls. They're fairly bright, looking like a little raspberry type of shape. They taste like straight sugar, which they are. They're really yummy tasting, but definitely one to refrain from snacking on. Almost a bit too sweet, but one or two are pretty good. 

Will definitely be eating more of these.

Kimberly Says:

Okay, so I was fairly excited about these. They are adorable and I remembered them from Spirited Away and the soot sprites.

They're really pretty simple - sugar. Straight sugar. Crunchy little sugar bits. Delicious, cute, but very sugary. xD

I enjoyed them, will happily finish off the bag, and might buy them if I see them again.

Crayon Shin-Chan Candy

Crayon Shin-Chan Candy

(Japan Crate: August 2015)

[Japan crate description: Crayon colored, ramune flavored hard candies. Shin-Chan has his own anime & manga!]

Kimberly Says:

All right, the box is adorable, I loved it, and I played with it for far too long.

Unfortunately, the candy itself was a mixture of gross and utterly underwhelming.

When I first started sucking on it I taste...not much of anything. It had no flavor. As I continued, it still didn't really have flavor, but it somehow started tasting...gross. The texture was odd, and I did NOT want to continue...but I am stubborn, so I did.

Fortunately it didn't get worse. It got...neutral. Once you get past the coating, you basically just have a round Smartie - kind of powdery and sour.

Not going to be finishing this one, for sure.

Melissa Says:

The outer coating either has no taste or a nasty taste, and I can't decide which it is. When you reach the center, the flavor comes out (in my case, orange), and starts to become powder. It was the weirdest sensation. 

I probably wouldn't choose to eat this again, mainly due to the coating, but also the powdery end.

Shuwa Shuwa Soda Candy

Shuwa Shuwa Soda Candy

(Japan Crate: August 2015)

[Japan crate description: Shuwa Shuwa is the sound of fizz in a soda. Wait for the center to find out how this candy got its name.]

Kimberly Says:

I was pleasantly surprised to find the candies individually wrapped - that'll make it easy to share with people at work. xD

Looks like there's three flavor, grape strawberry and orange. I had the orange, which is very intensely orange flavored.

My sister kept talking about the fizz she kept tasting, but I never really tasted it.

It was very tasty, though, and I will be eating more of them. Most likely the orange ones, because orange is my favorite. x3

Melissa Says:

These came in nice, separately packaged packets, which clearly named the flavors. They look a bit like stickless Dum-Dum suckers. And for a little bit, they taste like Dum-Dums. 

Then you get down far enough to realize why it's soda candy, and not just strawberry candy. The crackling starts out small, but by the end your mouth is itching, your cheeks are itching, your eyes are burning a little bit…but it tastes exactly like soda. You usually don't have to hold it in your mouth that long, though. 

It's pretty flavorful, if a bit overpoweringly…bubbly. I'll probably have another later on.

Chameleon Candy

Chameleon Candy

(Japan Crate: July 2015)

[Japan crate description: Hard candies that change colors like a real chameleon. Choose a red one and the chameleon grants you good luck.]

Kimberly Says:

Well these look...rather like the Moose Poop they sell in Yellowstone.

However, they're not chocolate covered chewing candies, they're a hard candy that reveals a color once you suck off the (somewhat unappetizing) outer covering.

I believe the flavor might change depending on which color you get underneath - once I got into the yellow color under the blandly sweet brown covering, it started to taste rather lemony. (Or maybe that was just the remnants of the sour lemon gum we had earlier?)

It was...good. Not thrilling, but good.

I'm not a huge fan of hard candies personally, so I found it somewhat meh.

Melissa Says:

It looks like chocolate balls, except they feel hard and firm. The brown outer shell doesn't really taste of anything, but when you suck off the outside, the inside is one of three colors, and might be flavored: red, yellow, or green. The yellow seemed to taste like lemon, but after the lemon gum, I wasn't entirely sure. 

Apparently, the chameleon likes the red ones and will give you luck if you get them, but neither of us got a red one, so I guess we won't know right now. Pretty good after you got past the outside (not entirely sure if it was just sugar flavored or if I couldn't taste things from my sweet receptors thanks to the gray gum). Lasts a pretty long time, too. 

I'd probably have more, especially if the red one's not flavored cherry! The package was pretty cute, too.