Review: Snacks from Freedom Japanese Market
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Some of the most popular posts we’ve ever done have been those about Japanese snacks, be they gummies or corn crunchers or ice cream. People like learning about strange Kit Kats and other goodies available in Japan, even the stuff that’s really disgusting, which is why we write about it.
Because of our zeal for junk food, from time to time, we’re offered the chance to review a new product. We were recently contacted by a company willing to give us a free snack box in exchange for a review, and around here, if you send us candy, we will eat it, so that’s what we did.
Freedom Japanese Market - a subscription box with a unique twist
Freedom Japanese Market is a monthly subscription service sending out boxes stuffed with Japanese treats to customers around the world. These box services are popular, especially for fans of niche Japanese subcultures, and we’ve tried quite a few of them (as well as sent some to friends and family in America): Sakuraco, Mascot Monthly Mix, TokyoTreat, Bokksu, Tokyo Snack Box, and I think we sent someone a Kit Kat box once.
Freedom Japanese Market differs from others for a few reasons, one of which is the company’s size. It’s entirely run by one family that picks the treats themselves, only sending snacks they personally recommend. Unlike Sakuraco and Bokksu, which seek out producers from around the country, FJM is mostly national products and those found in the specific local area where this family lives. Because they’re picking things they’ve tried and enjoyed, you’re more likely to get the types of treats Japanese people normally eat.
For us, this aspect was great, because immediately upon opening the box, we knew what a lot of this stuff was and were eager to try it. The letter that comes with the box is nothing fancy, just a few pieces of paper that explain some Japanese food terms and describe the treats inside. The box arrived blisteringly fast, way quicker than any other box service we’ve ever tried. That was good news, because we were hungry - well, okay, that’s a lie; we were “betsubara,” which is a Japanese term that means you have a second stomach for sweets that allows you to stuff your face even when full. This is a useful language sometimes.
Big hitters: the first snacks we grabbed out of this packed box
As I said, Freedom Japanese Market focuses on big-name Japanese brands, and there were several things in here we’d either tried before or had been wanting to try. If you’re new to Japanese snacks, this is probably the place to start:
Milk Tea Kit Kat: Japan is home to many kinds of Kit Kats not available elsewhere, and this kind was flavored like Japanese milk tea, which is a sweet drink perfect for hot days. While this bag may look quite large, it actually only contained 7 mini Kit Kats. At first, I didn’t love them, as they were the sweet kind of Kit Kat that lacks chocolate, but I found they grew on me, and soon I told Eriko she better try one before they were all gone. Sugary? Yes. My favorite Kit Kat ever? No, that’s still Butter flavor. But they were good. I would try again.
Lotte Ghana Matcha Chocolate: Ghana is a popular Japanese chocolate brand, and most of their stuff is good. This was a nice big bar with mild matcha taste that didn’t overpower the chocolate. It was great cold after some time in the fridge. Definitely better than most matcha-flavored snacks I’ve had.
Calbee Ume Chips: “Ume” means Japanese plum. That indicated these would be sour, but the sourness was mild enough not to be too scary for Americans. “Good for summer,” said Eriko as she inhaled them. She loves these chips, buys them all the time. I like them too.
Gummies: the box contained two types of melon gummies:
Suika: that means watermelon. The flavor was okay, but these were absolutely COVERED in sugar, to the point where I felt bad eating them.
Cantaloupe: this was more like it. Not too much sugar, just a smooth gummy BURSTING with juiciness. I would buy.
Umaibo Sticks: we got two types of these sticks, a common Japanese snack you’re likely to see in any convenience store. It’s basically like a giant Cheeto in terms of texture. The white one was indeed cheese flavor, and it tasted a bit like Cheetos (which, frustratingly, have a different flavor here from Cheetos in America). The orange one was salami, which might sound like a strange flavor, but I thought it was great. I wouldn’t buy these because I’m no longer young, and therefore prone to getting fat, but if you’re a kid, you’ll want to try more flavors.
Unique Japanese flavors and fun treats
Some items we were less familiar with, while others are konbini standards. This is where you enter the more adventurous side of the box and see the creativity in some Japanese snacks.
Ghana Charapaki: the idea behind this limited-edition chocolate is that it looks like a dinosaur skeleton, and you can “excavate” the fossil from the chocolate. The dinosaur is milk chocolate, while the outside is like a Krackle or Nestle Crunch. It was super good, but because we’d put it in the fridge, it was tough to pop out the dinosaur and I just gave up and ate it as one piece.
Pai no Mi: Eriko said these little mini pies were “very common popular treat since I was child.” They come in a lot of flavors, and these were “rare cheesecake berry.” There were a lot of them in there, and they weren’t too dry like I often fear with biscuits. Inside they were sweet and had a tasty blueberry flavor. Eriko says the chocolate ones are better.
Chocoball: this handy little box has a spout you can pop out to dispense the small chocolate balls. If there is an angel on the spout, you get a toy. We didn’t get one. The balls were like a lighter Whopper. Good snack for kids.
Yaokin Cola Roll Candy: did you grow up with Fruit by the Foot? What about Apple Cola Fruit by the Foot? If that collection of words doesn't move you, then the taste of this probably won't, either. It moved me enough to scarf this down in about 15 seconds. More more I want more.
Babystar Ramen: a small bag of crunchy, salty ramen to eat while watching TV. Nothing wrong with this.
Yaki Shirasu Senbei: the term “senbei” is used to describe a lot of snacks in Japan, but generally means “rice cracker.” This one, like a lot of those you’ll find, was flavored like fish. That may seem strange to people who’ve never been to Japan, but I promise that after a while here, you won’t bat an eye at a fish snack. This one was okay, but not remarkable.
It wouldn’t be Japan if there wasn’t something weird
Now we’re getting to the stuff you can really only find in Japan. You’re unlikely to see any of these things for sale in America unless you get them from a box service, and I don’t think I’ve seen these three in any box besides FJM.
Meiji Nigi Nigi Sushi DIY Gummy Kit: the schtick here is that the gummies look like little pieces of sushi and rice, so you can build your own fruit-flavored “sushi” and eat it. The problem is that the gummies were melted into the plastic, so it was almost impossible to pop them out and build the sushi. The flavor was okay, but there are plenty of better gummies out there. This one is strictly for little kids.
Sono Manma Three-Ball Gum: the idea here is that there are three balls, and one of them tastes super sour, so you and your friends can play Russian Roulette with gum. I ate two and Eriko ate one, and I didn’t get the sour one so I was mad. Also, I didn’t realize it was gum - I thought it was just a gummy treat, so I swallowed it. I’ll update this post in seven years to let you know what happens when I pass it.
Sudakosan Vinegar Octopus Leather: this terrifying phrase is listed as the “Challenge Snack,” and it really was. What looks like fruit leather is flavored like octopus and vinegar. I found it to be WAAAAAAAY too vinegary. Did not like. Eriko said, “this is very Japanese.” I’d say this was the only treat in the box I didn’t enjoy, which is a pretty good percentage.
Verdict: is Freedom Japanese Market a good deal?
One of the things Freedom Japanese Market clearly prides itself on is transparency. As the creator explained to me in an email, he scoured the reviews of other Japanese subscription boxes and found that users were often frustrated by misleading prices that didn’t include shipping, and the fact that they sometimes thought they were ordering only one box but were singed up for a subscription without being notified. When creating FJM, they set out to address both these issues.
First of all, they calculate shipping costs before asking you to enter any personal information. Second, they send email reminders to all customers five days before the subscription renews, so you can cancel before the next month’s box is sent out if you wish.
Although shipping cost is a major factor for consumers, it’s difficult for us to compare prices with shipping because we don’t know where you’re having this box sent, and one company may have better international shipping than another depending on where you live. Without shipping, a month-to-month box subscription costs this much at the major services:
Sakuraco: $37.50/month
TokyoTreat: $37.50/month
Bokksu: $39.99/month
Tokyo Snack Box: 4,500 yen per month ($30.38 as of this writing) with free international shipping. They also offer a one-time box for 5,000 yen/$33.
Freedom Japanese Market: $37.99/month
Other than Tokyo Snack Box, these are all basically the same price. Since Tokyo Snack Box allows you to buy individual boxes and has free shipping, that might be a good one to send as a gift if you don’t know what the person might want and would prefer to save money (we’ve sent their boxes as gifts but have never tried them, so I can’t tell you what the contents are like).
If you’re buying for yourself or someone with specific tastes/interests, the price differences are negligible and the choice should be about getting the box that’s right for you. FJM is probably the least flashy of any of these box companies because it’s a small business run by a family. That means you won’t get the fancy booklets and unique items of something like Sakuraco, but you do get the knowledge that a family is actually buying you snacks they like themselves (read: not so much weird fishy stuff). Plus, customer service is a lot simpler since you’re just emailing these people instead of a large corporate entity.
My wife and I already knew a lot of these snacks, as most are available at our local convenience store. In fact, we saw three of them the other day just walking past the candy aisle. That makes FJM not the best fit for us. We’d be better off going with Sakuraco, which focuses on wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) rather than dagashi (Western-influenced snacks). If you or your friends already know Japan well and want to try artisan confections, Sakuraco is likely better.
TokyoTreat and Bokksu also have a lot of good snacks for kids, but are sometimes more on the “look at these wacky Japanese flavors” side that’s fun at a party but not as enjoyable when you’re sitting on the couch. If you’re personally going to be eating this every month, I would go with FJM. There’s just a better chance that you’re going to get a lot of things you really like with this box than with any of the others we’ve tried.
Foreigners who’ve read about cool Japanese snacks and want to try them should absolutely give FJM a try. I’d recommend Freedom Japanese Market to those buying their first Japan snack boxes or anyone who wants to give a gift that they’re sure the recipient will appreciate, even if that recipient isn’t a fan of trying strange and outrageous flavors. There was only one gross weird thing in it, which in Japan is like a record. My only compliant about this box is that we already ate everything.
Get the best deal from Freedom Japanese Market
In addition to its month-to-month plan, Freedom Japanese Market also offers a subscription that renews every three months at $34.99/month. This is a better deal for those who want to test out a subscription for longer than a single month while still being shorter than some of the long-term options out there that lock you in for a full year. As mentioned, you’ll receive a reminder when your subscription is about to renew so it’s easy to cancel when you want.
Thanks to FJM for sending us a free box and supplying us with an affiliate link. They’re a nice addition to the subscription box landscape, offering something a little different from all the other boxes out there. If you’re interested in trying some of the top Japanese snacks you usually can’t get where you live (they ship to dozens of countries and may be able to accommodate others if you contact them), click the link below.
