ZenPop Snack Unboxing: Sakura Treats

As part of my partnership with ZenPop, I receive free boxes of Japanese goodies to review, providing an honest opinion on each product. ありがとう ♡

It must be spring, because ZenPop delivered peachy Sakura Treats!

If you are like me, you’re not indifferent to the beauty of cherry blossoms and the joy they always bring as soon as they bloom . . . And what a truly happy time I had with 19 goodies related to this very theme! I’m about to share this exquisite experience with all of you but, keep it down, after all those treats Luna fell asleep under the sakura tree, so we must keep eating talking quietly.

Ready? Ok, sakura are upon us, and so are some blooming snacks . . .

NISSIN MEN SYOKUNIN SYOYU FROM NISSIN

     

What better way to start greeting this season than with a lovely, colourful cup of ramen? Topped with crispy bamboo shoots, savoury seaweed, green onions, and kawaii flower-shaped kamaboko, this Nissin Men Craftsman Soy Sauce’s (日清麺職人 醤 油) New Gochiso Non-Fried Noodles sure looks pretty, but you should know that it’s also pretty tasty. The soy sauce soup that tastes of whole chicken and the nutty flavour of the noodles together with the aroma of wheat create a combination that is a pure joy to eat! At some point, I even started imagining those cups of noodles blooming like sakura all around . . . Oh my, Nissin, what did you do?

GOKURI FUNWARI PEACH FROM SUNTORY

     

You know when you feel hydrated and you feel the need to drink water, but it doesn’t seem to satisfy your thirst completely? Well, try this Gokuri Funwari Peach drink and tell me if you don’t feel recharged and at peace with the world! Just remember to chill it in the fridge before drinking it to allow your senses to have a truly refreshing experience. Also, the aftertaste is something that cannot be described and will stay with you for a while . . . You may start to see peaches growing on every tree around you, but this is much more plausible than noodles, so don’t freak out, you haven’t gone completely mad (yet)!

KIT KAT MINI MOMO FROM NESTLE

     

They had me at Kit Kat! Truly, it doesn’t take much to convince me to try a new flavour when it comes to this snack, so imagine when they sent me a full bag of mini Kit Kats. What a peachy thing to do, guys! They probably won’t last long, but if you’re lucky and stop by while I still have them, please, ‘have a break, have a peach-flavoured Kit Kat!’

ACE COIN MATCHA AJI FROM CISCO

     

Retro-looking biscuits? Sign me up! These matcha-flavoured, coin-shaped treats are painted with a woodblock print that makes them quite an interesting snack to look at as well as try. They also come with a curiosity about why they have a hole in them . . . Back in the day, people didn’t have purses, so they kept all their coins in a string tied to their clothes. Now, don’t you feel like trying it with these treats? Or not because, you know, we’re fiiiine (darn it, Nissin!).

V NAGEWA JIBUN NI KATSU CURRY AJI / SYORI SHIO-AJI FROM TOHATO

     

A snack designed especially for students who are in a very stressful period—such as those in Japan facing exam season this month—but also for those who work hard. They come in two flavours, salt or curry, and I got the former. They are crispy but not too salty, and they are definitely a nice snack to have during a break or while still studying, because they can give you the right boost to keep going. Also, kudos to the V for Victory that makes you feel like you’re doing great even when you are just having fun putting the chips on your fingers. (I said I’m fine, guys!)

SAKURA WARABI MOCHI FROM TSURUYA SEIKA

     

Have you ever seen a warabi mochi (わらび餅) with a lovely sakura flower floating inside? As soon as I opened the package I thought it was beautiful! Released to celebrate the arrival of spring, this treat is a feast for the eyes, but also a nice thing to try. It almost melts in your mouth, and if you add the cherry blossom syrup you are given with it, you get a rather sweet taste. A lovely treat that can be enjoyed alone or given as a gift to someone special, either way it leaves its mark.

CARAMEL CORN FROM TOHATO

     

If Tohato’s Caramel Corn (キャラ メルコーン) is a classic treat in Japan, it should become one here too, possibly everywhere! Honestly, it’s soooo good!! Tasting it feels like going to the cinema and hoping the movie will last a long time . . . Nothing can go wrong with the soft, crunchy caramel corn puffs that melt in your mouth, it’s just very sad when the movie ends you run out of them.

SUCORN YAMITSUKI BBQ FROM KOIKEYA

     

You think a snack can’t get any better? Think again! Meet some of the most delicious chips you could ever hope to taste, made so not by a regular BBQ flavour but by Yamitsuki (やみつ き), which means ‘addictive’. I don’t even have the words to describe how delicious they are, the only word that comes to mind is, indeed, Yamitsuki! Try them and tell me how many seconds it took you to fall in love . . .

PURE GUMMY FROM KANRO

     

A popular product in Japan, Puré Gummy are unique treats that I couldn’t help but truly love. Out of the two flavours available, grapes or lemon, I got the latter and I count myself particularly lucky because I’m a big lemon lover! If you’re one too, then you won’t be disappointed because as soon as you taste it, you’ll feel the strong lemon flavour and freshness in your mouth. No, I haven’t started seeing lemons everywhere yet, but I don’t rule out that it might happen after I get over the craving for noodles and peaches . . .

NOIR SOFT COOKIE FROM YBC

     

Who wants a cookie? I’ll give you a soft, bittersweet cocoa one filled with vanilla cream inside that you should eat away from the children. Unless you want them to snatch it out of your hands, that is. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

RAMUNE HI-CHEW FROM MORINAGA

     

One of Japan’s most iconic and recognizable sweets, Ramune (ラムネ) is a soft and chewy candy that personally took me back to the days when I used to have a lot of this kind of candy. I truly enjoyed the memories along with the colours and the shuwa ramune flavour of the candy. The excitement is real!

TOKUKOI MILK 8.2 CHOCOLATE FROM MIKAKUTO

     

Possibly the cutest candies wrappers I have ever seen, thanks to the cards with the original messages from King & Prince Takahashi Kaito (キン グ&プリンス橋海人) on them. Don’t they make you want to write a love note? Do it while savouring the delicate and tasty milk chocolate candy, filled with a chocolate cream that is a really nice treat!

SAWAYAKA HAKUTO PIE FROM SANRITSU SEIKA

     

I particularly appreciate the care producers take with peaches in Japan, because their quality is truly top notch. Take this bite-size, flower-shaped pie, the jam is made from domestic peaches and both its sweetness and sourness is a real treat for the palate. I’d say this is a real jam!

COUNTRY MA’AM FROM FUJIYA

     

Chocolate chip cookies that are crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. I think I’ve said it all but, just in case, imagine warming them to the right temperature before taking a bite . . . Aaaand sold!

ELISE STRAWBERRY FROM BOURBON

     

Anyone who fancies western-style wafers, strawberry-flavoured wafers, this is the treat you’ve been looking for. Crunchy and tasty, you can’t not enjoy a strawberry snack, but you can’t have just one either . . . Good thing these come in two!!

MINNA DAISUKI STICK JELLY FROM RIBON

A little stick of konjac jelly and 20% apple juice that you finish before you know it. Still, one should never underestimate the pleasure that comes from the little things in life! Also, don’t you think the animals on the packaging are a nice touch?

KUMA NO PU-SAN STRAWBERRY CHOCO MARSHMALLOW FROM EIWA

     

Look at Winnie the Pooh, known as Kuma no Pu-san (くまのプーさん) in Japan, and tell me you don’t want him. Unfortunately, they can’t give you the adorable teddy bear, but they can somehow make up for it by making him deliver a soft marshmallow with a strawberry surprise inside . . . It’s still not the teddy bear, I know, but trust me when I say it’s a nice and fluffy consolation prize!

AKA BE-GUMMY FROM MARUKAWA SEIKA

     

This candy is known as the candy witch, Aka-be (赤ベー), and as the witch it is, this gum turns your tongue red when you chew it. I won’t lie, I would have been disappointed if it didn’t—I like to keep the kid in me alive—and the fact it was bubbly just gave it an extra kick!

SUMIKKO GURASHI GUMMY FROM CORIS

     

Are you familiar with the Japanese character series Sumikko Gurashi? Well, this chewing gum series features all the characters on the covers, and they are just so adorable! It makes you happy whatever character you get, and as you chew the gum your eyes may land on them and make you smile. And isn’t smiling the best thing?

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Feel like celebrating the beauty (and deliciousness) of the sakura season?

Perfect, because ZenPop also has a special gift for you! If you subscribe to any of their boxes for more than 3 months, you’ll receive one of these matching gifts (shipped separately from the boxes):

• Nanoblock Sakura Tree (3 months)
• Starbucks Sakura Tumbler (6 months)
• 10,000 JPY Gift Voucher on ZenMarket (12 months)

The current campaign is running until March 31st 23:59 (JST), don’t miss it!

Also, don’t forget that you can get a special $6 discount (valid for snack, ramen, and stationery boxes) on your first order by clicking the button below and using the promo code SIN at checkout!

Click here to get $6 off your first box
by using the code SIN at checkout 🤍

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