Food & Drink

When Spring appears, you’ll find everyone in Japan doing one thing: picnicking. Whether it’s at the park with friends, near the river with family, under cherry blossoms or pre-cherry blossom season, everyone will take their own special type of Japanese picnic food to share with guests. 

You may have seen or heard of a fruit in some of your favorite Japanese dishes, called yuzu. But what is yuzu? Cultivated in Japan, this tiny, yellow, wrinkled ball of citrus fruit is ¾ the size of a golf ball and has a unique flavor that is easily recognizable.

Japan loves a good party, so everyone needs a bit of extra energy from time to time. If you do too, make like a Japanese salaryman and have a Japanese energy drink from a convenience store for breakfast.

Unlike the West, in Japan, Christmas is not a religious event. Rather, just like Halloween and Valentines Day, Christmas season is simply party time. So then, what kind of Japanese Christmas food do people have to get their winter holiday parties started? Let’s find out!

It’s the spookiest time of the year once again – Halloween! And Japan is not shy when it comes to limited edition sweets and snacks. Never to be outdone are the offerings from Starbucks Japan! This year they are adding plenty of fall flavors to their Halloween drink (and we’re here for it)!  And who…

Around 2016, a certain set of images went viral that featured a bunch of adorable beady-eyed hamster shaped objects on a baking sheet. People all over the internet re-tweeted, blogged, or reposted the images all over the internet with titles that used the phrase “Japanese hamster bread.” However, for every post talking about it, there…

Anyone interested in the world of Japanese bread has to know about Japanese curry bread. A perfect marriage between sweet and savory Japanese curry and deep-fried bread, curry bread has become popular all across Japan. Convenience stores, supermarkets, and bakeries across the country sell this savory snack for everyone to enjoy. Let’s learn more about…

Finding new taiyaki fillings and shapes can be a popular hobby for travelers visiting new places in Japan. Trying out new taiyaki is a must for the monthly Japanese candy and snack box TokyoTreat team. So let’s go over our 5 favorite regional Japanese taiyaki flavors and shapes!  Taiyaki are a beloved traditional Japanese snack…

Instant noodles were invented in the 1950s by the Japanese inventor Momofuku Ando, then marketed by Nissin under the name Chikin Ramen (Chicken Ramen). In 1971, Nissin went on to combine their instant noodle invention with disposable cup packaging and a delicious flavor packet, producing the Japanese cup ramen we love today. Image via Shutterstock…

If you’ve ever been to Japan and checked out the bakery section, chances are you’ll have come across shoku-pan (食パン), otherwise known as Japanese milk bread or Hokkaido milk bread. Japanese milk bread is one of the most popular options in the world of Japanese bread.  In the past year, gourmet shoku-pan has seen a…

Taiyaki are on many people’s must try Japanese snacks list! The fish shaped waffles are often highly sought after, not only by tourists looking to experience authentic Japanese snacks, but also by Japanese people who are looking to indulge! We here at the monthly Japanese candy and Japanese snack subscription box service TokyoTreat love tasty…

Cup ramen really is amazing, isn’t it? It’s super affordable, has plenty of delicious flavors, and is perfect at home or on the go.  But some of us love a little kick too, especially in our noodles. There’s something about a bit (or a lot) of added spice that  may be a little bit painful,…