Japanese candy is pretty good. I think it’s probably why there’s no real crack problem in Japan. Japanese candy has replaced this drug, and it’s way more addicting (okay, maybe not). There are certain candies you can get in Japan AND in other countries around the world. Pocky’s pretty common. Hi-Chew’s like in every grocery store now. Gumi’s pretty common too… then there’s the candy that’s pretty much only in Japan, and you won’t find it anywhere else. Bemmu at CandyJapan.com has decided that it was time to end this injustice, so he started a business that involves him sending you two envelopes of hard-to-find (at least outside of Japan) Japanese candy, twice a month, for ~$24 /month. That’s kind of exciting to me.
[box type="note"]As usual, I’m not getting paid to recommend this resource. I don’t get kickbacks if you pay for the service, and I don’t get anything in return for writing this article (except for hopefully getting some of your happiness in return)[/box]
CandyJapan.com
Here’s how CandyJapan works, according to the website:
Every two weeks I’ll select some surprise candy and mail it to you in a standard Japanese envelope. There will be variety and you will get to try all sorts of things only available in Japan. There will be some very cute packaging and some new delicious tastes, too.
The envelopes aren’t huge, but considering the cost of buying the candy and shipping it, I feel like $12 per envelope isn’t all that terrible. Sure, it’s more expensive than buying candy from a store directly, but the goal of this service is to get you candy that’s hard or impossible to find outside of Japan.
Now, there are other services that let you get stuff from Japan (if you know what you want or find it in their directory), but what I like about CandyJapan is that you’re on a subscription, and you don’t actually know what you’re going to get every month. You sort of get the thrill that people get when gambling, except you’re guaranteed to win every time.
I’m not sure why I love this idea so much, but I think it has to do with getting a surprise in the mail every couple weeks. I’m hoping that I’ll subscribe then immediately forget I subscribed in the first place. It’s like when you put a twenty dollar bill somewhere in your room, then several years later you find it while cleaning and then you’re like “hey, cool! $20!” Sort of like that, but you get to eat this surprise every two weeks.
If you like Japanese Candy and you like surprises, go check out CandyJapan! I’m literally going to go sign up for it right now to see how it is. I don’t always eat Japanese candy, but when I do I prefer Japanese Candy.
P.S. Want to know when I get my first envelope of tasty Japanese candy? Follow us on Twitter and we’ll tell you there.
P.P.S. Maybe you want to see a video of the candy instead? You should like Tofugu on Facebook to see some of that action.