Japan Crate: February 2019

My February Premium Japan Crate arrived today! This month's theme is, as expected, Valentine's Day and includes the following:

• Ginbis Shimi Choco Strawberry Shortcake — "Everyone's favourite Shimi Choco sweet snack is back! This time, in strawberry shortcake flavour. These flavour-infused stars are sure to entice your tastebuds this February."
• New Mochitaro — "Enjoy this new mochi taro snack this winter! This salty rice snack has a nostalgic zest that will leave your heart wanting more."
• Heart Chocolate — "February is all about love and chocolate! Share the love of chocolate by giving this heart-shaped piece to one of your loved ones."
• Yaokin Crispy Chocolate Rice Cereal — "Indulge in the flavours of malt and rice cereal with this crispy chocolate rice cereal bar! A quick confection, this bar has a lovable dinosaur mascot and will surely bring you happiness with a love at first bite."
• Yaokin Umaibo Chocolate — "Known commonly as a puffed corn treat, Umaibo is an extremely popular snack in Japan as it comes in many different flavours. This particular edition is coated in creamy smooth chocolate. The combo of sweet chocolate and salty corn will leave your palate in a flavourful and exciting tailspin."

• Coris Horadekita Chocolate Banana Soft Candy DIY Kit — "This month's Do-It-Yourself set will have you making your own chocolate covered banana candy! This set makes six mini banana candies and is great fun for children and adults alike."
• Bourbon Hi-Chocolat Ichigo Mousse — "Bask in milk chocolate and strawberry goodness with these strawberry mousse candies. The mousse-like strawberry cream is filled with bon bon-shaped chocolates that will have you eating the entire packaging before you even know it!"
• Yaokin Choco Taro — "Enjoy this sweet and salty chocolate taro bar that has the perfect combination of a fluffy, crisp corn snack covered with dark chocolate mixed with peanuts.'"
• Top Seika Rilakkuma Gum — "The gum itself is a refreshing soda flavour with Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma character designs! Each pieec is individually wrapped in foil to preserve freshness with an outer paper sleeve."
• Meiji Marble Chocolate Petit Pack — "Enjoy Japan's version of M&M's milk chocolate. These creamy milk chocolate disks are covered in a hard shell and is the perfect late night treat!"

• KitKat Hojicha-Roasted Tea Flavour — "Exclusively sold only in the Kansai region, KitKat Hojicha is a collaboration between KitKat and Itohkyuemon, an artisanal Kyoto Tea Maker! The fragrant waffle wafers are wrapped in Itohkyuemon's carefully selected roasted green tea-infused chocolate. The fragrant taste of roasted tea will give your tastebuds a one-of-a-kind chocolate experience."
• Morinaga Mysterious Chocolate Ball Chocolate Banana — "Banana and chocolate are a perfect combination! These chocolate orb balls contain a yellow banana coating and a crispy cocoa cookie center that will leave you salivating for more!"
• Chi Lin Arigatou Chocolate — "Share February's goodies and give a gift of thanks with this Arigatou pack of chocolate pieces to a special someone in your life."
• Yaokin Grape Roll Candy — "Enjoy 50 cm of rolled up grape goodness with this fruit roll sheet! It's a perfect snack or sweet treat to add to your lunch box."

• Morinaga Mini Strawberry Angel Pie — "Bask in strawberry and chocolate flavour with these sandwich biscuits. These fluffy and delicious chocolate sandwich biscuits are filled with a luscious strawberry marshmallow cream!"
• Pine Hello Kitty Lollipop — "Treat yourself with this cute Hello Kitty lollipop! Coming in super-cute wrapping, the lollipop itself is strawberry-flavoured."
• Meiji Apollo Petit Pack — "Ever have a late night craving for something sweet? This petit package is filled with triangular chocolates combining sweet strawberries and milk chocolate in every bite."
• Pokka Sapporo Hokkaido Cream Luxury Chocolate Can — "A chocolate milk lover's dream come true! This can is full of rich chocolate taste with cacao and Hokkaido cream mixed together for the ultimate indulgence this February!"

Okay, so my winners from the January crate are: Koikeya Pride Potato Kyoto Fried White Soy Sauce Chips (who knew soy sauce-flavoured chips were so good?), Yaokin Mochi Choco (kinda like a Jos Louis, except smaller and thinner and made with mochi instead of cake), Morinaga Persimmon Hi-Chew (I'm not actually a huge fan of persimmons, but in Hi-Chew form, it kinda tastes like mango-peach yogurt, and I'm living for it), and Meito Puku Puku Taiyaki (a light crispy shell shaped like a fish, filled with light airy chocolate). Flops for me are the Lotte Sweet Strawberry Pie no Mi (good texture, but the strawberry filling was so artificial and strong that it ended up tasting grossly medicinal), the Lotte Plum Koume Candy (at first, it tasted a bit like an unripe plum but then it morphed into a sort of grassy, flower petal flavour which was so gross that I had to spit it out), the Yaokin Big Marshmallow (it's a fucking plain marshmallow) and, as expected, all of the gum (a.k.a. cheap fillers).

February's crate is Valentine's themed, which means mostly chocolate and strawberry, but I'm kinda bummed that there isn't even one savoury option in this month's crate... I'll try to make my way through all the sweetness here, maybe get a cavity and/or diabetes, and report back next month on the winners and flops from the February box.