January Snakku Review and Giveaway

Snakku has quickly become one of my favorite subscription boxes for a number of reasons! They have beautiful packaging and delicious snacks that are sent straight from Japan. Their January box is the best one yet!

*Disclaimer: This box was sent to See, Shop, Love! in exchange for an honest review.

Snakku is a Japanese snack box that is unique in that they send authentic foods that are only available in Japan. They also include more popular and easier to find snacks, but my favorite part is that the box lets me sample things I wouldn't normally have access to.

Boxes cost $38.95 per month with free shipping to U.S. addresses. While that might seem like a high price at first, I think it is well worth the cost because you'll get nearly two pounds of snacks that are only available in Japan. Without Snakku, I would have no access to these types of snacks!

Snakku's packaging is absolutely gorgeous. Each box is wrapped in a colorful cloth, which I would love to share with you but I must have accidentally deleted the photo I took of the box before opening it! You can see examples in my previous Snakku reviews, though.

This month's box features snacks from Chidoriya, which is a boutique snack company based in the southern island of Kyushu. It was established way back in 1630 near the port city of Nagasaki, which was the only place in Japan that had access to western goods at the time. Chidoriya was also one of the first snack shops in Japan to put sugar in their products. Even today they still hand make all of their snacks using traditional methods and high quality ingredients!

Here are the Featured Snacks for January:

• Hanachidori (top left in pink and yellow packaging) - These little cakes are called manju cakes, which I had never heard of before. They're filled with finely-milled bean paste and come in two flavors: mellow white bean paste and rich yellow bean paste mixed with egg yolks. When I first read the description I thought, bean paste? I wasn't sure what to expect, but these are delicious! I associate beans with savory in my mind, but these were soft and sweet.
• Tirolian Hat - This is the second most popular snack that Chidoriya makes. They're wafer sandwiches with a thin layer of creme in the middle. They come in lemon, strawberry, and coffee. I loved these but I wish they had more creme inside.
• Tirolian Chococrunch - These. Are. Amazing! They're little mini-waffle crunch cookies that are made with locally-produced milk and butter, baked for hours at a low temperature, coated in milk chocolate and then baked again. The chocolate taste is heavenly and the crispy texture is perfect!
• Tirolian - These are Chidoriya's most popular snack. They're roll cookies that are made using the same recipe that was used when the store opened in 1630. They're filled with creme and come in chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and coffee creme flavors. I honestly can't pick a favorite flavor because they all were so good!

Here are the Popular Snacks for January:

• Pretz Corn - These pretzel sticks are very popular in Japan and are in the seasonal Hokkaido winter corn flavor. They have a nice savory flavor that really does taste like sweet corn.
• Happy Turn - The informational card says that these are hard to describe but that the Snakku team loves them, and I agree! They're kind of airy, like a popped chip, but have a good sweet/salty flavor. I love the kawaii packaging, too.
• Lemon Yogurt Candy - These are dual-layered candies with lemon on top and yogurt on the bottom. I haven't tried them yet but the combo sounds yummy.
• Yaki Imo - These are made with stone-baked Japanese sweet potatoes, and I am assuming that they have a creamy filling like the bean paste cakes. I haven't tried them yet, though, so I'm not entirely sure.
• Kuromame Senbei - I love senbei and this one was very tasty. It's a rice cracker with black beans baked in and an earthy yet slightly sweet flavor.

Bottom Line: This was my favorite Snakku box yet because I just loved all of the Chidoriya snacks! I tried to find Tirolian roll cookies (and really all of the cookies featured this month) online but couldn't find them anywhere, which just goes to show that Snakku really does send items that are only available in Japan!

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Want to win a January Snakku box? Snakku has kindly offered two boxes for my readers to win! Enter using the Rafflecopter below. The sweepstakes is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada aged 18+. Please see the Rafflecopter for full terms and conditions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway