I’ve been in Japan for nearly seven years now, but the turning of seasons or kisetsu no utsurikawari always stirs in me a fresh joy – and autumn or aki, streaked with its medley of sunset hues, softens my being into moonlit quietness and a new composure. I’ve always been intrigued by how aki, written with the Chinese character 秋 to denote autumn, can also be written with the character for 空 which can translate to sky, far-off space and emptiness. In that sense, I see this season as something that you can gently fill up with your imagination – allow for a deeper immersion into your immediate surroundings, so they can speak to you. And what does a better job at urging your senses into awareness than well-curated fall flavours?
I opened my package from Sakuraco after coming back home from a nearly two-week-long trip flitting between Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya. If I were to be honest, I was putting off opening it; I wanted to give myself time to recover from the travel exhaustion. But I’m not a fan of unopened packages lying around, so I decided to take the plunge, and I’m so grateful I did, because it was such a refreshing experience that helped assuage my exhaustion, if anything. The box is beautifully packaged – not simply things put together, but a collection that creates the impression of things belonging together.
The theme for October is “Nikko’s Autumn Splendor”, and invites you to a journey through Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture. The Snack Guide first introduces you to Nikko’s Shinkyo Bridge, Irohazaka Winding Road, and Ryuzu Cascades, all ablaze in the glory of autumnal colors, and then invites you to traverse the landscape through carefully picked snacks. As you go along, you will have the chance to discover more cultural anecdotes, including stories of Shodo Shonin, the Buddhist monk credited with founding Nikko. While Nikko is the central theme, the box is speckled with enjoyable selections from other parts of Japan.
Since I’m still the girl that takes ages to pick which ice cream flavor she wants, it took me longer than I’d like to admit to choose the snack I wanted to dig in first. After much midnight contemplation, I decided to open the pack of strawberry anko donuts which really packed a punch with the acidity of the strawberries cutting through the sweetness of the anko – two different worlds being brought together seamlessly. This is also what I thought of the apple sweet potato cake. I was slightly skeptical of how these flavours can work together, but I’m definitely sold. The Snack Guide will also tell you how the apple sweet potato cake hails from Wakayama Shoten, established in 1946! I love how Sakuraco also gives me a taste of history.
Since I started on a sweet note, I wanted to switch things up and veered towards something more savory next – the yuba chips. It was only during my trip to Kyoto this time that I was properly introduced to yuba as an ingredient and because it is so incredibly fragile, I was astonished by how it could be turned into chips. The Snack Guide revealed how this was Nikko Foods’ mammoth undertaking and wasn’t exactly easy. But I’m so glad they took on the challenge because the result is stunning – I love all kinds of chips, but I think these ones are going to make it right to the top of my list. They’re perfectly crispy and light, and retain yuba’s mild flavors, only using some salt and pepper for seasoning. While my regular bag of potato chips is a reliable companion for binge-watching Demon Slayer, I think the yuba chips make for an elegant offering that I’d like to dig in while appreciating koyo and sipping tea.
I really enjoyed the chestnut shiruko sando too, which I was tempted to buy just last week when I was in Nagoya. I held off because I’d bought too much other omiyage, but I’m glad because these biscuits did eventually find their way to me (and reminded me of an important truth: no such thing as too much omiyage!). I’m not much of a cook, but I do pride myself on being able to make the best cup of chai. In India, we usually drink our chai with a pack of Parle-G biscuits, which are great but can create some issues because they get very soggy. The shiruko sando, though, works brilliantly because of its consistency. Even if you dip them in your chai a tad bit longer, they’ll still manage to retain shape. I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for these to make my morning chai ritual merrier.
The nationally loved “Song of Four Seasons” or Shiki no Uta, features the lines “Aki o aisuru hito wa, kokoro fukaki hito / Ai o kataru haine no youna, boku no koibito” that roughly translate to “The person who loves autumn is a person with a heart that runs deep / Articulates the nuances of love like Heine / My sweetheart”. Heine is a German poet who became popular in Japan in the past for his eloquent romantic verses. Anyhow, in line with this, I decided it’s only fair to share some of these treats with my partner. He really loved the walnut mochi, which reminded us both of yubeshi, but I think the signature sweet potato yokan from Wakayama Shoten was his favourite. Being quite the Japanese history or nihonshi buff, he was impressed by how the Snack Guide has places with the marking “History Fact”. For this edition, there’s one on Page 11 which tells you about how the Nikko Jingoro Senbei is related to the “Sleeping Neko” on Nikko’s Toshugu Shrine.
“Sleeping Neko” brings me to how both of us love the furoshiki enclosed in the package – perfect to carry along on picnics, with bentos safely tucked in. I think we need a round of jan-ken-pon or Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who gets to keep this gem!
ICHIGO Inc., the parent company of Sakuraco, kindly sent us this snack box so we could try it out and share our honest thoughts with you. This page also has affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase a box through our website (at no extra cost to you, of course). Thank you so much for supporting Deep Japan!