I had the opportunity to review the Japan Funbox, a japanese snack box that is delivered to your house monthly. I love subscription boxes because they are something to look forward to every month and if you forget, it is a pleasant surprise in your mailbox. I also personally love trying new candy, especially candy that is imported! The box I am reviewing was provided to me for free and this post may contain affiliate links. That being said, I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed herein are my own.
There are several factors I look at when reviewing a snack subscription box and they are:
- Packaging – Is the box and packaging visually appealing? Does it contain information on the items included?
- Variety of the items – Does the box contain variety in the snacks included? (eg. Chips, drinks, novelty, seasonal, limited edition, etc)
- Taste – Do most or all of the items taste good? I realize this has to do with personal opinion so I will try to describe the taste to other things for comparison.
- Price – Is the price justified for the amount and variety of items included?
Contents
Packaging
The box arrived a little bent but all of the items were otherwise unharmed so it served its purpose. Despite being given the “mini” box to review I thought it was fairly normal in size.
One thing I really liked is the informational insert they included. They include a picture of each item in the box, what it’s called, and a short description which sometimes give a fun fact or how the candy fits within Japanese culture. They also show you what you would have received if you got the “original” sized snack box which has more candy.
Snacks – What’s in the box?
Now on to the actual contents of the box! I taste tested each of these and described their looks, taste, texture, and compared them to something similar if I could. I used water as a palate cleanser.
Crunky
This looks and tastes like a Crunch bar but it is thinner. It is crispy and chocolaty. Nothing special or out of the ordinary. I do like the name though.
Whistle Candy: Grape Flavor
Easily one of the most interesting items included in the box, this hard candy doubles as a functional whistle! It is apparently a very popular candy in Japan. Understandably, it is liked more by children than parents as the whistle is pretty high pitched and loud. I thought it was super cool. As far as the candy itself it is a hollow purple candy that tastes somewhat like Sweet Tarts. It also included a little box that contains a mystery toy.
Potato Happy Butter Chips
These chips were very interesting to try and I could not compare them to any snack I had already tried. They tasted like a combination of very buttery shoestring fried potatos. Like IHOP shoestring potatoes except more buttery. I personally enjoyed them and can see why they were sold out in Japan, I thought they were very good.
Pokémon 3D Candy
My favorite item simply because of the super creative and fun packaging. The top part of the package turns into 3D glasses that you can see through to look at the candies. Each candy wrapper has a Pokemon that “pops” out when viewed with the 3D glasses. Me and my friends loved these because they were fun and everyone is into Pokemon these days with the release of Pokemon GO. The candies themselves are lemon flavored hard candies that have a mildly sour middle.
Strange Gum 2
This gum had 3 flavors: Apple, Strawberry, and Lemon flavored gum. Each gum smelled and tasted good on its own. When you combined the gum it also made new flavors. For example when you combined all three it somehow made a mild grape flavor. The gum itself was not so great, it lost its flavor after chewing it for a short period of time. It was a fun experience though.
Umaibo
Curry Umaibō – This beige colored chip puff smelled like chicken bouillon and tasted like chicken broth. It was crunchy, airy, and crisp. Super tasty and my favorite Umaibo out of the three that I tried in this box.
Cheese Umaibō – This orange colored Umaibo had a cheddar and nacho cheese smell. It tasted very much like a regular Cheeto puff.
Octopus Dumplings Umaibō – This brown colored Umaibo smelled like cocktail dipping sauce and tasted sweet and savory. It did not smell too fishy and was quite enjoyable.
Pricing/Plans
The Japan Funbox comes in three different sizes, each with its own pricing and amount of snacks. Choose the right one for you!
The Mini snack box is $14.99/month with free shipping. It contains 5 to 7 fun snacks to try. Each snack is individually sized with some that can be shared among friends. This is a great and affordable value if you want to try new Japanese snacks.
The Original snack box is $32.99/month with free shipping. It contains more than double the amount of snacks than the mini box (15-20 items). It also contains one DIY kit and more types of interesting Japanese candy. It is also a great value especially if you love Japanese candy and want a lot of try each month.
The Family snack box is $49.99/month and is the biggest box out of the three. It contains at least 2 DIY kit and 2 special items. This is a great value for your whole family if you all love to try Japanese snacks and want to share.
Final Thoughts
The Japan Funbox is a great value all around. With the free worldwide shipping, great variety of snacks, and fun and informative descriptions it is definitely a Japanese candy subscription box to consider if you are looking for one to try.
If you want to learn more or check out their website click here: Japanese Candy Box – Japan Funbox
Thanks for reading! Check out my reviews to other snack subscription boxes here.