You know Kit-Kat and Hi-Chew, and my regular readers might even know Black Thunder—but I bet you don’t know this, this, this, or this.
Japan is a treasure trove of creative, nostalgic, and often surprising snacks. Some are sweet, some are savory, and some are downright strange—but all of them tell you something about the culture and history of food in Japan. Whether you’re a curious traveler or a long-time Japanophile, here’s the ultimate list of snacks you absolutely have to try.
📷 If your travels bring you to Kyoto consider booking a tour or photography session with us!
1. 🍭 Dagashi: Old-School Snacks That Shaped Childhoods
Dagashi are Japan’s nostalgic cheap candies and snacks—usually priced from ¥10 to ¥100. These playful, often quirky items are staples of traditional candy shops and convenience store corners.
Oyatsu Calpas (おやつカルパス)
Tiny, individually wrapped soft salami sticks. Think of them as Japan’s answer to Slim Jims, but milder and more bite-sized. Originally for kids, these are now enjoyed with beer by adults.
Taratarashitenja-ne-yo (タラタラしてんじゃねーよ)
A spicy, paper-thin dried fish snack with an aggressively cheeky name meaning “Don’t dawdle!” It’s salty, spicy, fishy—and oddly addictive.
Yocchan (よっちゃんイカ)
Bright red sour dried squid. It’s an acquired taste, even for many Japanese. But with sake? It hits different.
Kinako Bou (きなこ棒)
Chewy candy rolled in roasted soybean flour (kinako). Peanut-buttery, traditional, and deeply nostalgic.
Big Katsu (ビッグカツ)
Breaded, chewy, sauce-flavored snack mimicking tonkatsu. It’s funky, chewy, and surprisingly popular.
Kabayaki-san
A variety of dried seafood sheets—some sweet, some spicy, all chewy. Commonly eaten during summer festivals.
Sakuranbo Mochi (さくらんぼ餅)
Fake mochi candies with a cherry flavor. Sold in plastic trays with toothpicks, they’re fun and retro.
CoffeeBeat
Small chocolate-covered coffee beans that feel more mature than most dagashi—often near checkout counters.
2. 🍬 Gummies & Chewy Candy
Japan’s gummy scene is elite. These aren’t your average chewy sweets. They’re juicy, flavorful, and come in endless varieties.
Hi-Chew (ハイチュー)
A soft, chewy candy created to mimic gum that you can swallow—since spitting gum out is considered rude. There are dozens of flavors, and it’s Japan’s most internationally known candy.
Puré / Kajuu Gummy (果汁グミ)
Puré has a sour sugar coating; Kajuu is juicy and firmer. Both use real fruit juice and are staples in conbini snack aisles.
Puccho
Chewy like Hi-Chew, but with jelly cores that surprise first-timers. Sometimes includes fizzy textures or popping bits.
SOURS
As the name suggests, these gummies bring the sour—and often pack more punch than Western sour candies.
Umeboshi Gummies (梅干しグミ)
Sold near the real pickled plums. They’re salty, sour, and not for the faint of heart. A flavor experience.
Konjac Jelly
Slippery, firm jellies often sold in tiny cups. Controversial due to choking risk (especially among kids), but still widely sold.
Poiful / Tsubugumi
Fruit-flavored jellybean-style candies with chewy texture. Colorful and easy to snack on.
3. 🥔 Chips & Savory Snacks
From classic potato chips to ramen-based munchies, Japan has redefined the savory snack.
Calbee Chips
Top flavors include Consommé, Usushio (light salt), and Nori Shio (seaweed salt). Simple, crunchy, and comforting.
Kataage Potato (堅あげポテト)
Hard-fried, kettle-style chips with deep, hearty crunch. Popular among adults, with flavors like black pepper and yuzu salt.
Jagariko (じゃがりこ)
Cup-style potato snacks that look like French fries but are crispy. Often eaten as-is, or mashed into instant potato salad.
Karamucho
Thin, spicy chips with a sweet-and-hot BBQ edge. Introduced kids to spicy food decades ago.
Sapporo Potato
Soft, melt-in-your-mouth potato-corn hybrid chips. Great with beer, popular with kids.
Baby Star Ramen (ベビースターラーメン)
Crunchy dried ramen bits. Originally made from factory scraps, now a legendary snack with its own theme café.
Caramel Corn
Puffy, melt-in-your-mouth sweet corn curls with peanut accents. Often sold in seasonal packaging.
Umaibo (うまい棒)
¥15 puffed corn sticks in wild flavors like natto, takoyaki, and tonkotsu ramen. Kids collect the wrappers, adults snack with beer.
Kaki no Tane (柿の種)
Spicy rice crackers mixed with peanuts. Popular bar snack. Peanut-to-cracker ratio is hotly debated.
4. 🍪 Cookies, Cakes & Crackers
These are the sweet (and sometimes salty) baked snacks that appear in lunchboxes, airport gift shops, and your hotel minibar.
Country Ma’am (カントリーマアム)
Soft, American-style cookies. Best microwaved for gooey texture. White chocolate flavor is a cult favorite.
Editor’s note: Try the Choco Mamire ones. I banned myself from buying them as I could eat a whole bag in one sitting.
Gâteau Raisin (ガトーレーズン)
Cake sandwich filled with raisin cream. Beloved by older generations. Polarizing among younger snackers.
Baum Roll (バームロール)
Swiss-roll style cakes inspired by the German Baumkuchen. Sold as individual snacks—light and creamy.
Tabekko Doubutsu (たべっこどうぶつ)
Animal crackers with English letters printed on each cookie. Childhood favorite, adult comfort food.
5. 🍘 Rice Crackers (Senbei)
Japan’s most traditional snack—firmly rooted in tea culture and seasonal gifting.
Senbei (煎餅)
Charcoal-grilled rice crackers. Usually soy-sauce glazed or salted. Ranges from thin and crispy to thick and hard.
Kabukiage (歌舞伎揚げ)
Thick, heavily flavored senbei. Crunchy, rich, and intensely umami.
Happy Turn (ハッピーターン)
Puffy senbei dusted with sweet-and-salty “happy powder.” No one really knows what it is—but it’s good.
Ebisen / Onigiri Senbei
Shrimp-flavored or rice-ball shaped crackers. Shrimp is the more adult flavor; onigiri shape appeals to kids.
6. 🍫 Chocolates & Chocolate Snacks
The sweet finale: from internationally recognized brands to quirky regional delights, Japan’s chocolate game is creative, nostalgic, and sometimes even competitive. While some products reflect global trends, many are unmistakably Japanese in flavor, design, and cultural presence.
Alfort (アルフォート)
A favorite of train travelers and office workers alike, Alfort combines a rectangular biscuit with a molded square of milk or dark chocolate, often decorated with a sailboat motif. Flavors include standard milk, rich cacao, and even seasonal varieties like chestnut or matcha.
LOOK Fruit
Produced by Fujiya, LOOK chocolates are a box of bite-sized treats with assorted fruit-flavored fillings—think strawberry, banana, pineapple, and blueberry. The creamy, sweet texture makes them popular among younger snackers and nostalgic adults alike.
Lotte
Though originally a Korean company, Lotte’s influence on Japanese confectionery culture is huge. Its chocolate lines include Toppo (chocolate inside a pretzel stick), Ghana Milk Chocolate bars, and a growing line of zero-sugar and health-conscious treats. Lotte also produces winter-only favorites like Crunky and Yukimi Daifuku ice cream.
Koala’s March (コアラのマーチ)
Beloved by children and 90s kids around the world, these koala-shaped cookies are filled with chocolate, strawberry, or milk cream. Each cookie has a different koala printed on it, making it a fun collectible item. In Japan, new seasonal designs and flavors come out regularly.
Meiji (明治)
A cornerstone of Japanese chocolate since 1926. Meiji produces a wide range—from their simple milk chocolate bars to higher-end dark chocolate with cacao content listed prominently. Their Choco Almond line is especially beloved. Meiji is also known for educational packaging and commitment to sustainability.
Galbo (ガルボ)
These soft-baked chocolate morsels have a melt-in-your-mouth texture that’s somewhere between fudge and brownie batter. Galbo comes in flavors like dark chocolate, strawberry, and even matcha. It’s a popular pick for those who like a richer, less crunchy experience.
Apollo
A retro favorite introduced during the 1969 Apollo space mission, these tiny cone-shaped candies combine a chocolate base with a strawberry top. Still popular among kids and adults for their iconic look and sweet fruit flavor.
Kinoko no Yama vs. Takenoko no Sato
Arguably Japan’s most passionate snack rivalry. Kinoko no Yama (mushroom-shaped chocolate on biscuit stalks) faces off against Takenoko no Sato (bamboo shoot-shaped shortbread covered in chocolate). Fans are divided by taste and texture—and the battle continues in TV ads and online polls to this day.
Tirol (チロルチョコ)
These bite-sized chocolates are sold individually, often near convenience store checkouts or in dagashi shops. Tirol experiments with endless flavors: pancake, cheesecake, mochi, kinako, cola—you name it. A fun way to sample something new for ¥10–¥30 each.
DARS
Produced by Morinaga, DARS is a sleek box of uniformly sized square chocolates that slide out in a tray. Creamy, smooth, and usually sold in milk, dark, or white varieties. It’s one of the most “giftable” supermarket chocolates.
Kit Kat (キットカット)
Kit Kats in Japan are a cultural phenomenon. The phrase “Kitto Katsu” sounds like “You’ll surely win,” so they’re popular as good-luck gifts. You’ll find flavors you never imagined: matcha, sake, wasabi, purple sweet potato, hojicha, strawberry cheesecake, yuzu, and more. Regional varieties are sold only in specific areas and are popular souvenir items.
Editor’s note: The orange flavored ones taste like Terry’s Chocolate Oranges and are to die for. Trust me.
Pocky (ポッキー)
Pocky is perhaps the most globally famous Japanese snack. Thin biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate, with countless variations including almond crunch, strawberry, coconut, and even adult-focused bitter chocolate. November 11 is Pocky Day, chosen because 11/11 looks like four Pocky sticks.
Caplico
Caplico is a cone-shaped puff that looks like soft-serve ice cream but is actually filled with aerated chocolate. The texture is light and crispy, and it’s a favorite among kids (and secretly, many adults). The flavors often match the seasons—like peach in spring or caramel in autumn.
Black Thunder (ブラックサンダー)
Once marketed as an affordable snack for students, Black Thunder is now a household name. It’s a chocolate bar filled with cookie bits and puffed rice, making it crunchy, sweet, and satisfying. Limited editions include matcha, bitter chocolate, and even premium versions found in airports and specialty stores.
🎁 Bonus: Where to Find These Snacks
- Don Quijote: Huge selection of limited-edition and bulk snacks.
- Convenience Stores: 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart rotate seasonal and local releases as well as national faves.
- Department Stores: Food halls in Isetan, Daimaru, and Takashimaya are goldmines for high-end sweets.
- Kyoto Specialty Shops: Perfect for beautifully boxed wagashi souvenirs. Check out Nishiki Market for a huge selection.
Conclusion
From ¥10 dagashi to glossy regional Kit Kats, Japanese snacks offer a whirlwind tour of flavors, textures, and cultural quirks. Each bite tells a story—of childhood, nostalgia, regional pride, or just pure invention. Whether you’re snacking in a conbini, exploring a local supermarket, or filling a suitcase with gifts, this guide is your go-to for navigating the wonderfully weird world of Japanese treats.
Hungry yet? You will be.
🎥 For more travel tips and guides on all things Japan check out the PiQtour YouTube channel!
