TokyoTreat Review

This is by far the best snack/candy subscription box I've come across. It's going to be hard to get any better then TokyoTreat. I would usually give you the good, the bad, and whatever else I have to say about this box but there's really only good to TokyoTreat. I'm reviewing TokyoTreat with having experienced two months worth of boxes, the April and May box. I write these reviews solely to help people decide on what they should spend their money on, and if you need to spend your money on a monthly subscription box full of Japanese snacks then this is a box well worth it.

Let's get started!

I fully enjoyed these boxes from TokyoTreat. As you may or may not know, I've already done a review on the popular, well-known Japan Crate. In review, it was an okay box but I felt it wasn't worth the money. The snacks and candies were not thought out well enough in my opinion. TokyoTreat fixes all of this and has brought new light into snack boxes for me. The candies and snacks in TokyoTreat are more thought out for the consumers and are realistic snacks people eat in Japan. It's well diverse in its types of candies and snacks, from chips to dyi kits to flavored candies. There will always be something for everyone.

Now, like all snack subscription boxes there are sizes. TokyoTreat has small, regular, and premium. Just like when I tried Japan Crate, I bought the premium box for TokyoTreat. It is well worth it. You get all the snacks from the small and regular boxes plus all the candy included from the premium box. The premium box also contains a drink, a special merchandise of some kind, and a dyi kit. For $35.00 and free shipping that's a pretty good deal. If you're not game for spending $35.00 a month, I totally understand. The small boxes are $15.00 and the regular are $25.00. With these boxes you can only get a few snacks and a regular gets the dyi kit. No drink and special item for these two boxes. I suggested this before but it could be a good idea to share with a friend. You could both split the cost of the box and share all the snacks. Whatever can't be shared can get claimed by a good game of rock-paper-scissors.

The snacks!!! I am in love with these snacks TokyoTreat chooses. The snacks are ones that are popular in Japan and taste delicious. In the April box, my favorite snacks were the custard flavor Koala's March from Lotte and the yakisoba flavored Baby Star snack. For May, there were a ton of green tea flavored snacks. There was no way to go wrong with these. In addition to the green tea snacks, for those who may not be green tea fans, there were other great snacks in the May box such as Raspberry Kit Kats and the different flavored Umaibou snacks. The drinks were great too! April had the Sakura Pepsi which tasted like bubblegum cola and May had Green Tea Soda. The two were okay tasting but I was more thrilled about getting that experience of trying these drinks without having to be in Japan.

And for all of you who are into the "weird Japan" related snacks, they even cater to you. Unlike like other boxes it's not filled with only the "weird Japan" snacks. TokyoTreat supplies that one snack that would be very adventurous to none Japanese residents. In April they supplied dried nori (seaweed) and wasabi crisps and in May they had spicy cod snacks. I say "weird Japan" because that's what a lot of people think of these flavors, but in reality these flavors are normal over in Japan.

So overall, I loved this Japanese snack subscription box, TokyoTreat. I've kept the monthly subscription that I signed up for. My husband and I look forward in seeing what will come to us. And as a bonus, the pamphlet that comes in the box is really nice too, showing the descriptions of all the snacks and even has little Japanese folklore stories inside. Like I said before, you really can't go wrong with TokyoTreat!

I hope you enjoyed this review. I think it's pretty helpful for those who are looking for the perfect snack subscription box. Follow me on all my social media for more Japan related things! Thanks again!

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Doki Doki Crate Review

Some of you mat already know this but Doki Doki Crate is a monthly subscription box full of goodies that represent Japanese kawaii (cute) culture. This box is from Japan Crate, a monthly subscription box full of Japanese snacks. I've already done a review of the Japan Crate that you can check out here. If you've read my review you'd remember I wasn't too happy with Japan Crate as their selection of snacks was not up to par and because of that I didn't find it worth the subscription since you'd just keep on getting too any snacks you'd be disappointed in. With Doki Doki Crate I have the opposite opinion. But I will tell you all of the good, the bad, and the kawaii. Let's get started!

I'm specifically reviewing the April Doki Doki Crate that was themed as arcade. Arcades in Japan are pretty awesome. The crate was inspired by the UFO catcher/crane games. The prizes you can find in these games are plushies, figures, toys, and snacks.

Taking a Tour in Japan

My first time in Japan I was a study abroad student living there for 6 weeks. I was going to school, blending with society, and taking in the culture. It was an experience I will never forget. Jump four years. I was going to Japan with my husband for our honeymoon. It was my second time in Japan and his first. The closest my husband ever came to experiencing Japan were from stories I've told him and things I've taught him about the culture. My husband's parents wanted to gift our honeymoon to us and the easiest way to do that was for them to pay for an all expense paid tour in Japan. I wanted to just roam around myself, but I decided to go with the tour for the first week and stay after for another week on our own. Best decision I've ever made.

I will be talking about the pros and cons of going on a tour in Japan. It had it's good and bad times but I still enjoyed it. And it may seem like it's super expensive but for everything you pay for it's not that bad, so you should give it a try or at least look into.

The Pros

1. No worries. With a guided tour there are literally no worries. Yes, they can get expensive, but everything is practically taken care of for you. These tour packages include meals, hotel costs, entrance fees to attractions, and possibly train fare. The only things you will need to worry about are the plane flights and shopping expenses.

2. Important sights. You are guaranteed a chance to go to the big name places such as Tokyo Tower and Osaka Castle in a guided tour. Depending on the package you get, you'll go to different cities in Japan and you'll go to all the well known sights for that area. The tour guide will even give you hints at what to take pictures of and will let you know what's important.

Tokyo Tower. We went in but I took more video than pictures.

3. Won't feel lost. Going to a different country can be a bit scary, especially if it has its own language and it's your first time there. With unfamiliar settings it can be easy to get lost. In a tour, you will have a guide who is native to that country to pretty much take care of you. The guide will make sure you're on the bus to go to the next city, make sure you eat, and will always make sure you're following. I personally loved my tour guide from Japan Tours. Her name was Mire. If I ever took another tour from that same company I would ask for Mire again. She was so funny and sweet.

4. Meeting people from around the world. One of the things that worried me was being so young and going on a tour. I always pictured tours to be for older adults, no one my age. I was totally wrong. There were quite a few people my age on the exact same tour. One young man was by himself, just wanted to see Japan. There were two young adults who were with their families on this tour for a family vacation to Japan.  There was a girl and guy on the tour that was my husband and I's age who were just on the tour because they both wanted to see Japan. My husband and I ended up hanging with them here and there during the tour. We'd go browse stores or go get food together. Even the older people that were on the tour were super friendly! There was a couple from Australia that I had fun talking to and was always nice. So not only did I get the relax while traveling in Japan but I got to meet so many amazing people at the same time.

We made friends on the trip from California!

The Cons

1. Not enough free time. Going on a tour in Japan can be good but then when you're actually on the tour you realize it's not all perfect. Yes, the itinerary is great and you get to see so many amazing things but while you're on the tour you find other things you want to do but there's no time for. A good example is when my tour was in Tokyo. You were literally touring all day, from 8 A.M. to about 6 P.M. During the tour we were at a mall for lunch. Our tour guide said we had only 30 minutes to look around before lunch. That was the fastest 30 minutes. My husband and I were having fun at an arcade in the mall and just looking at all the stores they had. We nearly missed lunch. Not only that! At the mall there was this Sega Vocaloid amusement park that looked like so much fun. We never got to check it out because we only stayed at the mall for lunch, then left. We had the rest of the day to go back if we wanted or to just check out more of the city but by the time you were done the tour for the day and got back to the hotel you were so tired. There was no way I could have made it some nights out after the tour without collapsing.

2. Having to eat what's on the itinerary. When I'm in Japan, I'm usually more adventurous and will try about anything I feel I can stomach. I say this because I'm really picky when it comes to food and here at my home of New Orleans, Louisiana I will have no problem saying I'm not eating something if I don't like it. I try not to be this way in Japan because it's an experience you can't get anywhere else and it's rude not to eat what's served to you. I did really good during the tour and at every meal except for one. I remember one of our hotel stops was at a Ryokan which is a traditional Japanese Inn. I knew what came with staying here: sleeping on a futon, going to take an onsen or hot spring bath, and eating Kaiseki (traditional Japanese cuisine). The only thing optional about the Ryokan was the bath. I had to go into the dinning hall with all the other people on my tour and eat a kaiseki dinner. I really thought I could do it but once the meal was in front of me I didn't have it in me to eat it all. I think I only ate two or three things and then I pawned the rest of my food for to a fellow tour member in secret. My husband and I didn't even eat breakfast there since we knew we'd be getting the same thing so we just went to the 7/11 at the corner for breakfast.

3. Being on a schedule. If you are someone who is laid back and doesn't like to have things planned then you will not like tours. With tours, everything is planned: meals, activities, and where to go. Everything is done in a timely manner and on a schedule. If you also like to wake up late a tour is also not for you. During tours, you wake up early. Not only because they include breakfast in the tour but to also start the tour early so you can fit in as much as possible during the day. You must be a punctual person to like tours. If the tour guide says meet here in 30 minutes you better be there in 30 minutes. If she says wake up and be on the bus for 8 A. M. you better be down there at 8 A.M. This can make the trip stressful at times but they mean well.

Well, those are my thoughts on taking a tour in Japan. In all, I had a great time when I went. It felt very different from when I was a student in Japan because I was living in Japan whereas with a tour I really felt like a tourist and enjoyed being there as a tourist. Thanks for reading about my experience! I hope this helps in making your decision on how you will enjoy Japan.

If you'd like more information on the tour I went on, here's the link: http://www.alljapantours.com/go-tour.php?tp=GTP0721986

I really recommend this company because they take good care of you.

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Japan Crate Review

I've recently obtained a Japan Crate. I got it as a birthday present from a friend. For those of you who don't know what a Japan Crate is, it's a subscription box of Japanese candy and snacks that's delivered to your house every month. It's candy that comes straight from Japan. There are three sizes to the Japan Crate. I got the premium box which is the biggest and comes with the most items. At first I was super excited about it because I'd get to relive Japan from the comfort of my home. That statement is half true and half false. Let me explain within the review.

When I opened the box I was blown away by all the colors and cute packaging. I felt the nostalgia when I saw Japanese writing on the wrappers. My friend and I made a video review, so we opened each individual candy. We took turns choosing a candy to open. The first few were great, but then it got worse. Not worse as in it all tasted bad but worse in the sense that I got bored with it towards the end.

There are several reasons why I got bored with it. My first problem was there seemed to be way more gum products than actual candy. If you're a big candy flavored gum person then you're good to go in getting a Japan Crate. The second problem I had was that there was only three things that I genuinely liked in the Japan Crate: the Banana Cream Chocolate flavored Pocky, the Ramune drink, and the chocolate bar that had a card of a dog in it. Everything else I could've done without. The third and final problem was the snacks that were bizarre. I understand the purpose of them being there as a wow factor and as a fun to try thing, but it ends up being a waste of space in the long run. There were two candies that I considered gag candy: the Big Bar Z that tasted like a popcorn churro and the soy sauce mochi bar. The sadder part about those two candies is that they're both part of the mini box which only contained five items total! I was lucky that my friends got me the premium box, but what about those people that subscribed to the mini box? I just didn't find the snacks to be well rounded.

Overall:
My overall recommendation is to definitely buy a box first before subscribing to the Japan Crate service. I feel the once a month subscription service is not worth it due to the fact that it's a lot of candy at once if you don't space it out and you simple don't get what you want. My friends told me he spent about $30 for the premium box. I feel that was way over priced. I rather go to my local Asian Market and buy exactly what I want when I want it.

That's my review of the Japan Crate. I'll be doing more crate/box reviews occasionally since I'm doing video reviews for an organization I'm involved in called Awesome Geeks. I run the Japan and anime section of the organization, along with the business aspect of it. I'll put the video link in later when I have the YouTube link up. Hope this was interesting and helpful for you.

See you next time!