Japanese Snacks from Tokyo

Another post on Japanese snacks and food that I bought from Japan from my most recent trip in April. I really need to dedicate a whole suitcase to just snacks and food from Japan. Because everything looks so good you want to buy them all and bring it back with you. XD

I didn't get to buy much this time around as I had limited space in my suitcase plus I already have 3 luggage and this is all I could fit in my hands free carry bag, lol. 

As usual, I always buy a box of Calbee+ fries home. These are the BEST fries ever! I decided to give their chips a try since I never bought the packaged ones in a box before as I always buy them freshly baked at the shop and eat it there. I've tried the ones they sell at the convenience stores and they are really good. I bought the roasted seasweed soy sauce flavour which was a top recommended by the staffs at the store. It was not bad but I don't think I'd buy it again. 

I finally got the try the TOKYO BANANA! I have wanted to try them for years but never had the chance to. I bought this limited edition box at the Narita airport in maple syrup flavour. The packaging is soooo cute! I love the bow on the wrapper and there are even hearts on the banana. It kind of taste like a sponge cake with maple syrup cream inside and was not bad. Although next time I'd definitely love to try a different flavour. 

And because it was actually sakura season when I was in Japan, there are soooooo many sakura theme/flavour snacks and desserts everywhere you go. But I have to say, they're really a hit or miss and these 2 did not live up to my expectations. The first box on the left side is this sakura jelly that I got from the Tokyo Tower gift shop and box on the right is a sakura daifuku mochi that I got from a department store. 

The sakura jelly did not even look like what was shown in the picture of the packaging. It also tasted like you were eating sugar. It was SO SWEET!!! I ended up throwing it away after only eating 2. (-___-")

And the sakura daifuku didn't look as appealing either and tasted kind of weird. It didn't really have the "soft" texture in mochi and was kind of hard to chew. To sum it up, sakura theme/flavour food in Japan is really just a gimmick. A lot of times they do not taste as great as it looks. So be careful and don't fall into the trap! 

I picked up this box of matcha flavour cookies from the Doraemon Museum. I really just wanted it for the pretty metal tin box that it comes in, lol. But the cookies were actually really delicious that I finished the whole box in one day. XD

And lastly I got this bag of sucking fruit candy from the convenience store in strawberry and honeydew flavour. My friend actually asked me to buy her a few bags and told me they're really good. They're kind of like those lychee jelly candy and is pretty addictive once you eat one. I actually finished eating a whole bag by myself at the hotel one night when I was in Tokyo, lol. 

SANKO Japanese Foods & Gifts Shop in Toronto

I wanted to do a short post on a Japanese foods and gifts shop located in downtown Toronto called SANKO on Queen Street West. I actually recorded a video of this shop awhile back last year for a video contest to win a trip to Japan. Unfortunately I didn't win the contest but I thought it'd be fun to share and talk about it on my blog anyway. There has been so many new Japanese restaurants and shops opening in Toronto lately, especially in the downtown area that it has turned into a little Japan town. UNIQLO has just opened in Eaton Centre on Friday September 30th and I wanted to go and record a video tour there but there was soooo many people lining up to go inside the store. I'm going to wait a bit until it dies down before I go there to shop around. 

Anyway, SANKO has been around in Toronto for quite some time now so it's not new. It has been opened since 1968 and the shop is owned by a lovely Japanese old man by the name of William Mizuno. At the shop you can find everything from Japanese snacks, food, tea pots, home appliances and even magazines that are imported from Japan. The price is a little expensive but that's probably because they need to cover the import fees to have the items sold here. However, they do have some quite unique and cool stuff that you won't be able to find anywhere else here in Toronto. 

SANKO Official website: http://toronto-sanko.com/

Daiso Shop in Harajuku Takeshita-Dori

DAISO! If there is one place where I could literally shop at everyday in Japan and not get bored of it then it would definitely be the Daiso shop in Harajuku. You could literally find everything here from household goods and appliances, bento making tools, DIY crafts and yummy snacks that you can buy as souvenir for only $1! Seriously the best place to shop at if you want to buy things that are cheap but also in good quality as well.

Snacks from Japan

As promised, I'm back with another Japan post on some snacks that I got and brought back with me. I didn't get to buy as much this time because I didn't have enough luggage space to store them in. Well, I actually still had a lot of storage space left in my check in luggage but I did not want to put them in there as I don't want any of my chocolates and cookies to crush into pieces by the time I get back to Canada. Next time I should just ship them all back to myself like I did last time, lol. 

White Lovers chocolate cookies that I got from the White Lovers Chocolate Factory in Sapporo! Ah, I wish I had bought more boxes of these! I like the milk coconut flavour more than the chocolate. And apparently you can actually buy these at the Narita/Haneda airport too so you don't really need to go all the way out to the White Lovers Chocolate Factory in Hokkaido to get them. But you should still visit the chocolate factory anyway! It is soooo amazing, I want to be back there again! 

More chocolates from the White Lovers Chocolate Factory. I like the Matcha flavour more than the Sakura. The Sakura tasted kind of weird. But you can't go wrong with anything Matcha flavour for sure!

DORAEMON CHOCOLATES from the Doraemon Waku Waku Sky Park Gift Shop at the New Chitose airport in Hokkaido. I actually haven't eaten them yet so I don't know what they taste like. I'll come back and edit this post later with more pictures when I actually open the box and eat them, lol. =P

And lastly I picked this up last minute at the airport. It wasn't for me but a souvenir bought for my brother. Plum flavoured sake. It has 18% alcohol in it. I drank a bit of it and it freaking burns your throat!!! So strong!!! 

I'm soooo hungry looking at these pictures now. I wish I had bought more Calbee fries and some Calbee chips home. T____T 

Asakusa: Sensoji Temple, Nakamise Shopping, Tokyo Skytree, Asahi Beer Tower

ASAKUSA! If you want to experience what historical Japan is like in Tokyo then Asakusa would be best place to visit. You can visit the old reconstructed Sensoji Temple and walk around in the Nakamise Shopping Street where there are many food and souvenir stands selling traditional Japanese stuff such as yukata, fans, artwork, pouches, charms and etc. I would recommend going to Asakusa and then walk to the Tokyo Skytree tower which is literally about 15-20 minutes walk away. 

Kaminari Gate.

At Asakusa you can find all kinds of really cute traditional Japanese goods such as charms at an inexpensive price. Great place to shop for souvenirs for family and friends! 

There is also an endless amount of local Japanese sweets and snacks that you can find here at a really affordable price. So many cute and unique snacks to choose from. I wanted to buy all of them!