Ah, the joys of autumn: sitting at your kotatsu, feeling some type of way about not being able to turn on your kotatsu yet because the seasons are lost in transit, and also that the prices they’re charging for a bag of mikan nowadays means you are unable to buy mikan with impunity as you once did in days of yore.
Yes, it’s a lonesome kind of season, especially when you still don’t need a scarf or mittens, and the Christmas decorations came up the second Halloween ended. But it’s not all gloom, for today, I received my very first-ever Sakuraco Japanese artisan snack box.
I have never gotten a subscription box like this before, so it was properly thrilling when it arrived. As an adult living in Japan, where trick-or-treating isn’t a thing, I don’t have any excuse to buy copious amounts of candy, so having a big box of curated snacks delivered straight to my door is like Halloween minus the legwork and stressful last-minute costume. It’s Halloween in November, nay, Novemberween!
It arrived in a beautiful, rich burgundy box, like the deep color of autumn sunsets and spiced red wine. Upon opening it, I was greeted by a thoughtful postcard from the founder, as well as a booklet proclaiming the theme of this month’s box: the Wonders of Nagano. Having worked with graphic designers on multiple occasions, I was so impressed with how exceptionally well-designed and well-written it was, offering insights into this month’s treats, Nagano Prefecture, and deep dives into specific confectioners. I have always wanted to visit Nagano (one of my favorite Hiroshima Kagura plays is set in Togakushi, deep in Nagano Prefecture), so this was a perfect little introduction.
The box contains a mix of savory and sweet treats. One thing I did know about Nagano is that it is famed for its apples, and as an avid apple fan, this box was right up my alley.
So, let’s dive into the Wonders of Nagano!
First up: Apple pie.
Aside from looking storybook-perfect, the dough is tender and very flavorful, all thanks to the panettone yeast, a point of pride for the confectioner, Koubo. The apple filling has big, juicy pieces of stewed apples atop a layer of apple preserves, with just the right amount of sweetness. Despite its rather large size, it’s very airy and light. I didn’t intend on eating the whole thing in one go, but before I knew it, the last piece had delicately flaked off on my tongue. The great balance of savory dough and sweet apples makes it ideal for breakfast or a snack; no wonder this pie is a beloved Nagano staple!
Moving on to the smaller snacks, we have the rectangular and crunchy walnut biscuit. Toasty and sweet, laced with pieces of walnuts, this is definitely a biscuit to pair with tea of any kind, especially the melon hōjicha.
Ah, yes. The melon hōjicha (roasted green tea) was an unexpected wild card. Hōjicha always has great roasty, toasty, even sometimes caramel-y notes, but melon? I have to admit, I was a little skeptical. Upon opening the sachet, it was VERY melon, like melon soda kind of melon, but also toasty, like a melon pan (melon bread) kind of melon. It’s actually much less intense once the tea is brewed, but still packs a healthy dose of fragrant melon alongside the toasty notes that hōjicha is known for.
I love the mix of traditional wagashi, classic Western confections, and hybrids of the two. Speaking of these delicious hybrids, the real star of the show for me was the apple manjū. Bursting with the aroma and taste of fresh apples in white bean paste and lovingly wrapped in a tender milk-bun dough, it’s a combination of East-meets-West that is super satisfying. I’m simultaneously happy and sad that there are only two of these in the box because (a) I would eat about six of them if I could, and (b) I wish I had six of them to share.
There are two other apple-themed treats in the box: the apple cookie and the Shinshū apple sandwich cookie.
The apple in the apple cookie doesn’t hit you until about halfway through the bite, but wow does it hit! It really tastes like Nagano-sourced apple juice in a way that I wasn’t expecting. This is a cookie to pair with green tea or a simple black tea to really let the apple flavor shine.
Unlike the mid-bite apple punch of the apple cookie, the Shinshū apple sandwich cookie hits right out of the gate. Being a texture girl, I am a huge fan of this kind of sandwich cookie where there are crunchy bits of cornflake in the cream. The booklet says that the cookies are “cinnamon scented,” but I could not detect a note of it under the apple taste. Still, these cookies are fantastic and I would eat them any day of the week.
Another great East-meets-West confection is the chestnut pie: flaky and buttery pie dough wrapped around a sweet chestnut and white bean paste filling. The pie dough has the perfect amount of salt to really make the sweetness of the filling pop. The filling is actually a little sweeter than I expected, almost a sweet-potato vibe rather than chestnut. Definitely feels more like a coffee pairing than tea, maybe as a mid-morning pick-me-up to get you through to lunch.
We also have a very traditional wagashi offering of mitarashi mochi, little bites of daifuku meets mitarashi dango. Now, if you’ve never had mitarashi, it’s a sweet soy-sauce glaze that is very savory. Now, I like my mitarashi very dashi and salt forward, but if that’s not your jam, or if you’re a mitarashi beginner, then this wee mochi bite is perfect for you: the slightly salty mitarashi sauce in the middle gives you a gentle introduction to this classic Japanese flavor, and the very pillowy mochi with a marshmallow-like interior brings the treat to a sweet and satisfying finish.
Finally, two very cute Shine Muscat and Kyohō Grape jellies to round off the sweet offerings this month. I chilled the jellies before indulging. Both were refreshing with just the right amount of bounce to be satisfying to cut through and very flavorful. The deep, natural sweetness and aroma of fresh grapes makes these jellies shine as luxurious treats that won’t break the bank, which unfortunately can’t be said for actual brand-name grapes.
Before we move on to the savory snacks in the box, I just have to say: the fact that they balance out the sweet with the savory means you get stuck in an endless loop of sweet to savory and back to sweet (and, of course, back to savory). To be clear, I am not complaining. If you’re going to be stuck in an endless loop, this is probably the best one you could hope for.
Kicking off the savory parade is the mochi mugi senbei. I am a massive senbei rice cracker fan and these hit all my criteria: super shatter-y crunch, umami and saltiness from the soy-sauce glaze punched up by the addition of powdered miso, perfect two-bite size. Imagine adding cheese and some nori seaweed to these to really dial it up to 11. Dangerously good.
Off to a good start, but now on to a more spicy addition: wasabi senbei. I didn’t know that Nagano was famous for its wasabi but I certainly won’t forget now because WOW, these senbei are potent with a capital P. Like I could feel that wasabi sting travel through my whole face after one bite. Starts in the nose and goes through the sinuses and out through the ears. Whew. To be fair, I do enjoy wasabi and its signature sting, but if that’s not you, you may struggle with these senbei because they pull no punches.
Moving along to the more tame black pepper shiitake arare. Shiitake really is an incredible mushroom full of savory, meaty umami, but despite the really intense shiitake note you get from opening the bag, it was a little underwhelming upon crunching into it. The black pepper notes almost overtake it. Not a bad snack by any means, but just a little lackluster.
Finally, we have the gorgonzola nori ten. Having lived in Hiroshima for nearly 20 years, I know this Hiroshima-made snack like the back of my hand. Crispy crunchy fried nori bits? I mean, come on. What’s not to love? Then you add some pungent gorgonzola flavor in there? That’s magic. It’s so good. It’s too good. The bag is resealable so you never lose that addictive crunch, but also implies you won’t eat the whole bag in one sitting…not that I ever would. Not that I did. You can’t prove anything!
Inhaling cheese flavored snacks aside, the box also came with a small Saga Shippō, or Seven Treasures, plate which is the perfect size for portioning out your snacks. The design represents harmony and endless connection, something I think we’re all more amenable to with a tummy full of snacks.
I have to say, this curated box of treats really feels not only luxurious, but also like a true labor of love. The careful attention to detail from the selection of snacks right down to the design of not just the booklet, but the entire box itself, really speaks to the Japanese commitment to getting every detail just right. It’s a great introduction to local Japanese flavors and culture for beginners, and a very welcome gift of curated tastes for longtime residents of Japan.
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!