Earlier this month, I took a long-awaited (and much-deserved) vacation to Tokyo, Japan with my brother and his friend. Needless to say, it was all very new and exciting, since it was my first (but definitely not last!) trip to one of the busiest cities in the world.

I won't bore you with my travel photos (that will probably come in another post - if ever - since I'm still sorting them out) but what I am going to share with you is my crazy SNACKS haul! I mean, we're talking the land of Pocky, Tokyo Banana and weirdly-flavoured Kit Kats, after all. NOT buying back any snacks would be a crime against food. ಠ_ಠ


So, let's begin! (Warning: Picspam ahead!)

Sake Kit Kat

Look at the packaging! Without the big Kit Kat label, you might think there really was a bottle of Japanese wine in there. (≧∇≦) I rarely drink alcoholic beverages, but when I found out that Japan was releasing a 日本酒 sake version of their Kit Kat, I just knew I had to get it during my trip. The Sake Kit Kat has a fairly distinct sake fragrance, but the taste is just nice. It strikes a good balance; not too overwhelming but not totally masked by the white chocolate.

(Mount Fuji) Strawberry Cheese Cake Kit Kat

Another Kit Kat variation with unique packaging! This is the Strawberry Cheese Cake Kit Kat that is supposedly a Mount Fuji exclusive, but I've seen some stores in downtown Tokyo selling it too. Haven't tried this one yet but I'll get to it soon. ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Wasabi, Sakura Matcha and Wa Ichigo (strawberry) Kit Kat

Some other flavours of Kit Kat. The bigger boxes like the two above contain 9 x 2 fingers, but the Wasabi Kit Kat pictured here has 12 x 2 fingers, while the Sakura Matcha Kit Kat and Wa Ichigo Kit Kat have 3 x 2 fingers each. The combination of wasabi and Kit Kat might put some people off, but after giving it a try, I find it's actually not too bad, and definitely unique. The wasabi scent is not really apparent when you open the packet, but the flavour is there without being too strong. I haven't opened the other two so I can't comment on the taste, but you can bet it tastes more normal than the wasabi, hahaha!

Giant Rainbow Pocky and Pocky Demitasse

When I saw the words "Giant Pocky" paired with rainbow colours (I just call it the Giant Rainbow Pocky), I didn't hesitate to grab a box. (๑>◡<๑) Inside there are 3 giant sticks of each colour/flavour Pocky, which include chocolate, green tea, melon, strawberry and grape. My favourites are the green tea and melon flavoured ones. ;) The smaller box of Pocky is an extra dark chocolate version called Pocky Demitasse, which is shorter and thicker than your regular Pocky and apparently has a slight bitter dark chocolate taste. Looking forward to having this with a nice cup of coffee!

Japanese Sweet Potato and Butter Pretz

More stick-like snacks! While Pocky is always coated with a layer of flavoured chocolate, Pretz generally look the same - until you bite into one, that is. Spotted these Japanese Sweet Potato Pretz and Butter Pretz at Daiso and proceeded to grab 2 of each.

Fried rice seasoning (roast pork) and Hello Kitty pasta

(Also from Daiso) Who doesn't love roast pork fried rice? Added the packet of Hello Kitty pasta to my cart because it's so much cheaper than the price they're selling it here. Not exactly snacks, but these will definitely make my usual meals tastier and cuter, ha!

Disney lollipops (3 for 100 yen)

You know how they put things near where you have to queue up for the cashier and then you end up adding them to your shopping basket? That's exactly what happened with these Disney lollipops from Daiso. They were cute and 3 for 100 yen so yeah, impulse snack purchase. (⌒_⌒;)

Snacks from Fujiyama (Mount Fuji) / Yamanashi prefecture

Besides the first two Kit Kats, we also bought some Fujiyama (Mount Fuji) / 山梨 Yamanashi prefecture exclusive snacks during our trip to see Mount Fuji from Kawaguchiko (Lake Kawaguchi). The box with a kawaii little Mt Fuji is some sort of biscuit with chocolate, if I remember correctly, while the two 'cups' are some noodle-flavoured crispy potato fries.

Bottled milk tea, red tea and jasmine green tea

I'm loving Japan simply because of the vast selection of ready-to-eat food and huge variety of drinks that are available at their conbini (convenience stores). Bought the two Kirin tea drinks because of the cute Disney Tsum Tsum packaging (｡◕‿◕｡) and the jasmine green tea was a random drink I bought from Don Quixote in case I felt thirsty.

Rainbow cloud lunch box set

You know me, I can't resist anything that's rainbow and cute. When I saw this set of three cloud-shaped lunch boxes with a rainbow strap at Rainbow Spectrum (reminds me of Smiggle) in Harajuku, I just had to buy it. Luckily, it was only about 500 yen (approx RM19) after tax, which I think is a pretty sweet deal.

Starbucks Japan Sakura Mini Tumblr (Cheery series, March 2016) ♥

If you follow my Instagram @lauraleia, you'd have seen my first post in Tokyo was the Sakura Blossom and Strawberry Frappucino, but what you probably didn't know was that after finishing the drink, I went downstairs and proceeded to buy this super pretty Starbucks Cheery Sakura mini tumbler, which was part of a new special/limited edition Sakura collection that had just launched that day (1 March). I've been searching around for official images of this, but so far I couldn't find any (even though there was a poster at the cashier). See the full range here; mine is the tiny one smack right in the middle of the second shelf.

I even brought back the cup because of the printed sakura petals...

That's all for my Tokyo Snacks Haul... Or is it?
That can't be right, because there's still the ever-popular Tokyo Banana in the first picture that I haven't talked about.  (¬‿¬)


Yup, I put most of the snacks in a zippered storage bag within my luggage, but I totally forgot that I had some other snacks that were sealed in Matsumoto Kiyoshi and Don Quixote tax-free bags together with my makeup/skincare purchases.

Easter and Baked Kit Kats

Yup, more Kit Kats! The Easter Kit Kat seems to the one of the first Easter-themed products to be released this year, and it looks like ordinary white chocolate Kit Kats except for the designs stamped on it. I'll be trying out the Baked Kit Kat one of these days and see if it turns out like in the photos, lol. These were much cheaper than the special Kit Kats in boxed packaging.

Kracie Rose Candy

Finally got to taste the Kracie Rose Candy and they were really yummy! The rose fragrance mixed with the berry-flavoured candy was surprisingly nice, and didn't have that overly strong artificial rose scent. My mum and I both prefer the light pink packet (which has a more distinct rose scent and lighter berry taste) over the red packet (stronger berry taste). It has a thin candy shell that covers a chewy candy inside.

Matcha Meltykiss and Lotte Ghana Extra Cacao (Valentine's edition)

Green Tea Meltykiss? Yes, please! Just like the name suggests, these delicious Meltykiss chocolates melt in your mouth and are an absolute bliss to savour. Still not quite sure whether the box of love-shaped Ghana Extra Cacao - presumably for White Day on 14 March - is just chocolate or chocolate-covered biscuits.

Matcha (green tea) beer and limited edition pink can Asahi

 Did anybody say beer? Well, we were lucky enough to encounter some very pretty limited edition sakura-themed drinks during our stay, and one of it is this pink Asahi. (It's just regular Asahi with pink flowery packaging, lol) The other is a match (green tea) beer (?) I randomly bought from DonQui because it was cheap and I was fascinated, haha!

Ah, finally! We get to the end of the post (and the end of our JP¥ lol). These were bought at Tokyo (Haneda) International Airport's International Departures.

Tokyo Banana Tree Syally Mate Cookies

At first my bro and I decided not to buy the famous Tokyo Banana cake, as we felt it was basically banana-flavoured cakes with banana filling - nothing too special, had to be consumed quickly, and we have lots of (better) banana cake choices back home anyway. Then we spotted these Tokyo Banana Syally Mate cookies and thought it was the perfect choice: it's still Tokyo Banana but it's in cookie form (not cake!) so it can keep longer, there are more pieces (16 x 2 flavours) to go around and the price is the same as the regular Tokyo Banana cake. Problem solved. (✿◠‿◠)

Royce Nama Chocolate and Potato Chip Chocolate

Bought these using our remaining Japanese yen. Sure we could buy these back in Malaysia... at twice the price! If you've eaten these before, then no explanation is needed; if you haven't... well, let's just say these Royce Nama Chocolates are like the upgraded version of Meltykiss chocolates. Chocolate-covered potato chips? Bring it on. (｀∇´)ψ

Sakura food at Ueno Park where we saw early cherry blossoms (sakura)! ^_^

Okay, we're FINALLY at the end of the post. (Told ya it was gonna be a long one.) Which one would you like to try, or if you've eaten them before, which one was your favourite? What other snacks from Japan would you recommend? Tell me; I'd love to know! (◕‿◕✿)