Authentic Japanese snacks and candy

Every single minute in Japan is a fantastic discovery and a lot of these surprises manifest themselves in the form of local snacks and candy. From exceptionally sour dried plums to matcha coated pocky sticks, raspberry flavoured KitKat to pungent rice crackers, you will never go hungry in the country. Supermarket shelves are stacked with delights that come in a multitude of flavours ranging from exceptionally sweet to mildly spicy, enticingly tangy to mysteriously bitter. There are a million pre-packaged treats and crispy munchies, fried goodies and baked delights and somewhere amidst this deluge of edibles, you get lost, confused and incredibly surfeited.

There is no dearth of junk in Japan and it is absolutely okay to indulge and not feel guilty about it. And how could you possibly stop yourself when there are boxes of hello panda choco-chips, (popularised by Shin Chan) wasabi peas, meiji biscuits, umaibo corn sticks, soy sauce tossed almonds and dried seafood feasting before your eyes. Weight gain is imperative and there isn’t much you can do to stop it. Moreover, if you are confused as to what goodies you should take home, the wisest thing to do is to keep sampling these snacks and candies from convenience stores throughout your trip. You could then visit a hypermarket during your last few days in order to buy a massive supply of your favourites.