Say "Thank You" With These Japanese Snacks

by Danny Taing

Who doesn’t love getting food as a gift? In Japan, small sweet snacks and food items are common presents. If you’re coming back from vacation, it’s expected to bring back omiyage or souvenirs from your trip. For example, Kyoto is famous for matcha, so you might bring back green tea-flavored cookies or Kit Kats. If a friend is sick, it’s tradition to bring them fruit. If you had a coworker who has been a huge help to you this year, you might send them oseibo, an end-of-the-year gift to express your gratitude. Oseibo can be anything from a box of sweets, to noodles, to a nice bottle of wine. The next time you want to say thank you to someone, make a statement with these equally adorable and delicious Japanese snacks!

Japanese Spicy mini heart senbei rice crackers

Heart-shaped senbei

Show your love with mini heart-shaped rice crackers! Senbei, or Japanese rice crackers, normally come in a circular shape and are a popular omiyage food item, but Japanese snack companies continue to come out with new forms and flavors to stand out. Be careful though, these tiny hearts pack a punch with a spicy chili powder seasoning!

Puchi pure gummy orange and grape flavor Japanese gummy

Heart-shaped gummies

Move aside Sweethearts Valentine’s Day candies! These heart-shaped fruity gummies are too cute and the pyramid pouch makes for quite a unique presentation. Kanro Puré is known in Japan for their gummy candies made with real fruit juice. Each little heart is bursting with a natural, sweet grape flavor that contrasts well with the sour powder coating.

amaou strawberry kirara Japanese cookie

Strawberry Sandwich cookies

For someone who’s been really sweet, check out these adorable pink cookies filled with a special strawberry cream! The Strawberry Kirara sandwich cookies are made with Amaou strawberries, which are regarded as the biggest, sweetest, and reddest strawberries found in Japan. Each cookie has a tall, fluffy layer of cream with pieces of freeze-dried Amaou strawberries to give a real taste of this famous fruit.

Bokksu white chocolate strawberry

White strawberry

There’s chocolate covered strawberries, but how about strawberries filled with chocolate? If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind present, white chocolate-infused strawberries are a wonderful choice. Plus, these freeze dried strawberries with their bright red color really stands out when plated. With the crisp and tartness of the freeze dried fruit, plus the sweetness of the white chocolate, this gift is a pleasant surprise from start to finish.

Hokkaido famous souvenir snack shiroi koibito cookie

Shiroi Koibito

For the very best, give them the creme of the crop when it comes to Japanese snacks. Shiroi Koibito is one of the most popular omiyage, continuing to rank high in popularity every year. It consists of a sweet and delicate layer of white chocolate sandwiched between two thin butter cookies. The cookie brings to mind the snow in Hokkaido, the cold northern region where it comes from.

Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory famous Japanese cookie souvenir

Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory

Another scrumptious sandwich cookie gift option are the cheese cookies by Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory, also hailing from Hokkaido. While Shiroi Koibito cookies are sweet, Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory serves up savory options with cheese cookies made with camembert and salt.

nekocha Japanese green tea

Animal-themed Tea Bags

For cat lovers out there, these green tea bags with cat silhouette paper tags are the perfect gift! The name of these tea bags, Nekocha, is adorable as well, combining the words neko “cat” plus cha “tea.” Or, if your friend is a dog person, don’t worry, we’ve got them covered too with doggy tea bags! Tea is a wonderful gift, especially in the coming cold months. Best of all, once finished with all the tea bags, your friend can string all the cat tags together for a little garland to hang up at home. What a truly memorable gift!

Bokksu subscription box - best Japanese snacks

Bokksu Subscription Snack Box

Or if you can’t decide on one or two Japanese snacks, give the gift of a Japanese snack box! Our snack subscription boxes are a great treat because your giftee gets a wide selection of goodies to choose from, all neatly presented in a nice box. Bokksu especially prides itself on bringing you authentic Japanese snacks in a thoughtfully curated box with monthly themes and a guide book with info on each and every treat.

join Bokksu Japanese snack subscription box service today

Learn more about how to say thank you in Japanese below!


Author Bio