Review: Sakuraco November Box

As you may recall, I decided to get a year long subscription box from Sakuraco that delivers curated Japanese treats to us every month. I may not review every single box but I thought it might be nice for anyone considering it to get a sense of what changes from month to month.

The last box review was in July when I had received my first box. July’s box was centered around Hokkaido treats. August was focused on delights from Okinawa. September higlhlighted Tokyo Matsuri or street festivals. Like festivals in the United States, they offer entertainment, crafts, and always food. October’s box, a favorite so far, features the flavors of Mt. Fuji.

November’s box focused on Autumn in Kyushu.

Before I go diving into it, it’s probably worth going over some background details that may give more context to these boxes.

Japan is made up of five islands. They are from north to south: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and the Ryukyu islands. As you can see from the map below, Tokyo is located on Honshu. The second arrow points to Okinawa which is part of the Ryukyu Islands.

There are climate and cultural differences in these distinct islands. My relatives live primarily on the biggest island of Honshu. Though I’ve visited Hokkaido once as a child, I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting the other three islands.

Fall in Japan

Japanese culture celebrates the seasons more pointedly than we do in the United States. If you think about it, there are distinctive seasonal celebrations around the states, but they tend to be focused on celebrations carried from other cultures more than anything distinctly American.

In Japan, besides amazing foliage, fall brings in a certain flavor palate that carries on through winter. Suddenly festival and celebration foods start to contain pumpkin (Japanese kabocha), sweet potato (satsumaimo) and chestnuts (kuri).

My sister was crazy for chestnuts growing up. I didn’t embrace their texture until I was an adult.

I found some Japanese sweet potatoes in Whole Foods the other day and thought I would try them again to see if I could describe how they are different than most of the sweet potatoes we eat in the United States. I can’t. They are more pale and the texture is more – crumbly – than our sweet potatoes. I prefer ours.

The Contents

The box is well packed and beautifully packaged. It’s consistent from month to month. Each page describes the delicacy, the source and location of the treat, any allergens, and a brief description. I like to explore the different options, lay them out with the relevant descriptions and think about what order I’ll try the treats. Is one better for a morning snack with tea? Is one good for a crunchy break during the day? Will one be a possible favorite for George? Are there ones I’m simply not interested in?

I like to dole them out over a week or so – to separate them out and savor each unique treat on its own.

Though I didn’t sample them in order, I thought I would arrange my thoughts based on how they are presented in the brochure.

Page 1

• I thought the Sweet Potato Karinto would be a favorite of mine. They are essentially crunchy sweet potato fries. However, they are coated in sugar and I found them a bit too cloying for my palate.
• The Purple Imo Bread tastes like many traditional slightly sweet breads on Japan. They are honestly not my favorite but definitely trigger taste memories for me so I enjoy them nostalgically.
• The Sweet Potato Monaka is two wafer cookies with a sweet potato filling. I didn’t expect to enjoy it but the flavor was lovely. I’m not a huge fan of the texture of wafer cookies but overall it was very tasty!

Page 2

• The Spring Autumn Rabbit Owan Bowl is used for soups. Think of miso soup at your local sushi restaurant. I’ve read other reviews of the box and not everyone embraces the tableware included with the box. I enjoy it because I’m slowly building a weird little collection of bowls that remind me of my grandparent’s house.
• There seems to be a green tea included in each box. This one had two tea bags of Fukamushi Green Tea. The interesting thing with the tea is that they really do have different flavor profiles. I wouldn’t get to experience it without the boxes. I like to save the tea bags and then try them in a row so I can really taste the flavor. This may or may not be your thing. Green tea is certainly an acquired taste for many people.

Page 3

This page featured treats with chestnut. I really wish my sister was around to share in these treats! It made me miss her. (Hi, Sis!)

• There were two kinds of Chestnut Manju which are basically little sweet buns with a chestnut filling inside. They are a very distinct flavor and texture. I preferred them filled with sweet red beans as a kid but the chestnut is more appealing to my adult palate. The Kumamoto Castle Under the Moon Chestnut Manju had a chestnut and red bean blend in the filling. It is specific to Kumamoto and is often purchased as a souvenir – so the brochure says.
• The regular Chestnut Manju is more familiar to me. It’s sweet without being too sweet. I find this is a fairly common trait of many Japanese “sweets”.
• I was most excited for the Chestnut Baumkuchen. I got fascinated about the production process of baumkuchen several months ago after stumbling on a random YouTube video. Baumkuchen was brought to Japan by the Germans and involves the laborious task of creating a cake with multiple layers. It is apparently the test of a master baker in Germany, annoying difficult and laborious enough that most will not do it. In Japan there is a machine that creates them but still – what a pain. They get dipped and individual cooked on a cake rotisserie twenty some odd times. Trust me, google it. Fascinating! The process probably outpaces the taste – but I was delighted to be able to sample one!
• I imagine the last treat featured on this page would NOT appeal to most people – Chestnut Jelly. It has sweet red beans and slices of chestnut in an agar jelly. It’s a weird texture and a weird combination of flavors to a western mouth. Since it’s the amalgamation of flavors I grew up with as a kid – it’s a trip down memory lane. I’m thrilled to take it – but I don’t need it every day!

Page 4

• The Brown Sugar Donuts had a great texture but was a little too sweet for my taste. One of the nice things about Japanese confections is that they are often very small. So you have one and though it’s a lot, it’s all you need. I admire that.
• Admittedly I did not read the description of the Kumamoto Castle Ginkgo Pie scared me because Ginkgo is fragrant in a really unpleasant way. No need to worry. They were only SHAPED like ginkgo leaves. They were delightfully light and crispy.
• Senbei (Japanese crispy rice crackers) are long standing favorites of mine. The Black Bean Senbei shocked me because it had hard, whole black beans in it. It was a bit like biting into whole coffee beans.
• The Daimaru Senbei was hands down my favorite. I prefer them over potato chips and pretzels in almost every variety. No exception here. I think it’s safe to say that I favor the savory over the blatantly sweet.

Page 5

• The Yawaraka Milk Cookie is basically a soft, chewy and wonderful version of our sugar cookies. Mmm.
• The Amanatsu Citrus Jelly is a more watery textured version of jello but isn’t as sweet. I prefer the texture of Jell-o but the flavor of the citrus jelly.
• Honey Castella cake was another transplanted treat from the Portguese in the 17th century. It was a lovely sponge cake texture – sweet but not too much. Lovely with tea!
• Finally the Brown Sugar Bolo. This little cake has little crunchy bites of brown sugar lumps in it.

Funny, my brown sugar often has lumps in it. I never realized it could be an intentional part of the recipe!

Final Thoughts

If I had to pick a favorite from this box, it would be…the Daimaru Senbei. The rest were so nostalgic for me, but I don’t crave or need it every day. These are treats to be savored in small portion – and then it can go away.

Several months into my subscription and I’m still enjoying the content of the boxes. It feels like value well met for me. I don’t imagine I will need it for more than a single year – and frankly I could probably do half as many boxes and enjoy it just as much.

Food and smells trigger memories. This is a delightful reminder of half of my heritage and some sweet memories of youthful summers spent exploring a very different world than the one I normally lived in.

What treats intrigue you? Would you seek any of them out?