January 2020 Bokksu – New Year In Kanagawa

Have you heard of Bokksu? It is a monthly subscription box that sends you traditional snacks from Japan. Each month is themed and focuses on a different area of Japan. This allows you to experience many unique tastes not available elsewhere and highlights that area’s distinct flavors. Having previously experienced two months of Bokksu, back in November and December, I was really looking forward to seeing what this month had in store. The January 2020 Bokksu theme is New Year in Kanagawa.

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January 2020 Bokksu

Maple Syrup Hotcakes

I quite enjoyed these. The hotcakes are wonderfully soft and the maple sandwiched between them is light. They make for the perfect snack.

Berry Short Cake Rusk

This is my favorite item from this month’s Bokksu. It was like a bread cookie. It had a great crunch, a distinctly bready flavor with an extra dose of sweetness. The berry flavor complimented it all perfectly. I wish it had have been bigger or that another one was included because it was just that good.

Yokohama Caramel Ring Cake

This little ring cake had a nice moist texture to it. Slightly dense but also springy to the touch. I found that it tasted more like honey than caramel. All around a great little snack if you are looking for a quick sweet treat to tie you over until your next meal.

Puku Puku Tai: Chocolate

My second favorite item. The outside has a great crunch and was slightly flaky. While the inner chocolate is crispy, yet melts in your mouth, changing the texture instantly. The chocolate is not overly sweet and is perfectly complemented by the flaky outer layer. It was quite the experience.

Shonan Gold Crispy Candy

These candies were a bit strange. The flavor was similar to orange and lemon mixed together, citrusy but slightly tangy. I found the crunchiness of these candies to be the odd part. It felt like they should have been a sucking candy instead of one that you chew. Good, but not great.

Saki Waffle Setouchi Lemon

This one surprised me. I’m not a huge fan of lemon, so I wasn’t expecting much. Yet this little lemon-flavored waffle was wonderful. The flavor was light, just enough to know it was lemon without being overly sour or overwhelming. The waffle itself was surprisingly soft but still had that obvious waffle texture to it.

Shonan Green Lemon Cake

This small cake was tasty. The lemon flavor wasn’t too strong. However, the large chunks of lemon zest made it texturally unpleasant to eat. If those had not been included in the cake then I would have enjoyed it more.

Great Buddha Gummy: Cola & Soda

Two Buddha-shaped gummies, one cola flavored and the other soda. I honestly didn’t feel like the flavor was all that different between them. Overall, a nice little gummy candy with a fun shape.

Country Ma’am: Fragrant Vanilla

You can’t go wrong with chocolate chip cookies, which is essentially what these were. With a nice hint of vanilla, these were a great little snack.

Yokohama Butter Sandwich Cookie

This was a pretty good cookie. The flavor was nice for both cookie and filling. My one complaint is that the pattern that was on the outside of the cookie gave it a slightly burnt taste, which was a bit offputting. Without that, I think this would have been a really great cookie.

Red Snapper Crackers

These fish-shaped crackers were alright. I found that they lacked flavor but had a decent crunch and texture to them.

Mala Agesen Fried Rice Cracker

This rice cracker was spicy! I’m not a huge fan of spicy food. I don’t mind a bit of heat but this burned my tongue. It was hard to tell what the flavor was beyond the spice. This would be ideal for anyone who enjoys spicy food but it wasn’t for me.

Yokohama Sesame Oil Okaki Rice Crackers

Sesame oil is one of those flavors that people either love or hate. Unfortunately, I do not like it. Which made these crackers pretty unpleasant to eat. I will say they had great crunch and texture, but the flavor was far too offputting to eat them all.

Kamakura Fried Potato: Cheddar Cheese

These chips shaped like french fries were great. They had a fantastic crunch and the cheese flavor was on point.

Hakone Sanroku Black Tea Akafuji

This wasn’t too bad. I’m not a tea drinker, so I can’t say whether this was a good black tea or not. The flavor was fairly nice, though I will admit it was better with just a bit of sugar added.

I really enjoyed the January 2020 Bokksu. There was a nice mix of flavors, textures, and colors found throughout them. Have you ever tried Bokksu? If you are interested in Japanese food, I would highly recommend giving it a try.

Other Japanese subscription boxes to try:

• Japan Crate
• Tokyo Treat
• Umai Crate