Japanese Snacks Mesmerize Foreign Tourists

May 23, 2024 | News On Japan

TOKYO - In cities and tourist spots across Japan, foreign tourists can be seen devouring Japanese snacks. Now, many traditional products are evolving to cater to the inbound tourist market. We explored why foreign tourists are so enchanted by Japanese snacks.

In Ueno, Tokyo, foreign tourists were seen filling their baskets with Japanese snacks.

A tourist from France exclaimed, "Kaminari Okoshi, amazing!" and "Amanatto," adding, "All the snacks are delicious. I love them very much."

Many tourists were buying snacks in bulk as souvenirs for their home countries. A tourist from Israel said, "I absolutely want to try this! Squid crackers!" and "Do you eat the tail too?" purchasing anything that caught their interest.

The Israeli tourist continued, "I buy everything that looks delicious. The nori-shio flavored potato chips I found in Hida Takayama were the best. If I find something cool, I'll keep buying it."

Japanese snacks captivate foreigners. According to a survey conducted among residents of Taiwan and Hong Kong, snacks were the most desired items to buy in Japan, surpassing medicine and food (based on a reader survey from the information site 'Lachigo! Japan' for visitors from Taiwan and Hong Kong).

Manufacturers are also targeting foreign visitors. Meiji sells rich-flavored chocolate with Japanese-style packaging, and Kameda Seika's "Kaki no Tane" revamped its packaging for the first time in eight years, adding English text to highlight its popularity in Japan. The famous "Akafuku" from Ise City, Mie Prefecture, has even introduced Western-style variations, adding chocolate and strawberry flavors to its lineup.

Shinjuku Gyoen, an "urban oasis" that attracts over a million foreign visitors annually, houses a more than 300-year-old traditional Kyoto confectionery shop. American tourists here often order matcha and traditional sweets like manju. Over half of the customers are foreigners.

A tourist from Canada purchased manju filled with sesame anko, commenting, "Very good. It tastes like a healthy version of chocolate cookies. I've never tasted anything like this before." The dough used soy sauce, surprising the Canadian tourist who said, "Does this contain soy sauce? I couldn't tell at all! But it's really delicious."

Japanese snacks delight foreign tourists, but what about snacks from other countries? We asked tourists, "Tell us about the famous snacks from your country!"

A tourist from Turkey, currently on an "Asia tour" including Japan and Korea, shared, "In my hometown of Turkey, we have a very sweet dessert called baklava. It contains pistachios and sugar." Baklava is a layered pastry filled with nuts and pistachios, baked and soaked in sweet syrup. It's enjoyed not only in Turkey but also in neighboring countries. The Turkish tourist added, "We prepare and eat it on very special occasions, such as religious festivals."

A tourist from Spain talked about a treat called "Roscón de Reyes," eaten on January 6th, which is the Spanish Christmas holiday. This giant doughnut-like pastry, actually a sweet bread, contains hidden surprises like a fava bean and a king figurine. The tourist explained, "If you find the fava bean, you have to buy the next year's pastry as a penalty." This "Russian roulette" style treat brings joy and excitement to the festivities.

The love for snacks is universal, and Japanese snacks are becoming increasingly beloved worldwide.

Source: 日テレNEWS

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Food NEWS

Nagoya's 1.5-Kilogram Noodle Challenge

A long-established noodle shop in Nagoya has become known for extraordinarily large servings, including its signature "Pitcher Koro," a 1.5-kilogram dish combining kishimen, soba and udon in a giant pitcher.

Taste of Hida Draws Food Lovers to Takayama

The Hida Taste Festival, a long-running event that began in 1986, is held twice a year in spring and autumn and has become a popular attraction in Takayama. This autumn's festival features 22 vendors offering a wide variety of regional dishes, including grilled Hida beef skewers, mitarashi dango rice dumplings coated in a savory soy-based sauce, and salt-grilled ayu sweetfish.

Japan's Salmon Farming Industry Moves Inland

A massive land-based Atlantic salmon farming facility is taking shape in a mountainous industrial district of Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, where foreign-owned Pure Salmon Japan has begun raising approximately one million young fish as part of an 80 billion yen project that is expected to become one of the world's largest operations of its kind, with plans to ship 10,000 tons of salmon annually from February 2028.

Lettuce Prices Quadruple as Farmers Warn of Winter Shortages

Prices of leafy vegetables are rising sharply across Japan as prolonged rainfall and reduced sunlight in September damage crops and disrupt harvesting, with farmers warning that shortages could continue into winter and push prices even higher during the peak season for hot pot dishes.

Heavy Rain Sends Vegetable Prices Soaring

Prolonged rainfall in Tokyo lasting more than 20 days, combined with heavy rain from Typhoon No. 25 during the Silver Week holidays, has disrupted vegetable supplies and driven up prices, with some retailers facing the possibility of suspending sales of popular seasonal products such as roasted sweet potatoes.

Cheese Eaten Since the Asuka Period?

Nara Prefecture is home to a remarkable variety of traditional dishes, including an ancient cheese-like food dating back some 1,300 years, a wild mountain vegetable enjoyed for generations and a homemade crepe once served on special occasions, offering a glimpse into the region's long culinary history.

Sweet Chestnuts Ripe for the Picking

Families and visitors are flocking to a farm in Minoh, Osaka Prefecture, to enjoy autumn chestnut picking, with this year's harvest producing smaller but particularly sweet chestnuts due to a lack of rainfall.

Tokyo Chinese Restaurant Keeps Woks Flying After 62 Years

For more than six decades, Sanyuken Fukasawa Branch in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward has served generations of customers with familiar Chinese dishes, as its 72-year-old second-generation owner and his wife continue to run the 14-seat neighborhood restaurant largely by themselves.

< 2 3 4 5 >