10 Surprisingly delicious snacks in Japan

EATING OUT, JAPAN Updated : Dec 20, 2016, 11.31 PM IST

Sumedha Bharpilania

Sumedha has travelled across 28 countries, including a major chunk of India, and calls Japan, Thailand, France and Switzerland her pet destinations. She is seasoned in going off the beaten track and loves documenting her journeys. Apart from getting lost in metropolises, being stranded at airports and finding solace in the hills, she actively writes for eminent travel platforms. You can follow her trips on her social media handles.

Credit: ThinkStock Photos
I wouldn’t be mistaken when I say that every minute in Japan is a pleasant surprise, and Japanese food is one of the many ways in which this surprise manifests itself. These 10 surprisingly delicious snacks in Japan with peculiar flavours, require time to get used to, but rest assured, they are unique. Travelling around the Land of the Rising Sun involves a lot of hiking, and you are bound to get the munchies. In order to satiate these cravings, convenience stores across Japan stack up on a staggering number of snacks and candies. Sampling these is quite an adventure in itself.

With every bite, you embark upon a journey of flavours, textures, and smells that can be pretty addictive. From being maddeningly delicious to downright weird, delightfully sinful to surprisingly healthy, these goodies are an accurate representation of the wonderland that is Japan. To help you make the most of your time in this food paradise, here are 10 Japanese snacks that will keep you coming back for more.
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EATING OUT, JAPAN

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a type of crepe that is exclusive to Japan, and comes with a generous filling of meat, seafood, and vegetables. While the recipe sounds pretty ordinary, it is a lot richer and more wholesome than the other...more

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EATING OUT, JAPAN

Senbei

Japan is a land that thinks of rice as a sacred gift from the Gods, and senbei is a manifestation of the same. Available in a plethora of shapes and sizes – from round to square, and mini to massive, this snack is ridicu...more

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Uiro

A sugary steamed rice cake, uiro is a beloved Japanese dessert with rather complex flavours. Considering its chewy texture and a mildly sweet aftertaste, you need to sample this a few times in order to get used to it. I ...more

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EATING OUT, JAPAN

Yokan

A Japanese dessert made of red bean paste, sugar, and agar-agar, yokan looks more like a work of art than something you could eat. Usually consumed frozen, this translucent, square shaped sweetmeat has intense colours, a...more

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EATING OUT, JAPAN

Kaki No Tane

It is easy to confuse kaki no tane with seeds of senbei. A mini, pea sized version of senbei rice crackers, kaki no tane is basically Japan’s answer to trail mix. Essentially an amalgamation of tiny soy-coated crackers a...more

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EATING OUT, JAPAN

Wasabi Peas

One bite of wasabi and you are automatically transported to the land of the rising sun, replete with its lovely people, neon lights, bamboo forests and the towering Mount Fuji. However, the aftertaste hits you like a hur...more

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EATING OUT, JAPAN

Karinto

A deep fried goodness like no other, karinto is a concoction of yeast, flour, and sugar, and might just remind you of a miniature chocolate coated pillow. While it is traditionally prepared with brown sugar, white sugar,...more

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EATING OUT, JAPAN

Choco Chips

Popularised by the cartoon character Shin Chan, choco chips, or ‘Chocobi’ is a Japanese star shaped snack with a cereal-like texture that is filled to the brim with chocolate sauce. Available in extremely colourful and a...more

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Sweet and Sour Plum Candy

Upon checking into my hotel room in Fuji Kawaguchi-ko, I was greeted with a welcome kit that had a tiny packet containing four soft, raisin-like edibles. My first bite of this dangerously mysterious candy resulted in a l...more

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EATING OUT, JAPAN

Pretz and Pocky

Pretz and Pocky are iconic Japanese snacks and have attained a global recognition owing to their taste and cute packaging. These are essentially biscuit sticks and pretzels, and come coated in creams of various flavours ...more

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