Japan is filled with lots of cool things that you will be tempted to bring home. I believe no one can visit Japan and return home empty-handed without buying any gifts or souvenirs.
If you read my 9D8N Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka Trip Itinerary + Overview post, you would have know that we have spent a total 47,492 JPY or RM 1,754.83 (1000 JPY = RM 36.95) just on shopping on our recent trip to Japan. We spent most of the money on snacks and confectioneries, and a little on beauty products.
That was quite a huge amount of money, but it was hard to resist temptation to shop because all the snacks and confectioneries are so beautifully packaged and you feel that you just have to bring them home. But on the other hand, the packaging takes up a lot of our luggage space, which is actually a good thing since it stopped us from buying more.
One thing to note, however, is to buy whatever you are capable of eating because Japanese snacks are freshly produced and do not or use very little preservatives, so usually, they have very short expiry date.
Narita International Airport
Airports are a good place to get all your last minute shopping done. We bought quite a lot of snacks from a Duty Free shop called "Akihabara" at Narita International Airport before we boarded our flight home.
Calbee Jaga Pokkuru Hokkaido Premium Potato
Price: 820 Yen | RM 30.30 / box
Jaga Pokkuru is easily our favorite snack and we would always buy a few boxes back every time we visit Japan. Made from 100% Hokkaido grown potatoes, it is delightfully crispy and crunchy without being hard. The potatoes are cut without peeling the skin to retain the flavor and seasoned with roasted salt from Okhotsk. You can almost taste the real potato flavor and I actually like that it is not too salty.
It is somewhat like Jagabee (a similar potato snack by Calbee), but much more expensive. A box of it comes with 10 individual packs, which makes it a perfect snack to munch on while watching TV. This super addictive potato snack is a famous souvenir from Hokkaido and it is difficult to find it in any of the cities we have visited. The best place to buy this is probably at the duty free stores at the airport.
Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory Cookies
Price: 1,700 Yen | RM 62.82
Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory Cookies is one of the most popular gift to buy in Tokyo other than Tokyo Banana. The cookies are made with carefully selected milk and high quality cheese, combining ingredients from not only Japan, but also around the world.
There are three different flavors available - Salt & Camembert, Honey & Gorgonzola and Strawberry & Milk Tea. Actually, I did not intend to buy this in the first place. But I could not resist the temptation to buy after trying out the samples because they taste so good.
Strawberry & Milk Tea is a brand new limited edition flavor launched for Spring 2019. It is a perfect combination of strawberry with white chocolate and milk tea. I actually like this flavor, but you have buy this in an assorted box of 30. That was way too many and too expensive, so I was a little hesitated to buy.
Sakura Matcha Kit Kat
Sakura Matcha Kit Kat is only available during Spring time in Japan. It is less Matcha heavy than the Matcha Kit Kat, with a hint of cherry blossom.
Royce Sakuraberry & Sakurawhite Chocolate
Price: 830 Yen | RM 30.67
This is a limited edition Sakura flavored chocolate by Royce. A box of it comes with two different flavors - Sakuraberry (pink) and Sakurawhite (white). There are 20 pieces for each flavors, which makes a total of 40. Each piece of chocolate is individually wrapped.
Sakurawhite, on the other hand, is just milk chocolate with a very mild floral taste. It is smooth, richer and a little sweeter than Sakuraberry. I actually prefer Sakuraberry to Sakurawhite because I am not really a big fan of white chocolate.
Kyoto Station
There are many shops inside Kyoto Station where you can enjoy shopping. It is great for people who do not have enough time shopping after spending too much time sightseeing.
Matcha Dacquoise
Seriously, I have no idea what this is called. The Japanese words translate (by Google translate) it as Kyoto Matcha Dacquoise by a brand called Sasaya Iori+. It is a meringue cookies made with Kyoto green tea, with green tea cream and rice cake sandwiched between. This is my husband and my favorite Kyoto snack.
We would have bought more if it was not so expensive.But then, it expires within a month, so we can only buy whatever we can finish.
Sasaya Iori+ is a long established sweets store with over 300 years history. We bought this from a shop called Kyo-no Miyage at Asty Road Shopping Arcade at Kyoto Station. The shop sells a good selection of Kyoto confectioneries, so it is a great place to get gifts and souvenirs.
This is a limited seasonal product by a well known tea shop called Gion Tsujiri. The shop is famous for their Matcha, or powdered green tea, sourced by nearby field of Uji. The tea is smooth, refreshing and has a pleasant taste of Spring.
Hachijuhachiya Sencha
This is another Sencha we bought from the same shop. It is called Hachijuhachiya, which means 88th night in Japanese. Hachijuhachiya refers to the 88th day after Spring. In Japan, this day is special because it marks the beginning of the year' first tea picking, which usually occurs in early May. Tea harvested on this day is said to be the absolute in quality, freshness and flavor.
I am not sure whether this tea is harvested on the 88th day after Spring because we bought this in April. It is light, fragrant and has a calming taste. I actually love this more than Sencha Harudanran.
We also bought a cheaper one at a supermarket store (could not remember the name) at Asty Road at Kyoto Station. A packet of it contains 30 green tea bags. It is pretty cheap, but I am not sure whether it taste good since I have not tried.
Junmai Ginjo Sake Miyako Kururi
Price: 500 Yen | RM 18.48 / can
We bought this simply because it is so pretty! We just could not bear to drink it at all. So I am not sure whether this taste good or not. I am not sure when we will drink it. Well, maybe we will not. We bought from the same supermarket store where we bought the Uetsujien Green Tea at Asty Road.
Sake (?)
Price: 680 Yen | RM 25.13 / bottle
Another one we bought from Kyo-no-Miyage. I believe this is also sake since I could not find any description on the bottle or box. The bottle is so pretty too! I just could not resist the temptation to buy it.
Shinsaibashi-suji, Osaka
Shinsaibashi is one of the main shopping areas in Osaka, with countless of stores, food and fun bars and nightclubs. You can easily spend a whole day shopping here!
Adidas NMD R1
But we did not shop here. The only thing we bought was a pair of new sport shoes for my husband. This is the Adidas NMD R1 Japan series that he bought. The unique thing about the Japan series are the eye-catching Japanese wordings, which makes it unique to Japan. This one which my husband bought is all black and is offset by white Japanese on the back pull tab. It is stylish and comfortable.
The Japan Series are not exclusively available only in Japan as you still buy them from many online stores. But surprisingly, it is actually much more cheaper to buy it in Japan than any online stores. You can really consider bringing a pair of sport shoes home when you visit Japan because they are cheaper. Also, there are a lot of Japan only editions that might be hard to find outside of Japan.
We got this pair of shoes from ABC-Mart (Shinsaibashisuji store), a fairly well-known footwear company in Japan as they were selling at a lower price than Adidas stores. They have
Tsuruha Drug
Japan is a drugstore heaven and it is almost impossible to enter one and leave without buying anything. There are simply so many things you can buy! We visited Tsuruha Drug, Dotonbori store in Osaka and here are some of the things we bought.
Yaokin Umaibo Corn Potage Snack Stick
Yaokin Umaibo is an all time favorite Japanese snack for kids. But adults love it as well, including me. Umaibo is a a puffed cylinder corn snack that comes in different flavors. There are a total of 19 favors available, including salad, mentaiko, takoyaki, cheese, Natto, chocolate and many more. Some of the flavors are available in specific regions only and this one I got is the corn potage flavor. It is actually the most common flavor that you can find.
The packaging is decorated with cute Umaemon character that kids will love. I actually wanted to taste every flavor, but it usually sold in a big packet of 30s and it is hard to find them sold individually. The price is cheap and it is probably the cheapest snack in Japan.
Pocky Almond Crush
Crispy biscuit sticks drenched in milk chocolate and crushed roasted almonds. We bought this because it was really cheap. But it makes for a delicious snack too.
Calbee Jagabee Potato Sticks
The Jagabee Potato Sticks are somewhat similar to Jaga Pokkuru, but it is much more cheaper. I bought this in two different flavors - Light Salt and Butter and Soy Sauce. Of course, there are many other flavors, but I can only find two at Tsuruha Drug. A box consists of 5 individual packets. The price is cheap and it is super addictive.
Light Salt flavor is lightly seasoned with salt. But I prefer Jaga Pokkuru to Jagabee because the potato taste is stronger. Jaga Pokkuru also taste better in terms of texture. It is more crispy and crunchier than Jagabee.
Butter and Soy Sauce does not sound like a good combination. But the result is not bad, but I actually prefer the Light Salt flavor than this. It is saltier than the Light Salt flavor, and buttery.
Sakura Japanese Sake Kit Kat
Sakura Japanese Sake is a new limited edition kit kat released in 2019. The kit kat is pink in color! So pretty! The wafers are covered in a pink coating of white chocolate mixed with powdered sake with Sakura flavored cream sandwiched in between. It contains 0.07% alcohol content, which makes it unsuitable for children and people with low alcohol tolerance.
A packet consists of 12 mini bars. You will smell strong sake and faint cherry blossom scent the moment you opened the packing. A strong sake flavor filled your mouth instantly followed by a slightly sour taste of Sakura when you bite into it.
Mannan Life Konnyaku Jelly
Price: 138 Yen | RM 5.10 / packet
Konnyaku Jelly is a rubbery and flavorless jelly-like health food made from a type of potato called Konnyaku potato. But I am sure whether this one is healthy at all because it is Grape flavored. It is not suitable for elderly and young children due to choking hazard.
Hada Labo Gokujyun Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Lotion
Hada Labo is a must buy for me, not only because I am a fan of the brand, but also it is so much cheaper to buy it in Japan than in Malaysia! These are refillable packs and I seldom see any stores in Malaysia sell these.
Kanebo Suisai Beauty Clear Powder
The Kanebo Suisai Beauty Clear Powder is definitely another must buy for me. But it is really expensive, and in fact, it is the most expensive beauty product I have bought in Japan. I have fallen in love with it ever since I bought it during my Japan trip 3 years ago. It cleans well and is extremely convenient for travel. But sadly, it is getting more expensive.
For those who do not know, this is basically a cleansing powder that helps to exfoliate, moisturize and brighten skin. It is one of the most popular and best selling drugstore brand powder cleanser in Japan
Rosette Gommage Peeling Gel
My Review: Rosette Gommage Peeling Gel
This is gentle peeling gel that exfoliate and cleanse your skin. It comes in blue (original) and red (moist) version. I got the blue one because I feel it is more suitable for my combination skin. It is cheap and does its job well.
Lion Pair Medicated Acne Care Cream W
Price: 753 Yen | RM 27.83 / box
Of course, I have to pick up my favorite pimple cream whenever I visit Japan. I have been using this pimple cream for the past 3 years. It is available in 14g and 24g. I bought the 14g one because I don't really use it often.
M's One Smooth Cotton
Price: 105 Yen | RM 3.88
Japan cotton pads are awesome and I always buy a few boxes of them whenever I visit Japan. They are extremely soft and fluffy and does not leave any cotton on my face. There are a lot of other brands, but this one I bought is the cheapest.
Itami Airport
We have to spend a night at Itami Airport as we have an early flight to catch the next morning. There is nothing much to do at the airport other than shopping. We got these from a store called "Kansai Tabinikki" at Itami Airport.
Kobe Fugetsudo Petites Gaufres
Price: 540 Yen | RM 19.95 / box
Kobe Fugetsudo Petites Gaufres is a snack of two pieces of thin wafer with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavor cream sandwiched in between. Each piece of wafer is embossed with the Gaufre logo, which means wafer in French.
The Gaufres are delicate and crispy and the cream is not overly sweet and quickly melts in your mouth. It was yummy and I really regretted that I did not buy more of it.
Wrapped nicely in a Kobe Fugetsudo wrapper, it comes in a box of 4 packs. Each pack consists of 3 pieces of three different flavors. It is pretty expensive for the amount you get.
Kobe Fugetsudo is a famous confectionery brand from Kobe with over a 100 year history. It is well known for their Japanese sweets and Gaufre, but I did not know about the brand when I bought this. The Gaufres just look delicious, so that is why I bought it to try. I am glad that it did not disappoint.
Kanou Shoujuan Sakura Jelly
Price: 972 Yen | RM 35.92 / box
Sakura jelly is one of the most popular treat in Japan, only available during the Cherry Blossom season. This is from a brand called Kanou Shoujuan, which is a well-established Wagashi (Japanese confections) shop in Japan. They are famous for their plain Mochi rice wrapped with premium red bean paste. My husband bought this to try because it is so pretty and looks delicious. It comes in a box of 4, each packed in individual plastic cup and wrapper.
The translucent jelly is slightly pink, blended with taste of cherry blossom. Encased in the center of the light pink jelly is a cherry blossom. Don't worry, the flower inside is edible. Once you open the plastic case, you will be greeted by a sweet floral fragrance. The taste is weirdly unique and I must admit that I did not like it, partly because jelly is not my thing. It is a little bland and has a mild floral taste.
Lawson
Convenience stores can be a good place to get cheap food souvenirs since they routinely release new items under their own private brand. We got a few snacks from Lawson, one of the biggest convenience store chain in Japan.
Kit Kat Everyday Nuts and Cranberry Ruby Chocolate
Price: 407 Yen | RM 15.04 / packet
This is a new ruby chocolate flavor released by Nestle in 2018. The naturally pink hued ruby chocolate is a special kind of chocolate made from ruby cocoa beans. It is creamy, smooth and has a natural berry fruity flavor.
Kitkat Japan is actually the first brand to introduce ruby chocolate to the market. This new flavor comes with added healthy nuts and cranberries. The taste is pretty unique and the combination of nuts gave it a crunchy texture.
The packaging is beautiful as well. Each pack contains 12 mini kit kats, so you can enjoy whenever and wherever you want.
Roasted Peanut Chocolate
Price: 108 Yen | RM 3.99 / packet
This is Lawson own brand product. It is pretty cheap and sinfully good. The peanuts are wonderfully roasted and coated by a thick layer of chocolate. It is so delicious!
Price: 148 Yen | RM 5.47 / packet
My husband also bought some Lawson brand dried squids. I am not whether these taste nice, but my husband likes them very much.
Mt Fuji Chocolate Crunch
Price: 540 Yen | RM 19.95 / box
We bought this from the souvenir store at Lake Kawaguchiko Station at Mount Fuji. As its name suggests, these are Mount Fuji miniature chocolates to a scale of 180,000:1.There are 10 pieces in a box, each individually wrapped. Each one is conically shaped like Mount Fuji and the top is coated with white chocolate that resemble snow. It is rich, crunchy and not too sweet. So delicious!
Evian Mineral Water
Price: 110 Yen | RM 4.06 / bottle
WHAT? Evian Mineral Water? Are you kidding me? Well, I am not. This is a collection launched by Evian to celebrate Disney Mickey 90th Anniversary. We just happened to see this at one of the vending machine at OCAT in Namba Osaka and could not resist the temptation to buy it. It is so cute! We actually bought this specially for the Mickey Mouse's bottle and do not have the intention to drink the water. But we were surprised that Evian mineral water actually costs the same as other brands of mineral water in Japan because it usually costs so much more in Malaysia.
Socks
Price: 700 Yen | RM 25.87 / pair
We did not intend to buy these socks at all and they were really expensive. But we have no choice because the socks we brought from home were too thin for the cold weather. So we have buy some warmer ones. We saw these at Emporio at Disneysea. Although they were expensive, the quality of the socks are really good. They are thick and incredibly comfortable.
Well, these are all the items we have brought back from Japan. I hope you have enjoyed reading through our little shopping haul.
If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 9D8N Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka Trip Itinerary + Overview for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 9 days in Japan. Be sure to follow me on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram for the latest updates on my 9 days adventures in Japan! You might also want to check My Wanderlust page for some of my other travel adventures.
This is gentle peeling gel that exfoliate and cleanse your skin. It comes in blue (original) and red (moist) version. I got the blue one because I feel it is more suitable for my combination skin. It is cheap and does its job well.
Of course, I have to pick up my favorite pimple cream whenever I visit Japan. I have been using this pimple cream for the past 3 years. It is available in 14g and 24g. I bought the 14g one because I don't really use it often.
M's One Smooth Cotton
Japan cotton pads are awesome and I always buy a few boxes of them whenever I visit Japan. They are extremely soft and fluffy and does not leave any cotton on my face. There are a lot of other brands, but this one I bought is the cheapest.
Itami Airport
We have to spend a night at Itami Airport as we have an early flight to catch the next morning. There is nothing much to do at the airport other than shopping. We got these from a store called "Kansai Tabinikki" at Itami Airport.
Kobe Fugetsudo Petites Gaufres
Price: 540 Yen | RM 19.95 / box
Kobe Fugetsudo Petites Gaufres is a snack of two pieces of thin wafer with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavor cream sandwiched in between. Each piece of wafer is embossed with the Gaufre logo, which means wafer in French.
The Gaufres are delicate and crispy and the cream is not overly sweet and quickly melts in your mouth. It was yummy and I really regretted that I did not buy more of it.
Kobe Fugetsudo is a famous confectionery brand from Kobe with over a 100 year history. It is well known for their Japanese sweets and Gaufre, but I did not know about the brand when I bought this. The Gaufres just look delicious, so that is why I bought it to try. I am glad that it did not disappoint.
Kanou Shoujuan Sakura Jelly
Price: 972 Yen | RM 35.92 / box
Sakura jelly is one of the most popular treat in Japan, only available during the Cherry Blossom season. This is from a brand called Kanou Shoujuan, which is a well-established Wagashi (Japanese confections) shop in Japan. They are famous for their plain Mochi rice wrapped with premium red bean paste. My husband bought this to try because it is so pretty and looks delicious. It comes in a box of 4, each packed in individual plastic cup and wrapper.
Lawson
Convenience stores can be a good place to get cheap food souvenirs since they routinely release new items under their own private brand. We got a few snacks from Lawson, one of the biggest convenience store chain in Japan.
Kit Kat Everyday Nuts and Cranberry Ruby Chocolate
This is a new ruby chocolate flavor released by Nestle in 2018. The naturally pink hued ruby chocolate is a special kind of chocolate made from ruby cocoa beans. It is creamy, smooth and has a natural berry fruity flavor.
Kitkat Japan is actually the first brand to introduce ruby chocolate to the market. This new flavor comes with added healthy nuts and cranberries. The taste is pretty unique and the combination of nuts gave it a crunchy texture.
The packaging is beautiful as well. Each pack contains 12 mini kit kats, so you can enjoy whenever and wherever you want.
Roasted Peanut Chocolate
Price: 108 Yen | RM 3.99 / packet
This is Lawson own brand product. It is pretty cheap and sinfully good. The peanuts are wonderfully roasted and coated by a thick layer of chocolate. It is so delicious!
My husband also bought some Lawson brand dried squids. I am not whether these taste nice, but my husband likes them very much.
Mt Fuji Chocolate Crunch
We bought this from the souvenir store at Lake Kawaguchiko Station at Mount Fuji. As its name suggests, these are Mount Fuji miniature chocolates to a scale of 180,000:1.There are 10 pieces in a box, each individually wrapped. Each one is conically shaped like Mount Fuji and the top is coated with white chocolate that resemble snow. It is rich, crunchy and not too sweet. So delicious!
Evian Mineral Water
WHAT? Evian Mineral Water? Are you kidding me? Well, I am not. This is a collection launched by Evian to celebrate Disney Mickey 90th Anniversary. We just happened to see this at one of the vending machine at OCAT in Namba Osaka and could not resist the temptation to buy it. It is so cute! We actually bought this specially for the Mickey Mouse's bottle and do not have the intention to drink the water. But we were surprised that Evian mineral water actually costs the same as other brands of mineral water in Japan because it usually costs so much more in Malaysia.
Socks
We did not intend to buy these socks at all and they were really expensive. But we have no choice because the socks we brought from home were too thin for the cold weather. So we have buy some warmer ones. We saw these at Emporio at Disneysea. Although they were expensive, the quality of the socks are really good. They are thick and incredibly comfortable.
Well, these are all the items we have brought back from Japan. I hope you have enjoyed reading through our little shopping haul.
