Hey, Funhouse Fam!
This week we’re looking at our Top 10 Japanese Candies!
Japanese candy has never been more popular! Whether it’s exotic flavours, enticing textures, or entirely new candy innovations; there’s always something new and exciting coming from Japan!
There are several big Japanese candy brands that have been around for years and are widely available throughout Canada, like Pocky and Hi-Chew. And while they’re delicious and iconic, most people already know about them.
For a list like this, we want to make sure that everything on it is not only out-of-this-world delicious, but also things you may never have heard of before!
So, a part of the criteria for our Top 10 list is none of the candies are available in typical grocery stores (as far as we know).
All these candies come straight from Japan!
As luck would have it, that little check box came up exactly zero times! Turns out Japan has been keeping all its best candy from us this whole time! But don’t you worry – the best of the best Japanese candy is waiting for you right here!
Whether you’re just starting your exotic candy journey or you’re a seasoned candy connoisseur looking for something new and enticing, our Top 10 list has something for everyone!
So without further ado, we now present to you, our Top 10 Japanese Candies!
KitKat Matcha & Chocolate
What could kick off this list better than a matcha KitKat?
Japanese KitKats have had a cult following for years – and for good reason! They hit the perfect balance between known and novel. Expected and experimental. Recognizable and revolutionary!
Everyone knows what a KitKat is: crispy wafer fingers coated in milk chocolate. Simple, delicious, and the perfect base for experimentation!
For years, Japanese KitKats have been famous for their enormous range of crazy flavours! From simple orange and strawberry, to experimental lemon and apple, to outrageous wasabi and sake! Nothing is sacred and all boundaries will be crossed!
The Matcha & Chocolate KitKat is a great stepping stone into the world of Japanese candy. It features the familiar wafers and milk chocolate base, with a top layer made of rich matcha chocolate!
The matcha used is from the Uji prefecture, where the best matcha in the world is grown each year! It has a wonderfully earthy, slightly bitter taste that is beautifully complimented by the sweetness of the milk chocolate and wafers.
If you love matcha, or if you’re looking to add a little sophistication to snack time, KitKat Matcha & Chocolate is the perfect place to start!
Hi-Chew Premium Shine Muscat
This wouldn’t be a list of top Japanese candies without an appearance from Hi-Chew!
For the last several years, Hi-Chew has been taking the candy world by storm! Perfectly chewy, super juicy, and impossibly fruity; Hi-Chews deserve every bit of hype they get!
When we sat down to develop this list, we decided to limit ourselves to ONE (1) Hi-Chew product. Otherwise we ran the risk of writing about 9 Hi-Chews and a KitKat. So, we consulted with the Candyologists to decide which one would make it.
The winner had to have a uniquely Japanese flavour, come straight from Japan like everything on the list, and most importantly, be super duper crazy delicious!
After a long day of tasting and talking, the choice quickly became clear: Hi-Chew Premium Shine Muscat!
Grape Hi-Chews have a reputation as the best tasting grape candy ever. If you know, you know. I’m here to tell you that the difference between Shine Muscat and grape Hi-Chews is the difference between grape Hi-Chews and a purple sucker from the doctor’s office!
In Canada, a pound of Shine Muscat grapes can cost around $20. In Japan, where expensive fresh fruit is often given as gifts, top-grade Shine Muscats can go for over $100 a pound!
Shine Muscats are large, bright, green-skinned grapes with a very sweet mellow flavour and a distinctive floral aroma. Like all Hi-Chew candies, these delicate fruity flavours are perfectly recreated and infused into every bite!
If you love Hi-Chew, or want to experience an unforgettable grape candy, Shine Muscat is a must get!
Bourbon Premium Triple Grape Gummy
If one premium grape flavour wasn’t enough for you, how about three?!
Bourbon Premium Triple Grape Gummies are made from three of Japan’s most exclusive grape varieties: Nagano Purple, Queen Rouge, and of course, Shine Muscat. These three premium grapes are known collectively as the “Three Grape Sisters,” and are highly prized throughout Japan and Asia.
The grapes used are all grown in the Nagano prefecture – Japan’s “Kingdom of Fruit.” Two of the grapes, the Nagano Purple and Queen Rouge, were recently developed in Nagano by master farmers and grape experts!
Each grape has its own amazing flavour profile that sets it apart from its sisters. The Nagano Purple has very little tartness or acidity to it, a rich sweetness, and a clean aftertaste. The Queen Rouge has a very strong grape sweetness, finishing with a lingering hint of muscat. The Shine Muscat has a very distinct bold fragrance and gentle sweetness that only begins to fade once the candy is completely gone.
Bourbon Premium Triple Grape Gummies are the pinnacle of gummy candy! Their flavours are luxurious and fresh, and the gummy strips have the perfect amount of chewy toothsomeness.
If you love candy as much as we do, this is something you absolutely have to try!
Tough Gummy Cola Sour Candy
These are sour cola gummies turned up to 11!
Tough Gummy Cola Sour Candies are super dense gummies in three delicious drink-inspired flavours!
Tough Gummy is known for having a uniquely dense, satisfying texture without becoming an effortful jaw workout. Unlike candies that start out tough and soften as you work at them, Tough Gummies maintain their structure and texture until the very end!
This pack comes with three flavours: Cola, Energy Drink, and Ramune! Cola offers the crisp classic taste you would expect. Energy Drink has a sharp and in your face flavour right from the start! Ramune is a light, citrusy flavour that is almost understated next to the bullish intensity of the energy drink gummy.
Lastly, all of them are coated in crystals of fast dissolving sour sugar to mimic that fizzy first-sip feeling from a fresh can.
If you’re a fan of gummies, sour candy, or just looking for something new and exciting, you’ve got to try Tough Gummy!
KitKat Milk Tea
That’s right, another tea-flavoured KitKat!
KitKat Milk Tea perfectly captures the comforting flavours of a strong black tea with a big splash of milk! The tea flavour is wonderfully rich, and is perfectly balanced by the sweet milky chocolate coating.
Milk tea has seen a resurgence in popularity in Canada for several years as the drink part of everyone’s favourite bubbly beverage: boba tea! Because of this association, some people think that milk tea is some complex combination of exotic teas and spices that can only be prepared by master boba baristas.
One of our Candyologists (who had never had a boba tea before) was of this belief. When she bit into the KitKat, she paused for a moment before chewing slowly and contemplatively – fully examining the flavours. When she finished, she looked at us quizzically and softly spoke the most iconic candy review we’ve never published:
“It's a KitKat Cuppa, innit?”
Once we recovered from our fit of crying and laughing, we all agreed that it is, indeed, a KitKat Cuppa! Simple flavours – perfectly delivered.
While unfamiliar flavours are fun and exciting, there’s always something nice and comforting about expertly executed familiar flavours. If you want to try the perfect bite of tea, KitKat Milk Tea is exactly what you’re looking for!
Morinaga Refresh Ramune Sour Lemon Candy
When we first tried these candies, we were expecting something similar to SweeTarts or Rockets – a crunchy sugary tablet – but these ramune candies are so much more fun!
These little candies pack a big hit of citrusy refreshment! They have a bright tart lemony flavour that stays with you right until the end.
But the most exciting part of these candies is the way they fizz and dissolve on your tongue!
As the candy dissolves, it reveals little crystal inclusions. Whether they were cooling crystals, a new source of citrus, or just there for a bit of texture, we couldn’t quite agree. Whatever their actual purpose, they absolutely nailed the mouthfeel of that first refreshing sip of a nice crispy ramune!
If you want a take-anywhere candy that will always quench your citrus cravings, what you want is Morinaga Refresh Ramune!
Mentos Ramune
Mentos Ramune is exactly what you think it is – a thin crispy shell surrounding a breath-freshening chewy ramune candy! And it’s every bit as delicious as it sounds!
With this being the third ramune candy on the list, you might be thinking that we did this on purpose; that we might be showing favouritism to ramune because it’s so iconically Japanese.
Nope! It just worked out that way!
If a Japanese candy has two flavours, one of them is probably ramune. Not to mention it’s a delicious flavour by its own merits! It’s light, refreshing, and citrusy without being so in-your-face like some lemon candies can be.
If you’re looking for a familiar candy with a new flavour, Mentos Ramune is what you’re looking for!
Asahi Strawberry Hard Candy
Yes, it’s the same Asahi.
I really feel like I’m repeating myself with these fruit candies, but it’s hard not to when they’re all so incredible!
The strawberry flavour is amazing! They’re made with Tochiotome strawberry puree and juice, which gives them a farm-fresh berry sweetness and an almost cherry-like tartness. They have such a rich depth of flavour that you just can’t get from ordinary strawberry candy!
And flavour isn’t the only bit of berry goodness these hard candies are rich in! Just 4 of these candies contain an impressive 160mg of vitamin C and 3.6mg of anthocyanin (the antioxidant found in purple foods like backcurrants and açaí).
If you’re looking for the pinnacle of pastilles, what you’re looking for is Asahi Strawberry Hard Candy!
Meiji Milk Chocolate
If you’ve read this far thinking, “surely they’ll get to something normal eventually,” this is it. No fancy flavours or inclusions here – just a nice, simple, well-made chocolate.
It’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement of exotic flavours and textures that Japanese candies offer, but sometimes you just want a little bit of normal chocolate. And when it comes to Japanese chocolate, it doesn’t get much better than Meiji.
Made with Venezuelan cocoa, Meiji milk chocolate is a rich, silky chocolate that is best enjoyed slowly. The concave shape of the chocolate blocks are designed to sit upside down on your tongue and slowly melt away; giving you a luxuriously smooth, almost meditatively smooth chocolate experience.
Meiji Chocorooms
The final item on our list is a personal favourite of mine.
Meiji Chocorooms are a delightful little treat made of crispy crackers dipped in a combination of milk and dark chocolate. And they’re just so darn cute, too!
The crackers are almost like a plain Goldfish cracker, but a little crispier. The chocolate mushroom caps are a perfectly portioned, precisely sweetened blend of dark and milk chocolate. Together, they are a brilliantly balanced snack; pairing sumptuous chocolate with airy crackers that contrast and compliment each other beautifully.
There are all sorts of cracker/breadstick + chocolate snacks out there, but Meiji Chocorooms are the top of the class. They’ve taken a simple concept and, in my opinion, perfected it. I love a box of Pocky every now and then, but I’ll take these over those every time!
That concludes our list of our Top 10 Japanese Candies!
We hope that we’ve convinced you to expand your candy horizons and take a step outside your candy comfort zone! Whether it’s a baby step like a new KitKat flavour or a giant leap into fancy fruity gummies!
Do you agree with our list? Did we miss your favourite Japanese candy? Are there any you’re excited to try? Let us know down below!
Until next time! Stay Fun!
