I have been subscribed to Snakku’s Tasting Box, which is the smaller version of this Japanese centric treat box, since May of this year. I’ve been posting my boxes on IG, but never did a full unboxing here. 
This month, I switched to their Signature Snakku box and I will start doing unboxings on Snakku ~ it might take me a bit longer as I like to eat the snacks first! What is Snakku?
Snakku is the only Japanese snack subscription box that gets its snacks directly from local snack makers in Japan. We work directly with the Japanese snack makers, some of whom have been around for 100+ years! Explore Japan through snacks that you can’t get anywhere else. Each box is uniquely themed to showcase seasons of Japan, specific types of snacks, a local snack shop, or regions of Japan. (source)
They have two sizes that you can choose from (link here)
- The Signature Snakku snack box, which contains nearly 2 pounds of snacks ~ 3 times the amount of the Tasting Box. Each box is wrapped in a traditional Japanese Furoshiki wrapping cloth. $38.95/month. If you sign up for a longer subscription, you will save some money. If you are in the USA, it is free shipping. This box does ship international
- Tasting Snakku box, which contains 5-7 expertly curated Japanese snacks, for $15.75, free shipping, USA only.
It comes wrapped in the Furoshiki cloth, which is made from reusable high-grade Japanese washi paper ~ this month is a pink cloth with brightly colored circles. Snakku sends you a pdf with instructions on how to wrap items with your cloth
To learn more uses for your Furoshiki, Snakku has a blog post on “Unwrapping the Secret Behind The Art of Gift Giving in Japan”
HUGE BOX
Box Revealed
Informational Card
This month’s theme is around three popular fall foods in Japan. Since the info card is hard to read, I will repeat the descriptions here.
Japan has always been a foodie country. Not just because you can get some of the best meals in Japan, but also because the Japanese people have developed an intimate relationship with the ingredients of their food. The Japanese are keenly aware of where their food comes from, how it’s prepared, and how it grows. And as summer draws to a close and the leaves start to change, Japan’s food scene stats to change as well. They eat according to the season and take pride in the regional delicacies. This month, we feature three popular fall foods of Japan
- Persimmons or Kaki (柿) are a popular autumn fruit native to Japan. There are two types of kaki: sweet and bitter. The sweet ones can be eaten raw after peeling off the orange skin. The bitter ones can only be eaten after it’s been sun dried to condense the sweetness and eliminate the bitterness.
- Chestnuts or Kuri (栗) is the oldest cultivated plant in Japan (even before rice). It’s an integral part of many Japanese dishes because of its versatility in being applied to both sweet and savory dishes
- Kobocha (かぼちゃ) is a Japanese pumpkin that is typically much smaller in size than the western variety. It has green skin and is more closely related to the butternut squash. Similar to chestnuts, Kabocha is widely used both sweet and savory dishes in Japan
Toyama Persimmons Naturally sun-dried organic persimmons from a small local town in the mountains of Toyama, bordering the Sea of Japan. There are no sugar additives as the sun drying process naturally accentuates the sweetness of the permissions. We recommend that you chill it before you eat it. My verdict: LOVE these slices of dried persimmons. Just the right amount of sweetness and chewiness ~ very delicate and I wish I had more!
Kuri Senbei A tiny snack shop near Mt Fuji has been making this senbei rice cracker for hundreds of years. It’s made by using a clay oven to bake a mixture of egg, sweet white bean paste, local chestnuts and water from the crystal clear Fuji river. My verdict: These crackers are adorable ~ they are in the shape of a chestnut with detail too! Beautiful burnt orange color as well ~ these are very crisp and not at all sweet. These would go great with a hot cup of sweetened tea.
Pumpkin Arare A fun Halloween-themed assortment of mini rice crackers made with Kabocha My verdict: These are fun, light crunchy rice crackers with a hint of a smokey taste ~ the kabocha? I don’t know, but I did like these crackers ~ just don’t leave them out for long, as they will get tough and chewy. They are hollow, so they will absorb moisture quickly.
Kuriko Momiji This seasonal snack is from a Hiroshima snack shop called Yamadaya. They have been making snacks since 1930 using a special pastry bun infused with locally-harvested maple syrup. This particular seasonal snack is stuffed with a roasted chestnut, sweet bean filling My verdict: Yeah, yeah, yeah… I really love these ~ they look like little maple leaves (momiji-manju) and are filled with a chestnut/sweet bean custard filling. The filling is moist and creamy. Just delicious!
Butter Soy Jagabee Crunchy, baked potato sticks, glazed with soy sauce and butter My verdict: I am a salt addict, so whereas I loved the thick cut potato sticks with the butter and soy glaze, I wanted more saltiness to my chips. They almost were sweet, which I wonder if that was the butter. However, that didn’t stop me from eating them.
Niigata Senbei Clay baked rice crackers made in Niigata prefecture, lightly topped with sea salt from the Sea of Japan, dried green laver, and shaved bonito flakes My verdict: I have had these before and I LOVE THEM. I have to find them somewhere, because they are one of my favorite Japanese snacks. These are crispy crackers that are nice and salty! It has seaweed (laver), salty fish flakes (bonito) and of course, sea salt, so it is a triple salt threat. I always joke that someone should just put a huge salt lick near me, as I am addicted to salt.
Choco Pie Soft chocolate covered cake sandwich, filled with a mildly sweet cream filling. A perfect pick-me-up for when you are feeling down My verdict: This is probably the only dud in the box. These pies were a crumbling mess when I removed them from the package. That normally doesn’t bother me, so long the flavor is there. Alas, I found these were so dry and unappealing in its taste, that I couldn’t even finish the first one.
Pumpkin Pudding KitKat Seasonal pumpkin pudding-flavored Halloween KitKat! It’s only available in Japan during October My verdict: I am so envious of Japan’s KitKat flavors. KitKat is made by a different company in Japan (Nestlé) than in the USA (Hersey’s), so we don’t get the cool flavors, like matcha (my favorite), sweet potato, wasabi, green tea, lemon vinegar, sake, strawberry ~ they have over 300 different flavors, whereas we just have a few (milk, white and dark chocolate and during Halloween, they coat the outside with an orange colored coating ~ rolls eyes) So, this is their pumpkin flavored one, but my taste buds are overwhelmed by the white chocolate coating, so I didn’t taste the pumpkin. But it is a KitKat and I will eat them anyway!
Matcha Chocolate Crunch This snack is made using rice from a local farm coop in rural Gifu, chocolate from Hokkaido and matcha green tea from a nearby tea farm in Nagoya. My verdict: These had a very faint taste of chocolate, but I did taste the matcha ~ these are really cool ~ like a rice crispy treat, only without the gooey mess of marshmallows. The taste, in fact, reminded me of KitKat’s matcha version. Very good and I love how these look ~ like a little flower.
Roasted Coffee Candy This charcoal roasted coffee candy tastes exactly like a cup of freshly made, deep bodied coffee. Perfect for all you coffee lovers! My verdict: I originally thought these would be like CoffeeNips, those hard coffee candies and these are similar in shape and texture, but these candies are much more full bodied and robust with their coffee goodness. Love!
I am glad I broke down and switched to the Signature Snakku box. I really enjoyed all of the snacks except for one, but I also know that a lot of people love those choco pies ~ it just isn’t for me. The dried persimmons, matcha crisps, Niigata Senbei and Kuriko Momiji are my favorites in this month’s Fall Box. Snakku is more expensive than most snack boxes, in fact there are a lot of Japanese snack boxes out there. However, Snakku is superior in my opinion ~ They curate their boxes with a theme, they take pride in selecting local snack makers, their informational cards are chock full of … well.. information! Not to mention the beautiful presentation of the boxes. Whether you get the full size or the Tasting box, you will be very happy with Snakku. I know I am! What did you think of this month’s box?
If you want to subscribe to Snakku, I have an exclusive promo code that will save you 5% off your first box with them ~ use code SNAKKU4ME. Snakku has a shop as well, where you can purchase some of the snacks that they have included in their boxes. But be forewarned, they sell out quickly!!
Unboxing Beauty 