TokyoTreat vs Bokksu: A Booklet Comparison

Subscription boxes are nothing new and have been around for a while. Even though we can buy almost anything from online shops, subscription services offer the thrill of mystery since you often don’t know exactly what you will get. Due to the pandemic and people’s inability to travel, these subscription services have jumped into the spotlight and helped connect people and cultures across the world.

Fans of Japan and Japanese culture are in luck since there are quite a few Japanese based subscription services to choose from. But with so many choices, how do you know you are getting the right one?

There is no denying that TokyoTreat and Bokksu are two very popular Japanese snack subscription boxes shipped from Japan. Both TokyoTreat and Bokksu delivers to your door an authentic Japanese snacking experience. And a TokyoTreat box might be right for some people while a Bokksu box might be better for others. With a lot of the snacks coming down to personal preference and taste, let’s look at something a bit more objective; the booklet.

For some the booklet might just be a throw away insert that comes with the box. While we admire your bravery for eating unknown snacks, there is a lot to be learned by looking in the booklet. A lot of time and research goes into making the booklet informative and also entertaining. Let’s see which booklet strikes that delicate balance.

Information

Both TokyoTreat and Bokksu’s booklet include information about the products that can be found in their boxes, as well as extra Japanese culture points and articles.

Bokksu offers to teach you things like Japanese words and phrases, basic geography, and briefly about a culture point. This leaves the bulk of the booklet to focus solely on the products found in bokksu’s box and their descriptions.

TokyoTreat and Bokksu are similar on this point. However, when it comes to booklet information TokyoTreat offers a bit more food education, culture articles, current event articles, and other points that might enrich the box experience. There is no denying that you are going to walk away from both of these booklets with a lot more knowledge than you had in the beginning!

Want easy access to the newest snacks, drinks, and noodles straight from Japan? Check out TokyoTreat, the monthly subscription service that brings Japanese snack culture right to your door.

Culture

A great thing about Japanese subscription boxes is that there is no shortage of cultural aspects to talk about in the booklet. Unfortunately for Bokksu subscribers, here is where we start to see a difference. Bokksu’s booklet does not take full advantage of these interesting culture points to really teach their subscribers about the day to day culture of Japan.

That is a different story for TokyoTreat’s booklet. TokyoTreat has more culture articles than Bokksu and also tend to be more in-depth. Fans of Japanese books and comics might also be surprised to know that TokyoTreat’s booklet follows the standard Japanese reading order from right to left!

Current Events

Japan is a country that loves seasonality, and this is reflected in their seasonal menus and events. While both TokyoTreat and Bokksu have seasonal food items included in their boxes there is a bit of a difference between the amount of current cultural events explored in the booklets. 

A great thing about TokyoTreat’s booklet is how current it is. The seasonal change in foods in Japan is reflected in the food education available in the booklets. Trendy collaboration menus are explained and explored as well as pop up food stalls and restaurants. 

Unfortunately for Bokksu, the booklets are informative, but not always current. There are many missed opportunities to share with subscribers how these snacks fit into a modern cultural perspective. 

Bonus: Community

There is no denying the excitement that you feel when you get a shout out from one of your faves. In TokyoTreat’s booklet a whole page has been dedicated to celebrating their growing community of subscribers! 

It is up to you to decide which snack subscription service from Japan you want. And a lot of factors go into picking the right service. Although the booklet is just one part of the subscription service puzzle, we hope this comparison was helpful.

Want a more specific comparison? We also took an indepth look at TokyoTreat and Bokksu’s Valentine’s Day Box to see which made hearts flutter. Want to compare just the snacks? We took a look at TokyoTreat and Bokksu’s August boxes to see which snacks were the best.

Again, these are just a few points to compare when looking to decide which Japanese snack box is right for you. Is there anything you want to add to this list? Comment below and discuss with others who have tried these boxes.