5 Best Japanese Chocolate Snacks to Buy

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When it comes to souvenir shopping in Japan, one of the best places to visit is a local supermarket! The supermarket may seem boring, but there’s a ton of really unique sweets and snacks that you wouldn’t be able to find in your home country! 

That said – when you set out on your quest for sweet treats and savory snacks in the local market or even a discount shop like Don Quijote, it can all become a little overwhelming. What’s best to buy? Will this even taste good? Is this the right choice? 

These are all typical questions – and to help you work through them, we’re going to break it down into a single category today – chocolate! 

Japan is known for its chocolate snacks – there are a large number of chocolate products by different brands available at shop shelves such as KitKat, Meiji, and Glico. All of them give you high-quality, unique and creative Japanese chocolate.

Yes, Japan will be a perfect place for your sweet tooth, and to help you to decide the shopping list, we have chosen the best chocolate you need to try and add to your list, ready? Let's check them out!

1.  KitKat

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We’re sure that you’re all familiar with these iconic sweets. You’ll surely be able to find KitKats in your own country – but in Japan, you’ll find over 30 different flavors of unique KitKats!  This makes KitKats a favorite and iconic Japanese souvenir for locals and travelers alike! 

With flavors like sake, cherry blossom, cheese cake, green tea and sweet potato, there’s a KitKat in Japan for everybody! 

Our best tip is to look out for seasonal and limited edition KitKats while you’re traveling Japan – and grab them all! 

2. Pocky

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Just like KitKats, Pocky by Glico are an iconic Japanese sweet snack that is widely sold abroad nowadays, however – nothing can beat the flavors you can find in Japan! 

You can find unique flavors specific to certain regions such as Kyushu Strawberry or the super delicious Sweet Potato flavor only available in the Hokuriku region of Japan! 

3. Koala no March

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Koala no March (meaning Koala’s March) is a bite-sized snack that is most commonly found with chocolate or strawberry filling – but can also be found in matcha, honey or even banana flavors! 

The snacks are shaped like cute little koalas and printed with various themes and expressions. It’s really fun to see each unique face as you much. 

4. TOPPO

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TOPPO by Lotte is known in Japan as “reverse Pocky”. As it’s nickname would imply, where Pocky is a breadstick covered in icing, TOPPO is a breadstick with delicious creme filling inside. 

Just like most Japanese snacks and sweets – there are the standard flavors as well as plenty of seasonal and limited edition varieties to try!

We’d recommend TOPPO as a souvenir for friends and family that are already familiar with Pocky – as it’s still exclusively sold in Japan it’s sure to be a great crowd pleasing gift! 

5. Kinoko no Yama & Takenoko no Sato

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Kinoko no Yama and Takenoko no Sato are popular chocolate snacks by Meiji. 

• Kinoko no Yama is a mushroom-shaped snack made of chocolate and biscuit.
• Takenoko no Sato is a bamboo shoot shaped snack made of chocolate and biscuit.

And there are divided opinions about which one of these two snacks is more delicious, so you have to try them and choose which one is the best!

Have you decided which one you would add to your souvenir shopping list? 

Japan also loves unique DIY candy – you should add these to your list, too,  but first, you can check Top 5 Weird Japanese DIY Candies so you know what you’re getting into!

If you want to treat yourself to some delicious Japanese treats after all this research, check out what’s inside our box! TokyoTreat’s subscription boxes bring you a wide variety of Japanese snacks to try every single month! 

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