Enjoy the things you can afford
Brand: Rice Shop Stock Company Cost: 145 yen Found at: Family Mart Why do the snacks in Japan still contain whole, boiled chestnuts? It’s not autumn, chestnut season has passed, but still, I try to have a tasty treat and BAM – a chestnut: just sitting there, soggy and soft and smugly unnecessary. The... Continue Reading →
Brand: Yamasaki Cost: 119 yen Found At: 7-11 During that first autumn in China, the one thing that bothered me more than anything else was the sheer and shocking lack of sugar in my diet. Everything was too salty, and nothing was sweet enough. For that first month, I was lethargic and irritable, unaware that... Continue Reading →
Brand: Owashima Temple Price: 238 yen Found At: AEON Autumn tea sweets, I’ve been waiting for you. I just cannot get enough of sweet bean paste or pounded sweet rice in an autumn shape. I’m crazy for tea sweets anyway, but dye them red and shape them into an autumn leaf and I am in... Continue Reading →
Brand: Morinaga Price: 100 yen Found At: Family Mart I don’t get it. I’ve tried to get it. I’ve thought about it. I’ve reasoned through it. I’ve eaten several to see if I’ve missed something. I’ve tried to approach it logically, emotionally, scientifically, but to no avail. I’m sorry to say that I just don’t... Continue Reading →
Brand: Yamazaki Cost: 129 yen Found At: Mini Stop How do you “autumn up” an old classic? You stick a chestnut in it. And that’s it. They have stuck a cooked chestnut into the middle of a regular mochi and charged me extra for the privilege of feeling “seasonal.” Points for... Continue Reading →
Brand: Tirol Cost: 40 yen Found At: Mini Stop If it were not for the Christmas song, I would have no idea that chestnuts were edible. In fact, before coming to Asia, I just assumed that eating them was a weird, archaic practice – like the Jomon era peoples eating acorns. It’s the kind... Continue Reading →
Brand: Family Mart (Famima Sweets) Cost: 140 yen Found At: Family Mart Fall is here! And just like America’s obsession with pumpkin spice, Japan celebrates the autumn with its own particular seasonal flavor –sweet potato. There are sweet potato cakes, sweet potato pies, sweet potato pastries, and this glorious creation – the sweet potato... Continue Reading →
Brand: Acrue Cost: 160 yen Found at: Acrue Vending Machine, Tokyo Station I am still amazed when apple juice tastes like apple juice. It is one of those things that as an American, you take for granted. You assume that the juice from apples and apple juice are two completely different flavors. But one of... Continue Reading →
The Little Food Blog 