Japanese Candies

Snacks are very popular in Japan. They differ from American snacks in that there are smaller portion sizes and healthy snacks are available along with unhealthy snacks, not in special "health food" areas like the US has. Although smaller portions and healthy options are good, Japan has the highest anorexia rate of any country.

Although portion sizes are smaller, unhealthy snacks are popular. Japanese people often eat for texture as well as flavor, so there are a lot of fried, puffed, crunchy foods like soy and miso flavored rice crackers and corn flavored crisps (these are a little sweet. Healthier crisp options include baked puffs in a variety of flavors including a lot of fish- inspired tastes. Fish is a common snack in Japan because they are an island, and crisp, whole, tiny died fish are popular! Small bags of fish and almonds are a common snack. Very chewy, and healthy, dried squid tentacles fish pieces can be found in convenience stores (these are much like jerky).

Sweet food are a really popular choice for a snack in Japan. One that's found here too is Pocky--bland, crisp, thin bread sticks dipped in chocolate, strawberry, or other flavor coatings. In Japan, green tea and red bean flavors are common! Other cookies like HELLO panda, with creamy, sweet fillings are popular. There are countless other cookies with light, crunchy texture. It's interesting to note that the cookies are always small so you can eat one or two and enjoy the texture and flavor without too many calories. Hard candies in fruit flavors are enjoyed by many people and are often available in tins with popular Japanese cartoon (anime) characters. Since texture is important, you can also find a variety of interesting chewy candies. HiChew is a fruit-flavored chewy candy that's available in the US also. It melts in your mouth slightly as you chew and is a little bouncy, making it a fun experience to eat.