People around the world love Japanese candy, but what types of candy are most popular amongst the Japanese themselves? These are the 15 most popular candies, based on the results of this survey conducted in 2020, the Japanese site ranking.net and Amazon.jp’s best selling list (excluding savory snacks, foreign brand candies, and duplicates). These candy types are common in Japan, where they can be bought at most convenience stores, but many are much less common abroad. We bet there are a few Japanese sweets on this list you’ve never seen before!

14. Mountain Mushroom (Kinoko no Yama) —  きのこの山 (Meiji)

No, Kinoko no Yama don’t actually contain mushroom. Instead, they are super cute mushroom-shaped snacks! The stem of the mushroom is made of cookie, while the umbrella is made of milk chocolate.

13. Ore no Milk Candy — 俺のミルク (Nobel)

The “Ore no Milk” candies are made of high-quality Hokkaido milk. “Ore” is a manly way of referring to yourself in Japanese, so the name means that these are milk candies for manly men. But don’t worry, even if you’re not a manly man, you can still enjoy the sweet milky flavor of these hard candies.

12. Fruit Juice Gummies — 果汁グミぶどう (Meiji)

These Japanese gummy candies are made with 100% real fruit juice. The chewy candies come in a variety of fruit flavors. They are colorant-free and shaped like the fruit they taste like. They’re a great candy for getting your fruit in!

11. Moonlight  —  ムーンライト (Morinaga & Co., Ltd.)

These cookies have been popular since 1960, due to their rich taste of butter and egg. The are named “moonlight” because of their full moon shape and light color. The cookies’ texture is crispy, but they melt in your mouth when dipped in tea.

10. Pai no Mi  —  パイの実 (Lotte)

The name of these mini pastry pies means “fruit of the pie”. But these pies have nothing to do with real fruit, rather they are named and designed after the breadfruit, a fruit which tastes like bread after being cooked. The tiny pies have a flaky crust surrounding a melty filling  —  perfect for popping in your mouth!

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9. Black Thunder  —  ブラックサンダー (Yuraku Confectionery)

The secret to this crispy candy bar is the Japanese rice puffs embedded in the cacao. The black of this candy bar’s name is a reference to the dark chocolate, while the thunder part refers to Raijin, the Japanese god of thunder. It’s truly a candy bar worthy of the gods!

8. Meiji Chocolate Effect Milk —  明治ミルクチョコレート(Meiji)

Meiji is the number one most popular brand of Japanese chocolate. It was first released in 1926, and cost only 20 yen. Since then, the recipe has never changed, and neither has this chocolate’s popularity!

7. Pocky  —  ポッキー (Ezaki Glico)

This is one Japanese candy you’re probably already familiar with. These easy-to-eat cookie sticks coated in chocolate are a fan favorite, especially their green tea and strawberry flavors. Pocky even has its own holiday, Pocky Day on November 11th!

6. Choco Pie — チョコパイ (Lotte)

A moist cake, covered in chocolate and filled with marshmallow? Yes please! Lotte’s Choco Pie is the perfect Japanese snack for when you feel like a slice of cake. 

5. Chocolate Effect 72% Cacao  — チョコレート効果カカオ72% (Meiji)

Meiji’s 72% cacao chocolate is the dark counterpart to their milk chocolate. It has a more adult taste that appeals to the health-conscious for its polyphenols.

4. Takenoko no Sato — たけのこの里 (Meiji)

Takenoko means bamboo sprout, and these sweets are shaped like adorable little bamboo sprouts. They are made of crumbly cookie coated in chocolate. These bamboo sprout sweets have had a longstanding rivalry with Meiji’s other sweet, the Mountain Mushroom, leading to the great “Takenoko Mushroom War”!

3. Macadamia chocolate — マカダミアチョコレート (Meiji)

These chocolate-covered macadamia nuts were originally sold as souvenirs from Hawaii, but they were so popular that they began to be sold nationwide!

2. Mini KitKat — キットカットミニ (Nestlé Japan)

These pocket-sized KitKats are perfect for a study break. KitKats in Japan only really became popular after they were marketed to students as a lucky study snack that would help you pass your exams. Since then, Japanese KitKats have become famous worldwide for their many unique flavors.

1. Ramune Candy — ラムネ(Morinaga)

These candies are sweet and sour, and fizz in your mouth. They have the taste of the popular Ramune soda. They even come in a Ramune shaped bottle!

So What is the Most Popular Candy in Japan?

You might expect it to be one of the famous Japanese brands abroad, like Pocky. But it’s actually a snack that’s found in many forms around the world: Meiji’s chocolate-covered almonds! That’s right, people in Japan love the simple combination of chocolate and nut too.