Enjoy the things you can afford
Brand: Meiji Price: 120 yen Found At: Yamadai When I was a kid, pocky was always a rare novelty treat that we could only get when we traveled up to the big city with the Asian grocery store. By the time I was in high school, we started to see them in the Safeways and... Continue Reading →
Brand: Family Mart Price: 110 yen Found At: Family Mart What do you pair with a glass of wine, Donna Sommers cranked up to full volume, and a single day to pack up your apartment before you move out? Chocolate, of course. Every woman (and man, for that matter) needs that occasional act of reclamation... 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: Fujiya Cost: 115 Found At: Family Mart The image depicted on this box is that of the mont blanc, the single worst confection for sale here in Japan. It’s a tower of mediocre, dry frosting, dispensed in long threads to create a mountain of sweet string. It is as if someone dropped a... Continue Reading →
Brand: Fujiya Cost: 115 yen Found At: Family Mart I always appreciate when one thing is actually two things. I am, by nature, a bit of a scavenger, preferring to try little bits off everyone’s plates than to sit and eat my own. This has never gone over well. So, even though I was not... Continue Reading →
Brand: Fujiya Cost: 115 Found At: Family Mart My co-worker last term was obsessed with “Country Ma’am.” They are a brand of bulk cookies that are sold here, and to be fair they are really good. They are soft and sweet and most importantly, they are cheap. And like Twix, they have a variety of... Continue Reading →
Brand: Tirol Cost: 30 yen Found At: Mini Stop Tirol Chocolates are ubiquitous in Japan. They cost between 20 and 30 yen, are about 3 cm square, and come in hundreds if not thousands of novelty flavors. One of my coworkers is obsessed with them, bringing in all sorts of exotic flavors that I can... Continue Reading →
Brand: Meiji Cost: 100 yen Found At: Family Mart, Osaka The Meiji chocolate headquarters in the Tokyo area has the best building design I have ever seen. Move over Kanazawa art museum, there’s a new architectural innovator in town. The wall facing the Shinkansen is designed to look exactly like a giant Meiji chocolate bar.... Continue Reading →
Brand: Bourbon Cost: 100 yen Found At: Lawson You cannot go wrong with Alfort. They sell a few different variations of chocolate on cookie, and all of them are amazing. After all, it’s hard to mess up a combination like that. But these ones are especially tasty, with dark chocolate cookie base and vanilla white... Continue Reading →
Brand: Family Mart Cost: DOESN’T MATTER but actually 108 yen Found At: Family Mart I’m not sniffy when it comes to chocolate. I can recognize good chocolate, but I will eat Hershey’s chocolate bars happily enough. I’ve heard the arguments against cheap chocolate - often from Europeans who are clearly working through some candy-based trauma.... Continue Reading →
The Little Food Blog 