Unboxing December 2016 Tokyo Treats + Promo

[ disclaimer: I received this box complementary for the purposes of an honest & unbiased review. contains affiliate links ]

Tokyo Treats is a subscription service that delivers Japanese popular and cult classic snacks and drinks to your doorstep monthly ~ all the way from Japan! They have 3 different box sizes and if you sign up for longer subscription periods (3, 6 or 12 months), you will save more money.

Small: 5-7 Full-size Japanese candy and snacks (< 1 lbs) $14.99/monthly.
Regular: 10-12 Full-size Japanese candy and snacks (< 1.5 lbs) and 1 DIY candy kit $24.99/monthly
Premium: 16-18 Full-size Japanese candy and snacks (< 2.5 lbs), 1 DIY candy kit, 1 Drink and 1 Special item (i.e. drink, premium DIY, high-quality Gachapon toy) $34.99/monthly

All treats are full sized and since Tokyo Treats is located in Tokyo, Japan, you are getting freshly made snacks ~ no stale or old treats! This includes free shipping via Japan Post and they do ship worldwide. Save $3.00 off your first Premium Box by using promo code UnboxingBeauty

December’s theme is…Christmas!

““Tis the season…!” It’s that time of year once again and when the city lights up in bright lights and all through out the city, you hear Christmas carols on repeat! To join in on the festivity, we decided to go all out for your December box! This month’ theme is Christmas but, it’s no ordinary Christmas box! Just like Christmas stockings are filled with all sorts of goodies, we’ve filled your box to the brim, so much that, we’re nearly having trouble closing the lid! This month, we not only put in a fantastic line up of snacks in your box, we also included a very special item that we think you will love. We also have a super fun contest involving one of the featured snacks and let’s not forget, all subscribers are automatically entered for a chance to win our monthly Lucky Treat box full of awesome goodies from Japan!”

I will post the description provided for each snack and then give my tasting verdict! If a snack is outstanding, it will get a star 🌟 before its name.

Box Revealed!

Info Pamphlet

This ain’t a card ~ this is a brochure!! It also opens left to right too. It contains not only the box contents, but contests, detailed information on a few of the featured items, DIY instructions and contest and more.

Each month, one lucky subscriber will win the “Lucky Treat” contest: “Every month, a lucky subscriber will win our Lucky Treat valued at over $500! Lucky Treat usually contains giant Japanese candies, Tokyo-exclusive toys including figures and plushies, just-released gadgets, brand new game consoles and games. The ultimate treats for any Otaku!”

Plus community, Japanese stories and photos.

The Small Box contains these items: Christmas Edition Shimi Choco Corn, Tohato Christmas Edition White Milk Caramel Corn, Bireley’s Soft Candy, Strawberry Roll Candy, Christmas Fugashi & Christmas Edition Chocolate Umaibo

Strawberry Roll Candy “Japan’s answer to the popular American snack Fruit Roll-up. In this month’s box, we’ve added these yummy Strawberry Roll Candy! This candy roll’s is 50 cm in length, so there’s plenty to go around!” My verdict: It’s a strawberry fruit roll up! It is sweet and tastes like strawberry candy. It has a slight tart dry down. It is okay ~ and the only reason I say this is that I am not a fan of fruit roll-ups in general.

🌟Christmas Fugashi “Fugashi is a traditional Japanese dagashi snack that is made from gluten and is perfectly light and airy, but soaked in a luscious coat of brown sugar to give it a delectable flavor. This time we bring it to you in a cute Christmas package.” My verdict: Fugashi is a “dagashi” snack, which is a cheap, but filling treat and this one is made from dried wheat gluten. This has a very airy texture ~ think of cotton candy, but crispy ~ a combo of sponge, air and flakiness and it just melts in my mouth. It is covered with a brown sugar topping and it is SO good (and SO SWEET). I wish I had more of these!

🌟Christmas Edition Chocolate Umaibo “Everyone’s favorite dagashi, Umaibo, is back! Although Umaibo is usually associated with savory snacks, these chocolate Umaibo are widely popular as well. Just in time for Christmas, they’ve redesigned the package to get you into the holiday spirit.” My verdict: SO GOOD. A light corn puff (not salted) roll wrapped in chocolate. Very tasty, love the corn and chocolate together. The corn roll has the texture of a puffed cheetos

🌟 Tohato Christmas Edition White Milk Caramel Corn “Back again this month with a new limited edition variety, Tohato makes an appearance with their new White Milk flavor Caramel Corn that gets a flavor enhancement from the help of heavy cream. Just in time for Christmas, this time they come in a cute reindeer design package.” My verdict: Another great item! I thought these were going to be like our caramel popcorn, but it isn’t. These are puffed corn with a great caramel taste. These remind me of sugar pops (or corn pops as they are called now). Another great item that would be good as a cereal!

Christmas Edition Shimi Choco Corn “Shimi Choco Corn is a corn puff snack that we’ve featured in past that has gotten rave reviews from our subscribers. Unlike regular corn puff snacks, these bad boys are soaked in chocolate from the get go to give them their unique texture. This time, Shimi Choco Corn comes in a cute Christmas packaging!” My verdict: Very nice chocolate flavor. It reminds me of cocoa puffs as far as the texture goes and I bet this would be a great as a cereal

Bireley’s Soft Candy “Bireley’s is a franchise which initially became famous for their orange juice and have since expanded their flavor lineup. This time, they’ve released these soft candies that come in different flavors including peach, orange, apple and muscat grape. These soft candies promise to get juicer with each bite. Which flavor is your favorite? ” My verdict: Haven’t tried this yet. I am not a huge fan of gummy candies unless they are sour fish or something like that.

The Regular Box contains these items plus the Small Box items: Puchi Puchi Art Gummy DIY, Cocoa Flavor Chocobi Ramune, Komekko Scallop Flavor Rice Crackers, Christmas Edition Corn Potage Umaibo & Tomato Pretz

🌟 Komekko Scallop Flavor Rice Crackers “These non-fried rice cracks have sesames rolled into them to give them an extra dimension to their already scrumptious flavor and texture. With the added scallop flavored soy sauce and the light texture that is unique to rice crackers, these crackers will surely provide a Japanese premium snacking experience!” My verdict: These crackers are surprisingly tasty!! They do smell fishy but they have a light delicate taste of seafood in these rice crackers. Very crispy and enjoyable ~ I bet they would be very good with some miso soup!

Puchi Puchi Art Gummy DIY “This month’s DIY is one that will test your artistic skills. You can use the stencil that comes in the package as a guide or create your own art. A fun snack that comes in grade soda flavor, that not only is tasty but looks good!” My verdict: I haven’t tried this yet and I doubt I will. This does not appeal to me, but I do save these and bring them to work. I have a “Food for the Zombie Apocalypse” corner where I put all sorts of odd food stuffs ~ including these infamous items (yes, my Orbitz is from 1997 and those yellow blobs are still floating!!)

Cocoa Flavor Chocobi Ramune “Crayon Shin Chan’s favorite snack makes an appearance in your box this month but in a ramune candy sytle. These individually wrapped cute star shaped ramune candies have Vitamin D added to them, so they feel slightly healthier compared to your regular candies” My verdict: The only way I can describe these are they are like sweet tarts but without the tart. They have the same texture but the taste is a chocolaty one. These have vitamin D added and they also remind me of children’s chewable vitamins! These do have a chocolate taste and are not sour.

🌟 Christmas Edition Corn Potage Umaibo “In the spirit of Christmas, we decided to add 2 different flavors of Christmas edition Umaibo. These Umaibo come in a cute Christmas design package and come in the Corn Potage flavor that is super popular among Umaibo fans in Japan” My verdict: I do love these – these remind me of creamed corn in taste – sweet lovely corn (I must be the only person who really LOVES creamed corn!). This has a puff texture and I could eat a ton of these in one sitting!

🌟 Tomato Pretz “Popular Japanese snack Tomato Pretz makes an appearance this month because the packaging is in Christmas colors and well, they are just so darn good! Tomato Pretz has just the perfect crunch and savory flavor that makes for a super satisfying snack” My verdict: I thought these would be more crunchy, but they aren’t. They aren’t stale, but they are not a crispy bread stick. These are very good savory tomato flavored, uber-thin bread sticks. There were two foil packages in this box. These are great with a salad.

The Premium Box contains these items plus the Small & Regular Box items: Cream Stew Ramune Soda, Mokeke with Ball Chain, Cola Ramune Candy, Hi Milk Chocolate CUBIE & Mini Choco Chips Cookies

Mokeke with Ball Chain Plushie “Back by popular demand, the cute alien character returns to TokyoTreat Box. This time, bigger and better and with a big ball chain, so you can carry it wherever you go! What color Mokeke did you get?” This is so cute! There are several variations and my lavender one looks like he just came back from the dentist for a root canal. This has a ball chain in lavender to hang him off my laptop bag or backpack and he also has a crystal button on one “hand” and an elastic loop on the other, so you can have him hug things. He also has Freddy Krueger arms…hahaha Very adorable!

Cream Stew Ramune Soda “Ever tried a soda in a savory flavor? If not, now you can claim you have with this month’s Cream Stew Ramune. We’ve brought you bizarre flavors in the past, but this might take the cake! Are you brave enough to give it a taste?” My verdict: errr, I don’t think I will try this. This will be saved in case of a Zombie Apocalypse and there is nothing left to drink

Cola Ramune Candy “Ramune candies are popular snacks in Japan. Compared to normal candies, they have a slightly powdery texture. This time we bring you the popular Cola flavor ramune. Enjoy these super refreshing cola flavor ramune that will remind you of the actual drink!” My verdict: I haven’t tried these yet. I am still reeling from the last cola candy I tried, which was SO SOUR. I don’t think these are sour based on the description, so I will give them a try soon.

Hi Milk Chocolate CUBIE “Fairly new series by world renowned chocolate maker Meiji, these milk chocolates are made for people on the go. The specially designed packaged makes it easy to fold the bag and take it on the go so you no longer have to finish it all at once. The chocolate themselves also have a special coating which makes them less prone to melting in your hand” My verdict: I haven’t tried these yet.

Mini Choco Chips Cookies “The classic Western snack in a portable packaging – these bite size cookies are perfect to take with you on the go. Enjoy the crumbly texture with the mini chocolate chips loaded into each cookie” My verdict: These are mini chocolate chip cookies. Taste like store bought mass produced choco chip cookies. I ate them.

What a fun box to try! I really appreciate Tokyo Treats generosity in sending me the Premium Box to try and review for myself and my readers! I enjoyed the majority of the treats and some of them are not appealing to me, but then again, I don’t love every American snack either 🙂 Now, I don’t know if it was just this month, but I did feel that the value was in the Regular box items ~ which includes the Small box items. The Premium items really did not do anything for me other than the Mokeke plushie ~ that soda… seriously, I will try just about anything once, but that really didn’t sound appealing at all ~ carbonated veggie stew soft drink? I will have to be REALLY DRUNK to try this voluntarily ~ ahaha. I did look at the past boxes and Premium box choices are much better than the ones in this month’s box. I would have loved to have a holiday soda instead of stew (makes face here..)

Have you tried Tokyo Treats yet? What do you think of it? What is your favorite item in the box? I would have to say it was the dagashi snacks and the savory chips.

You can save $3.00 off your first Premium Box by using promo code UnboxingBeauty. Sign up here! Tokyo Treats also has a store, where you can purchase the yummy snacks (which I will be looking at now..) ~ click here for the store.