Visit Japan without visiting Japan

London

Bokksu

I first visited Japan in 2017 and instantly fell in love with their beautiful landscapes, rich culture and delicious cuisine. So, when I saw an opportunity to try Japanese snacks through Hype Experiences, I immediately signed up.

As the box was being delivered straight from Japan, it took about 3 weeks to arrive at my door (the longest 3 weeks of my life!)… and boy, was it worth the wait! I’m no stranger to Japanese snacks but when I opened the box, I was pleasantly surprised to see a large selection of treats that I have never tried before. There was a good mix of sweet and savoury options, as well as a catalogue to explain the items in the box. I love that the theme of the box was revolved around the seasons of Japan, in particular, Hanami (flower viewing). The box itself was covered in a gorgeous cherry blossom print and you can tell that each snack is carefully selected to give you an immersive Japanese experience. The catalogue inside even explains which part of Japan each snack is from, which I think is a nice touch. Below is a short description of each of the snacks received: • Mocchan Dango Mochi – soft and chewy rice cakes covered in sugar. • Stick Potato: Suppa Mucho Plum – crispy potato sticks that are sweet, savoury, tangy and so addictive. • 20th Century Pear Langue de Chat – a delicate butter cookie that tastes of white chocolate and pear. • White Strawberry – the world’s first chocolate infused strawberry! • Edamame Senbei – a salty and sweet rice cracker with edamame bits. • Handmade Yuzu Sake Candy – a citrus flavoured candy. If you love lemon, you’ll love this! • Dondon Yaki – little rice crackers with a salty and sweet soy flavor. A great afternoon snack to nibble on. • Hokkadio Red Bean Doughnuts – little doughnut balls filled with red bean. To be honest I found these a little oily but they had just the right amount of sweetness and paired great with a warm cup of green tea. • Matcha Chocolate Stick Cake: a long and thin slice of cake flavoured with matcha and chocolate chips. • Blake Sesame Taiko: a large, round sesame cracker that’s seriously moorish. • Aomori Apple Caramel Yakkoi Sable - a sweet apple-caramel butter cookie. Need I say more? • Funwari Meijin Mochi Puffs: Kinako – mochi puffs dusted in a sweet soybean powder. So light and airy it’s easy to get carried away! • Organic Genmaicha Tea – a combination of green tea and roasted brown rice. • Puku Puku Tai: Chocolate – mochi wafers in the shape of a red snapper (a symbol of good fortune) and filled with an airy chocolate mousse. A close favourite! • Uni Rice Cracker – little crunchy rice crackers that are slightly salty and umami in flavour. • And last but not least, Seaweed Tempura: Setouchi Sudachi – crispy fried seaweed with a tart citrus flavour. I think this was my favourite of the batch! As you can tell, the contents of the box were very generous. There were even duplicates for most of the snacks so you don’t have to feel so bad about finishing one. This is the kind of subscription box that you will never get bored of! Overall, this was a pleasant box to receive. From the aesthetic packaging on the box, as well as the food packaging and all the unique flavoured snacks, this experience took me right back to Japan. So, while I likely won’t be able to travel back to Japan anytime in the near future, Bokksu has definitely scratched that itch… for now.