Kawarinbo

Kawarinbo

(Japan Crate: September 2015)

[Japan crate description: This lollipop packs a 3-in-1 surprise.]

Kimberly Says:

This is a super interesting concept. The outside is a sucker with two sides, two flavors. Once you get past that, there's ANOTHER flavored candy. And when you finish that and the stick is clean, you can pull off the plastic wrapping and finish off with a piece of gum.
I didn't get to the gum. I didn't even get to the interior candy. Not because the candy was bad, not at all. I actually enjoyed it. However, it wasn't thrilling, either, and long before I got to the center bit I got tired of the only mildly flavored sucker that was mostly just...sugar.
A fun idea, though!

Melissa Says:

We were reading the description, and this is a hard-core lollipop. So the outer layers (the only ones we tried at the time) were apple and grape. Then, when you’ve licked it down from there, there’s a ramune section in the middle. After THAT section, there’s some gum in the center. But wait, there’s more – the stick itself is gum! The concept was fun.
The lollipop wasn’t bad itself, either. The flavors were pretty good.

Lemon Squash

Lemon Squash

(Japan Crate: September 2015)

[Japan crate description: Lemon squash is the name for lemonade in Japan. It's especially popular with children because it's not too fizzy. You can drink your lemon squash right out of the bottle, or if the taste is too strong, pour it over ice or mix with water. Kanpai!]

Melissa Says:

The packaging was a little squishy. It was kinda weird. However, I had to stop squishing when we were opening it. Otherwise that would’ve been really messy.
It was pretty good, kind of like Kool-Aid lemonade. A rather enjoyable treat! I’d definitely think about having it again.

Kimberly Says:

This looked a lot like those plastic single serve Koolaid bottles? Just without the twist off top to make it easy to open. xD
As far as taste, it was...lemony koolaid. The description suggested pouring over ice if it was too strong, and I can't really picture doing so, because it...wasn't really strong at all? It already tasted slightly watery.
It was good, though. I enjoyed it.

Bireley's Orange

Bireley's Orange

(Japan Crate: October 2015)

[Japan Crate description: This orange drink actually originated in California back in the 1920's, but was discontinued. Asahi, one of Japan's largest drink manufacturers, was able to begin manufacturing Bireley's and is now only available in Japan.]

Kimberly Says:

This was...neither terrible nor wonderful. Honestly, it just tastes like slightly tangier Sunny D. I chugged the rest of it after we both had our samples (and let my sister finish off the caramel puffs), but really it was just...not memorable? Drinkable, but not exciting.

Melissa Says:

This drink doesn’t lie – it’s basically orange juice. In fact, it tastes and smells similar to Sunny D! It’s just a bit tangier. It was kind of fun to drink. While I’d probably not get it again, it was pretty good once.

Tohato Caramel Corn

Tohato Caramel Corn

(Japan Crate: October 2015)

[Japan Crate description: A caramel corn snack that's just in time for Halloween! The texture is more like Cheetos than popcorn, with a subtle, salty caramel flavor. Just like Umaibo sticks, you can find this snack in an array of yummy flavors.]

Melissa Says:

This was…unique. The taste of these little Cheeto-styled caramel corn bites was actually fairly good. It’s a subtle caramel flavor paired with a slight salty taste and something more I can’t quite identify. Actually rather good! 

The downside to this snack is that it looks outright vile when you pull it out. It’s like little, short, fat Cheetos that appear to be like insects. It’s rather odd. But really, they’re quite nice. In fact, I’m snacking on them while I write this. If we found them again, I’d consider getting them.

[Edit] I remember! The caramel thingies remind me of corn puffs!

Kimberly Says:

After the absolutely awful long puff sticks in the last review, I was wary of trying another puffed snack.

However, these ended up being surprisingly good. Maybe it was just in comparison, and it was a little weird to have what looked like small cheese puffs (or, what I first pictured, maggots. >.> ) that tasted sweet, but overall I actually enjoyed these.

The bag was cute, too. x3

Gyutan Umaibo Stick

Gyutan Umaibo Stick

(Japan Crate: October 2015)

[Japan Crate description: These airy corn sticks come in a huge variety of flavors. This one is Gyutan - a grilled cow tongue dish in Japan. Don't let the flavor discourage you, this salty snack is a tasty flavor experience.]

Kimberly Says:

It's not often anymore I try something that I outright dislike to the point of wanting to spit it out.

This was one of those.

I can't even really tell you much about what it actually TASTED like, because my brain immediately decided to forget everything about it except that it was absolutely disgusting.

We each had one bite, then threw away the rest of it, and will be finding somewhere to get rid of the rest.

Melissa Says:

We had three of this little stick things, which are flavored like grilled cow tongue. That would’ve been alright, except this is one of the few things I’ve eaten out of these crates that I downright did not like. It’s not the flavor, per se. I mean, it wasn’t a great flavor. But actually, it’s overwhelmingly salty with a really weird texture. The flavor was just the cherry on top. Er, cow tongue? 

Anyways, we ate half a stick and decided enough was enough. I’ll not be having any more of it!

Meiji Fran - Chocolate Cream

Meiji Fran - Chocolate Cream

(Japan Crate: September 2015)

[Japan crate description: Meiji's take on Pocky. Each thick cookie stick is made with real butter & covered in a generous layer of whipped chocolate cream.]

Melissa Says:

This was amazing chocolate! It was smooth and yummy. The stick was fairly flavorless, but it provided a good crunch in the chocolate. I definitely will eat more of these. It was really good!

Kimberly Says:

After the bleh and meh of the previous candies, we decided to go for some chocolate. xD

It was really good! Thicker than a pocky stick, and with MUCH nicer chocolate, it was delicious. I don't think my tongue totally forgave me for the spicy sticks, but this candy certainly made it happier with me. x3

Purple Sweet Potato Sticks

Purple Sweet Potato Sticks

(Japan Crate: November 2015)

[Japan Crate description: Here's a flavor that's just as seasonal as Pumpkin Pie, but a little less common. Purple sweet potatoes are a fall/winter treat in Japan. These light, crispy sticks taste perfectly like a sweet potato!]

Melissa Says:

These were really flavorless at the start, another flavorless stick of nothingness. Then, out of nowhere, sweetness jumps out. Not sugar-sweetness, but some really odd relative that happens to also be bland. Somehow this stick was simultaneously really sweet and really savory. I can’t really wrap my head around it. The stick itself seemed slightly bitter, too. I won’t eat any more of them, but it was quite the sensation!

Kimberly Says:

These were...very strange. I don't know that they were bland, just...really, really strange. Somehow it was simultaneously flavorless and...had an odd flavor. It was weird that it was so sweet, because it also...wasn't.

At least it wasn't as spicy as the last snack. xD