It is always fun to choose what to bring back home after a trip to any place you visit. When it comes to Japan, there are many unique snacks and sweets that you can hardly find in any other country. We picked the 15 most popular ones here available at airports, supermarkets or Konbini (convenience stores) to make your trip even more special and memorable!
Contents
Wagashi (Traditional Japanese Sweets)
Wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets or snacks in general, were originally designed to be served with green tea. Among the large variety of Wagashi, here are some of the most popular kinds of all time as souvenirs.
Senbei (Rice Cracker Rice Crackers)
Senbei is a typical type of rice cracker made by baking or deep–frying rice that has been rolled flat by crushing or pounding. Typical Senbei is crispy, thin and round in shape, and also flavored with soy source. However, because of its long history since the Edo period when Senbei first spread commercially in Japan, you can now find Senbei with various shapes, flavors, and textures. There are also many popular brands producing unique Senbei in the country. Some can be found anywhere including convenience stores and supermarkets and the price ranges from around 100 to 500 yen for a small bag, while others are only sold at department stores or their original shops at more than 2,000 yen for a formal box or can.
Yokan
Yokan is made by pouring red bean paste into a mold and hardening it with agar. Yokan has two main types: Neri Yokan and mizu yokan. Neri Yokan is brown in color and rather firm with a larger amount of agar, while Mizu Yokan is much softer with more water and less agar. Because Neri Yokan contains much sugar and can usually be stored at room temperature for a year, it has been quite popular as both a casual and formal gift for decades among Japanese people. Mizu Yokan is usually chilled and sold more during summer. Just like Senbei, yokan also comes in many different brands and types, and the price ranges from around 100 yen for a bite-sized bar to 4,000 yen for a formal, long bar.
Dorayaki
Dorayaki consists of two pieces of pancake-like dough with red bean paste sandwiched in between. Baked with honey, the dough is moist and soft and makes Dorayaki’s taste mild and sweet on the whole. Dorayaki can be stored at room temperature and normally kept for a several days or a week. The price range is similar to that of Senbei and Yokan, and Dorayaki are usually sold one by one or in a box. Despite its long history since the Edo period, Dorayaki is as popular as ever, especially among Japanese manga or anime fans because a the famous manga character Doraemon adores it!
Popular-Picks at Airports
As hubs for both domestic and foreign tourists, airports can be one of the best spots to find a the country’s original sweets and snacks collections. Also, there are some products only sold at certain airports, so make sure you have enough time to find your favorites at souvenir shops before your flight!
Tokyo Banana (Tokyo)
Banana shaped and colored, Tokyo Banana is light and fluffy sponge cake filled with rich, smooth banana custard cream. It has been one of the top sweets souvenirs for decades, and a variety of limited products and flavors including collaboration with anime characters have been released since then. As of 2023, honey flavored Tokyo Banana is exclusive to Haneda airport.
- Tokyo Banana Official Website
- 12 pieces: 1,728 yen (including tax)
Toraya (Tokyo)
Founded in the early 16th century, Toraya is one of the most popular Wagashi makers and its signature Yokan has been considered one of the most sophisticated gifts chosen by Japanese people of all ages. Its stores are located across the country, but the one at Haneda airport sells its limited series of Japanese sweets including an assortment of small bars with different flavors including matcha, black tea, etc., packed in a beautifully designed box.
- Toraya Official Website
- Assortment of 10 small bars: 3,240 (including tax)
Hiyoko (Fukuoka)
The adorably “hiyoko (chick)” shaped Hiyoko sweets has been loved for over 100 years since its debut in Fukuoka. Inside the savory crust made of flour one finds a sweetened and yellowish red bean paste carefully threaded before being wrapped. Its original texture, flavor and cute yet delicately designed appearance never gets old and each bite gives us a surprise.
- Hiyoko Honpo Yoshinodo Official Website
- 10 pieces: 1,620 yen (including tax)
Rokkatei (Hokkaido)
Founded in 1933, Rokkatei has developed many sweet-type products including its iconic product “Marusei Butter Sandwich”, which are like buttery cookies filled with rich, thick butter-based cream and raisins. The brand is also famous for selling the first-ever “white chocolate” in Japan, starting in 1968. The “Rokkatei Strawberry White Chocolate”, which is bright red dried strawberry fully covered with its sweet white chocolate, is another signature product popular among younger generations.
- Marusei Butter Sandwich (10 pieces): 1,450 yen (including tax)
- Rokkatei Strawberry White Chocolate (boxed; 130g): 680 yen (including tax)
Niwaka Senpei (Fukuoka)
Featuring the style of “Hakata Niwaka”, a traditional performance of Japanese comedy with masks, Niwaka Senpei comes in the shape of a funny faced mask. It is made with a generous amount of flour and eggs, giving it a crispy texture and a mild sweet flavor. Despite its classical appearance, Niwaka Senpei has been one of the best picks at Hakata airport for a long time and it has sold 1 billion pieces since its debut.
- Niwaka Senpei Official Website
- 24 small pieces: 1,296 yen (including tax)
Azabu Karinto (Tokyo)
Karinto is one of the classic Japanese snacks made by deep-frying a mixture of flour, yeast and brown sugar. Deep brown in color, little bigger than bite-sized and stick shaped, Karinto has long been loved by many people here especially the older generations. However, Azabu Karinto has succeeded in refreshing its image by producing it in so many different flavors, packaging colorfully, and making it thinner so people can bite it much more easily. Azabu Karinto flavors include salt-based, miso-based, or mayonnaise-based in addition to the typical sugar-based flavors so you can mix different flavors and make your own assortment.
- Azabu Karinto Official Website (Japanese)
- Azabu Karinto Kokuto (70g; Haneda airport limited): 432 yen
Hokkaido Gyunyu Kasutera (Hokkaido)
Produced by a renowned Japanese pastry chef, the “Hokkaido Gyunyu (milk) Kasutera (castella sponge cake)” is a hit as a new souvenir available at New Chitose airport. Although castella cake is well known in Nagasaki, in southern Japan, the Hokkaido Gyunyu Kasutera is popular for its freshly harvested ingredients including milk, eggs, flour, and sugar. All of the production process including the dough making and baking in a kiln is done in the kitchen located at the airport, which makes the texture moist and fluffy.
- 6 pieces: 1,720 yen (including tax)
Unique Handy Snacks
Last but not least, there are a countless number of snacks and sweets found in convenience stores or supermarkets that are original to Japan. We tried to pick the all-time best five, but given their price and size, we basically recommend trying anything appealing you see at stores!
Pocky
A box of biscuit sticks covered with chocolate, “Pocky” has long been loved by Japanese people of all ages since its debut in 1966. Because of its long history, Pocky comes in a large number of different flavors including matcha green tea, strawberry, cookies & cream etc. as of 2023. You can find it at almost any convenience store and supermarket. There are also different flavors or sizes only available in certain stores or locations, which makes your trip to those places even more exciting!
Umaibo
A stick-shaped corn puff snack, “Umaibo”, literally meaning “delicious stick” in Japanese, has been loved by both kids and adults for a long time. The main reasons for its enduring popularity are its incredibly cheap price (12 yen or sometimes less!) and various flavors with a light, crunchy texture. On top of 15+ regular flavors including cheese, corn potage, mentai, and teriyaki burger sold in any location, there are many unique flavors exclusive to certain areas. FYI, the most popular flavor chosen in the “Umaibo general election” in 2022 was “corn potage”!
Kaki No Tane (Kaki-Pi)
“Kaki no tane” is a small, crescent-shaped senbei flavored with soy-sauce and red pepper seasoning first commercialized in 1925. However, the rice cracker and Japanese snack maker Kameda Seika started to sell its original “Kaki no tane” series in 1966 and it has become its most iconic product. What makes Kameda’s kaki no tane special is the combination of senbei and salty peanuts in a bag. Given its spicy and salty flavor, Kaki no tane is loved especially by adults who enjoy it with alcoholic beverages. There are two other regular flavors including wasabi and ume shiso, and some limited-edition flavors depending on the season and location.
Takenoko No Sato / Kinoko No Yama
A small chocolate dipped biscuit, “Takenoko no sato” is in the shape of “Takenoko (a bamboo shoot)”, while “Kinoko no yama” is in the shape of “Kinoko (a mushroom)”, whose stem is made of a cracker with a chocolate cap. Both are produced by one of the biggest Japanese snack makers, Meiji, and have long been loved by people of all generations for some time. However, because of their similarity in concept and texture, there has been a fun but huge battle officially named “The Kinoko-Takenoko War” where people take sides to decide which is the better product. Try and make up your mind if you want to join this bittersweet war!
Jagarico
Since its debut in 1995, the potato snack “Jagarico” has been popular particularly among younger generations. As the Japanese snack maker Calbee’s signature product, Jagarico is made by shaping steamed potatoes into thin sticks then deep-frying them. On top of various flavors including cheese, salad, jaga (potato) butter etc., there are many collaborative works and unique flavors exclusive to limited locations. Overall, its annual sales exceeded 35 billion yen in the past 25 years.
See also: The 15 Best Things to Do in Japan 2023
Summary
We have introduced 15 popular Japanese snacks and sweets in different categories. We hope you find your own favorites to make your Japanese trip sweet and tasty!
This media series provides a wide range of information about the Japanese language and Japanese culture for those who are interested in traveling to or living in Japan. Add us to your reading list and stay tuned!