Pocky Day is the day that Japan – nay, the world – celebrates the iconic chocolate-covered Japanese sweet, Pocky. We have a complete guide to Pocky Day if you don’t know all about the biggest, greatest holiday of all time.

I’m still nursing a hangover from last year’s Mother of All Pocky Days, 11-11-11 (or for you Europeans, 11-11-11), but I thought I could surface out of my Pocky-fueled haze for a while and share with y’all some cool, Pocky-related things.

Unusual Pocky Flavors

Japan loves seasonal, novelty, and local foods. You see this played out in a lot of the candies and sodas sold throughout Japan, and Pocky is no exception. Take a look at some of the strangest, most niche Pocky flavors so far:

Purple Sweet Potato (紫いも)

I don’t know if I love the sound of this flavor because it’s so unusual, or because I love the alliteration of “purple potato,” but the fact is that Japanese purple sweet potato is a pretty rare flavor.

Hokkaido Melon (夕張メロン)

Melon is a notoriously expensive food in Japan, so it’s nice to be able to get this rare (and regional) treat in Pocky form.

Kobe Wine (神戸ワイン)

Ah, Kobe, Japan. A thriving metropolis known for its world-famous beef, the devastating earthquake of 1995, and its . . . vineyards? Despite my ignorance of the Japanese wine market, Glico has capitalized on the apparently famous wine of Kobe with this novelty Pocky. Can you get drunk off of wine Pocky? My extensive testing is thus far inconclusive.

Reverse (リバース)

I hope whichever Glico employee had the brilliant (yet painfully obvious) idea of creating a “reverse” Pocky got a promotion or a raise or something.

Brazilian Pudding (ブラジルプリン)

When I think Brazilian food, pudding isn’t the first thing that comes to mind, but Glico has brought the sweet, milky flavor of Brazilian pudding to Japan, in Pocky form.

Commercials

For the last year or so, pretty boy Kazunari Ninomiya has been the star of Glico’s Pocky commercials. MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This has also been strangely prominent in these commercials, but I won’t complain.

Recently though, the ads have shifted from Hammer-based to a angels-and-demons theme. One thing has stayed the same though; there are still strange voiceovers from an English speaker.

How do you celebrate Pocky Day? Have you raided your local Asian market today?