The tasty treats from Japan will drive your taste buds crazy
Photo: Shutterstock
Japan Crate delivers packages of selected sweets and other treats that will draw you into the magic of the Land of the Rising Sun – now also available in Slovenia.
A person opening a white chocolate strawberry cheesecake Kit Kat might already know that they are supposed to first freeze this Japanese treat and then wait patiently before its flavours can melt on the tongue. But they might not know that the history of these seemingly unusual treats is as varied as their flavours.
Photo: Shutterstock
Perhaps they could already guess that in Japan, the passion for sweets started with rice, but more detailed research of the past would reveal that the sticky mochi rice cakes used to be the exclusive treat of emperors and the aristocracy.
But that did not last. It did not take long for mochi and the happiness it brought to make its way down the social ladder, like so much melted sugar. And the more available the rice treats got, the more diverse they became. But the people of Japan only got their first taste of real sweets when the Portuguese sailed to the Land of the Rising Sun, bringing along sweets made from sugar cane. The following four centuries erased the traces of the Portuguese, and Japan’s shelves of sweets now look like a veritable explosion of colour and shapes.
You can get a box of Japanese sweets for 12 to 35 dollars a month, depending on how many treats you want to be surprised by.
But the products of this magical Japanese industry are not only available to the Japanese. If you want some, this »magical« package can easily make its way to your doorstep. Boxes of sweets from Japan Crate can be sent anywhere in the world. For fans of the life per month principles, they can also be delivered to Slovenia. Users worldwide report that sometimes, administrative problems can prevent the occasional package from making it to your home on time, but so far, nobody has reported receiving an empty box containing only a message from the customs saying »So sorry, we couldn't stop ourselves.«
Let’s have a closer look at this delicious box of surprises. In addition to the freezable Kit Kat, it can also contain apple jelly, apple balls made of sweet powder, Super Mario chewing gum, crunchy crackers, chocolate biscuits from the King's Lost Crown series, a can of coffee, small crepes with dried fruits, special Japanese mayo, sweets that look like goldfish, chocolate watermelon biscuits, matcha crisps, mini coconut pies, and many more. Depending on the package selected, it will include 5 to 20 products and cost between 12 and 35 dollars a month.
Photo: Japan Crate
Everything in the box is tiny, cute or sometimes even unusual. We’re told it’s also tasty and always immediately obvious that it can’t be from anywhere else other than Japan. Each box is well imbued with numerous elements of Japanese pop culture.
Naturally, every monthly box is different and of course there are several options available to subscribers – everything from sweets to clothes. Special editions of the boxes from the last few months were, for example, selected with the help of Tony Hawk, the nineties skateboarding legend, who, like the 27-year-old co-creator of Japan Crate, Hank Rao, is crazy about everything Japanese.
A Sweet Clot
If they can be so enthusiastic about the Land of the Rising Sun, why shouldn’t others be too? If we can love their technology and pop culture, why not also love their sweets and other treats?