Japan Crate: January 2019

My January Premium Japan Crate arrived today. Just in time, as I'm just finishing up the last few bits of the December box. It was a lot of snacks to get through, but you know, I'm always up for a challenge. Anyway, this month's theme is New Year's and includes the following:

• Frito Lay x Ponta Corn Dressing Flavour Corn Chips — "Frito Lay and Ponta have partnered up to bring crunchy chips flavoured with salad dressing. Try them as is or chopped atop a salad!"
• Yaokin Maple Syrup Hot Cakes — "Enjoy a sweet treat with these mini hot cakes. Similar to dorayaki, these pancakes are made into sandwiches filled with delicious maple syrup cream."
• Top Seika Pokemon Sun & Moon Grape Gum — "Pikachu and friends are here with this juicy grape flavour gum! Each package has different Sun and Moon Pokemon. Which ones did you get?"
• Yaokin Mochi Choco Almond — "Have a bit of this yummy chocolate pie. Mochi is a popular New Year's food and this one is coated and filled with a rich chocolate."
• Marukawa Doraemon Marble Gum — "Round marble-like gum has had a history of over 50 years in Japan. They are iconic for their box packaging. This one features Doraemon with soda-flavoured gum!"

• Kracie Sleeping Grape DIY Kit — "This is one of the most popular Japanese DIY kits! Blend the ingredients together to make a fluffy grape mix and add crunchy candy as a sweet topping!"
• Lotte Sweet Strawberry Pie no Mi — "These flaky pies are perfect for winter. They are made of 64 layers of crispy pastry and filled with strawberry cream. You can try it toasted and warm for a delectable winter treat."
• Eiwa Hello Kitty Chocolate Marshmallow — "When you're feeling a bit peckish, have a nibble on this fluffy chocolate-filled marshmallow packaged with Japan's iconic Hello Kitty.'"
• Ribbon Box Dagashi Shop Candy — "Dagashi are classic Japanese candy that have been around for decades! This is one that you would find in vintage candy shops. There are a variety of flavours: ramune, cola, mandarin, grape, lemon, and peach. Which one did you get?"
• Top Seika One Piece Grape Gum — "Join Luffy and crew on the high seas with this chewy grape-flavoured gum."

• Coca-Cola Japan Special Edition Slim Bottle 2019 New Year — "Enjoy this cola in its limited edition 2019 New Year bottle design. Since the 100th anniversary of Coca-Cola, Japan has released exclusive yearly designs. Keep this unique commemorative bottle design for your collection!"
• Koikeya Pride Potato: Kyoto Fried White Soy Sauce — "Pride Potato chips are made with the utmost quality and these particular chips are prepared like Kappo cuisine, a traditional way of cooking that is commonly found in Kyoto and often uses white soy sauce made with wheat (not soy). It possesses a sweeter and more flavourful taste than regular soy sauce. It's recommended that you try it as if it's fried tofu called Kyo age, by eating them with green onions, bonito, and ginger."
• Pine Ultraman Grape Lollipop — "Fire or ice! Taste the ultra flavour of this grape lollipop featuring Ultraman Rosso and Ultraman Bull."
• Morinaga Persimmon Flavour Hi-Chew — "Persimmon is a sweet and soft fruit commonly served in winter. Some persimmons are dried (hoshigaki) and associated with good luck and longevity. Have a taste of these New Year's traditions in a classic Japanese favourite, Hi-Chew!"

• Meito Puku Puku Taiyaki — "Taiyaki is a Japanese street food that is often shaped like a fish and filled with sweet red beans. This one is filled with airy chocolate."
• Lotte Plum Koume Candy — "These candies are made of Japanese plums and has a history of over 40 years! It's iconic for its packaging featuring a girl named Komume-chan from the Meiji era."
• Yaokin Big Marshmallow — "This marshmallow is like fluffy winter snow! Put it in hot cocoa, melt it into a s'more, or eat it as is!"
• Chi Lin Pipe Chocolate — "This chocolate comes in fun pipe-like packaging that also doubles as a whistle! Makes for a fun sound maker for the new year."

Okay, so winners from the December crate are: the Tohato Christmas Caramel Corn (these are so freaking good that I actually went hunting for them at T&T and found several different flavours, so I bought the lemon soda ones to try out), the Doutor Cocoa Toast (they're like crunchy chocolate Melba toast chips), the Morinaga Ootama White Chocolate Peanut Chocoballs (imagine chocolate-coated peanuts but crunchier), and the Tohato Christmas Poteco Pizza Flavour (um, they're literally pizza-flavoured Ringolos, so it was an immediate favourite). Flops for me were the World of Stars Konpeito (I've discovered I hate konpeito in general), the Yaokin Chocolate Milk Cream Cake (way too dry) and, as expected, all of the gum. I mentioned this before, but I hate that they include gum in these boxes because they're such cheap fillers. They're all those bubble gums that lose flavour in less than five minutes, and they cost like, 10 cents, and they're usually made by the same company, too. Anyway, I will make my way through this month's snacks and report back in February.