Latest blogs

Despite being a relatively recent Western import, Valentine’s Day in Japan is a big deal. The celebration first became popular in the 1950s, when large department stores began selling chocolate products as gifts for women to give the special men in their lives. Gift-giving is an important part of Japanese culture, and in particular the...

White Day is celebrated in Japan every year on March 14. It can be summarized as a day when men give gifts and chocolates to the women in their life, but there’s a whole lot more meaning behind it. To fully understand White Day (also written as ホワイトデー in Japanese), it’s important to take a...

Did you know that although Japanese Kit Kats, most widely known for their unique flavors,  didn’t actually come from Japan – but instead originated from England? Almost 70 years after they were first made in the UK, Japan released the very first non-chocolate flavored Kit Kat and things were never the same again. Now, there’s...

Pocky is a name that will pop up in almost every conversation when talking about Japanese candy and Japanese snacks! They’re popular worldwide with plenty of flavors!

Seasonality is Japan’s Specialty In Japan, it’s quite common to find products — most specially food products — that are themed around specific times of the year. These seasonal Japanese Kit Kats are often only available for a short period of time before they’re taken off the shelves until they come back again the same...

The word Taiyaki (鯛焼き) is a combination of tai and yaki. Tai refers to a type of fish, most commonly known as a sea bream, that often represents good fortune in Japanese culture. This is because the sound “tai” is also in the Japanese word “medetai,” which translates as joyous or auspicious. Yaki simply means...