Sakuraco vs. TokyoTreat: Which One Is Right for You?

 

There was a time when, if you were into Japanese entertainment and wanted to try the snacks you saw onscreen, you were limited to the one guy at the anime con dealer room who sold Pocky or the soda candy that came with your Sailor Moon figure blind box in the same dealer room. Nowadays, you can get just about anything you want by mail, if not at a store in your town.

Among the myriad treat boxes you can get are Sakuraco and TokyoTreat. This month, I got a chance to sample both their September boxes. I'm a six-month (so far) Sakuraco subscriber, but I was excited to see what was different between the two boxes—and see if I could do a bit of comparison shopping to help other potential snackers figure out which they should go for.

What's the Same?

The first thing to note is that Sakuraco and TokyoTreat both hail from the same parent company: ICHIGO. This company also offers kawaii culture and beauty boxes (YumeTwins and nomakenolife, respectively) and the TokyoCatch online crane game. The JapanHaul site stocks previous months' boxes, individual items from said boxes, and gift sets and bundles.

In other words, these two snack boxes are two sides of the same coin. Each offers a massive selection of curated treats from Japan, often on the same or a similar theme. This month, for example, both boxes adopted a Tsukimi, or moon-viewing, theme. In addition to special packaging for the occasion, each box was stocked with snacks and beverages just right for a moon-viewing party.

So that's what they have in common. Now let's see what sets them apart from each other!

TokyoTreat: Thoroughly Modern

This was my first time getting a TokyoTreat box, and I was super impressed. I'll always be amazed at how much they fit into one crate. The snacks provided offer a snapshot of everyday life in Japan: readily available snacks from modern brands (mascots and all), a sampling of canned juice and instant noodles, and more.

The curation was pretty decent. Snacks were included either for autumnal flavors or for some relation to the moon: chocolate-mint moon rock candy, various round things like smoky potato crisps and custard-flavored chocolate balls, and the like. There was an even enough mix of familiar and unfamiliar flavors to be approachable even to someone unfamiliar with snacks outside their own culture.

Best of the box: KitKat Chestnut. All the best KitKat flavors live in Japan, apparently. I was happy to finally get to try one off the beaten path.

New discovery: Mikan juice. After hearing about Chika's obsession with mikan in Love Live! Sunshine!!, I wanted an opportunity to see what the big deal was. I may not be quite as much of a mikan acolyte as she is, but I definitely get the appeal.

Pleasant surprise: Sweet soy sauce kibidango. I'm relatively adventurous with food, but I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this. The packaging features a drawing of Tokyo Skytree, and the kibidango itself actually tasted really nice.

Sakuraco: Traditional Teatime

When I initially picked one of ICHIGO's boxes for myself, I went for Sakuraco. This box specializes in more traditional snacks, and each month's box comes with a tea pairing and some manner of home goods (plates, glasses, etc.). The guide that comes with each box also highlights the makers of the snacks and goods, offering insight into the history and tradition of the snacks.

I've been enjoying the curation of my Sakuraco boxes, and this month was no exception. There's consistently a wide variety of things, including at least one thing I'm completely unfamiliar with. The home goods are always lovely, too, and I use them regularly.

Best of the box: A tie between the hatomugi tea and the chocolate creme danish, which I had together. part of what I love about this box is that you can do tea and snack pairings, and just about anything in the box will go nicely with the tea included.

New discovery: Anko dorayaki. I've been curious about dorayaki for as long as I've known who Doraemon is, and I love anko anyway. I can see why he's into them.

Pleasant surprise: White chocolate infused strawberries. Don't get me wrong, I was not expecting to dislike these. But I was also not prepared for just how good they were.

All things considered, both of these boxes are excellent. A lot of thought went into the curation and theming of each, not to mention the book that came in each crate. What it comes down to is what you're personally looking for.

Are you new-ish to the world of Japanese treats? Do you like to be on top of all things modern? Is your ideal evening watching anime and sharing snacks with your friends? Go for TokyoTreat.

Are you relatively familiar with the culture and history and want to go deeper? Do you like to romanticize your life a bit? Does your ideal evening involve a cup of tea and some quiet time? Go for Sakuraco.

Can't decide? Shop around on JapanHaul!

Thanks so much to the team at ICHIGO for letting me sample TokyoTreat and share my thoughts with you. If you subscribe to either box (or both!), let me know what you think!

MERCH REVIEW: I Tried Curious Elixirs

So, I am a drinker. I adore a good cocktail. I adore a good whisky even more. I have several bottles of nice things in my pantry.

However, there are times when I can't drink — largely due to medications I very much need to take. I also just came off a month or so of being on some serious painkillers, which meant foregoing even social drinking. I realized at some point it wasn't the alcohol I missed, it was having a small glass of something that tastes rather nice right before bed. And while yeah, sometimes I absolutely want a gin and tonic, I neither need nor want that on the daily.

I've seen Curious Elixirs around a lot, and I've been... uh... curious about them. Partly because I realized I need some non-alcoholic go-tos for when I inevitably do myself another mischief and end up on painkillers again. But also because I have friends who either can't or don't want to drink, so I'm always keeping my eyes and ears up for alternatives. So when the opportunity arose to give these a try, I figured I would.

I received five flavors to sample. Sadly, one was past its sell-by date, so I opted not to brave that one. Here, then, are the other four.

Curious No. 1 goes out to all those House of the Dragon, Emma D'Arcy, or Tumblr in general enjoyers. Because it's the Curious Elixirs take on a Negroni Sbagliato. Meme potential aside, this is No. 1 for a reason. It's easily my favorite out of the entire list, both for the pomegranate flavor and how nice it looks in the glass. (I am a sucker for aesthetics.)

No. 1, like all the cocktails from Curious Elixirs, is made with a superfood and adaptogen blend; in this case, rhodolia for relaxation and gentian for digestion. Whether you credit any of that or not, it's still a lovely drink.

Curious No. 3 was the first one I cracked open: an herby twist on a Cucumber Collins. I'm a sucker for herbal and floral infusions in my cocktails, and this was definitely a nice one. It's a bit lighter than No. 1, and is a very close second and nice alternative. This one is made with ashwagandha extract, so it might not be suitable for some.

I thought Curious No. 5 would be my favorite, because "smoked chocolate cherry" sounds like three things I love all rolled into one. Your mileage may vary, but I found that the smokiness didn't quite hit the same as, say, a smoky bourbon. It was a bit too strong and bitter on the palate, drowning out the rest of the nice flavors. This might hit different for others, though.

Last but not least, Curious No. 6. This tropical drink was inspired by the Painkiller, and it's a nice one. Not as high on my list as No. 1 or No. 3, but I'm also not as big a fan of pineapple-based drinks as others might be. If pina coladas are your go-to, though, I could see this being a great non-alcoholic swap-in.

Overall, the flavor of these took a little getting used to. These are not meant to taste alcoholic; however, the flavor combinations do lend themselves to sipping. Once you get past that, it's rather nice. Like real cocktails, not every flavor is going to be a hit with every drinker. Even if you know what you like, it may take a little trial and error to find your match. They do offer variety packs, so you can test drive a few different ones and find out what works for you.

They reminded me most of all of, as I mentioned before, some herbal-infused cocktails I've had in the past. I'm a huge fan of those, so take that as your barometer. If you enjoy those, these might be a hit for you. But again, they're not a one-to-one alcohol stand-in, nor should they be expected to be.

These are a relatively healthy alternative to alcoholic nightcaps, though I definitely recommend checking the label (both for herbal interactions and for calories). The website lists the price per serving, which is generally about $4-5... more expensive than a six-pack of beer, but probably also better for you.

If you're interested in trying out Curious Elixirs, I would definitely recommend picking up one of their monthly sample packs first. In my experience, you're likely to find a go-to and a fallback pretty quickly. From there, you can order exactly what you fancy. If you prefer to grab a six-pack in person, check their Stockists page for a location near you that sells them.

Thanks very much to Curious Elixirs for sending samples my way!

MERCH REVIEW: CASETiFY x One Piece Restock

 

Besides being a legitimately rad brand, CASETiFY is becoming one of my favorite companies to work with. They show a lot of love for anime fans, and their designs are actually well thought out and fun to sport. (When your best friend is a graphic designer, you get picky.)

If you follow my work for Otaku USA, you've probably already seen that they are setting up for a big ol' One Piece restock. Between the series's enduring appeal, the recent events of the anime, and the upcoming live-action series, it's on everyone's mind even more than usual. The restock goes live this Friday, but I got to test out some of their sweet returning designs in advance!

In this particular merch drop, the poker card designs are my favorites. Each presents a duo laid out playing card style. For my sample, I got Uta and Shanks—which, while all the card cases look cool, probably looks the best in the red and white color scheme.

That said, I'm also an absolute sucker for their all-over iconography, and I let the people at CASETiFY know that when they asked which designs caught my eye. There's usually at least one design per Co-Lab that looks like this, and I will always love it. This one mixes text and iconography from across the series, with Luffy's scar in the center. 

I think this design in particular appeals to me because it manages to hit that improbable middle ground between "unabashed in its fandom" and "still looks cool even if you don't know what it is." I'm glad this is a design concept they return to in each line for this exact reason.

So I talk a lot about the look—because obviously they have a look—but these are some of my favorite CASETiFY cases construction-wise, too. The sides are more flexible than others I've used while still being durable, meaning I can get them on and off my phone with minimal issue. And they're still very light and durable, which is great considering how often I drop my phone.

Of course, the big event of the Co-Lab restock is the return of the Golden Transponder Snail airpod case. Those bad boys sold out in nine minutes last time they went on sale. So if you want to grab that, get on the waitlist! Orders open this Friday, August 25.

Thanks very much to CASETiFY for letting me sample more of their awesome cases. If you pick anything up, let me know what you think!

MERCH REVIEW: Frostbeard Studio

 

There's a very easy way to get me to try your product out: tell me it's for book nerds. (See also: Chapters tea.) Living on my own in my family home, I also appreciate any opportunity to make it feel more "mine." I love reading or writing by candlelight in the evenings. So when I found a candle company for book lovers, I had to order up.

Frostbeard Studio specializes in soy candles inspired by books and bookish things. There are both perennial and seasonal scents, as well as a monthly subscription box to sample brand new scents. To get a sense of whether I'd be becoming a regular, and to make my house smell nicer in the midst of cleaning and decluttering, I grabbed the monthly candle and the summer sample pack.

Short version: I'm sticking with them.

As a whole, these candles are excellent. I'm new to soy wax candles, but I do like how clean-burning they are. I've never had an issue with allergies from soot or smoke, but it's nice to know that any visitors I have over won't have to worry about that. Every scent I got is unique and not overpowering. But somehow - and I'm not sure how - all of them feel right for a cozy reading corner.

Subscription Box (July): Never Never Lagoon

Seen above, Never Never Lagoon is Frostbeard's new Peter Pan-inspired scent. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect with the scents being black coral and stargazer lily, but it's extremely nice. It reminds me a bit of a shady summer beach house. I'm definitely glad I went ahead and got this in the jar, because I think this will be my go-to summer evening reading candle.

Summer Sample Pack

Available until August 15, the Summer Sample Pack features four summery scents. There's not a bad one in the bunch, to be honest—but there are some that will definitely become repeat buys in larger sizes.

Steamy Romance Novel is one I'm really surprised I enjoyed, as I thought it would be too sweet and cloying for me. But the cherry blossom and fruit scents go together extremely well. Of the four in the summer pack, this is the one you can smell the soonest after lighting, and goes the strongest. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's something to bear in mind based on how strong you prefer your candles.

Elevenses is the requisite Middle Earth entry, and it's a winner. It takes the longest out of the four to get its scent in the air, but when it does, it's delicious. The blueberry scone and lemon tea pairing smells like a warm, friendly kitchen. It also attracted several recent visitors to "come smell this." Despite my preference for burning candles in the evening while I work, this is definitely one I prefer for earlier in the day.

Cliffs of Insanity is tied for my favorite of the set. It's a slow-burn scent like Elevenses, but great when it hits. I can never resist a Princess Bride reference, either. But even knowing what it's actually inspired by, it still gives me a bit of a Lovecraftian vibe. I don't hate that at all.

Highstorm is my other Equal Best of the bunch, and I've nearly burned this one down to the bottom without even realizing it. The only way I know to describe the scent of this candle is, it's The Vibe. It's described as having notes of "petrichor, chasm stone, and true rain," and that should give you an idea of what I mean.

Overall, there's not a bad candle in the bunch. And all of them do exactly what I want: fill my room with a cozy, bookish vibe. The team putting these scents together manages to make that happen in every candle I've tried so far.

Candles come in 2oz or 4oz tins, as well as 8oz jars for those scents you know you'll love. If you're in an apartment where you can't burn candles, they also sell wax melts. They also have a rewards club, where you can earn discounts and free home goods by reviewing candles and interacting on social media.

As an author, book lover, and sole owner of a Large Old House, I've found myself becoming more and more invested in actually outfitting my living space to be what I want it to be. And if I can support a small business run by fellow book lovers in the process, even better. I will definitely be checking out more of their products, and I highly recommend you do, too.

Click here to shop Frostbeard and save 20% on your order!

MERCH REVIEW: Evangelion x CASETiFY Smartphone Cases

 

DISCLAIMER: Samples were provided in exchange for an honest review.

CASETiFY is basically my dream-come-true smartphone case company: good pop culture designs and actual phone protection. I want my phone to be just as nerdy and not nearly as easily damaged by falls as I am, and these cases are perfect for that.

I fell in love with them when they launched their Sailor Moon line, and now they're back with another anime crossover. Hideaki Anno may be off making new movie versions of all his favorite franchises, but we still remember Evangelion. And this go 'round, CASETiFY has dropped a massive series of techie collectibles for all your Third Impact needs.

The collection kicks off today, but the lads and I got an early look at what's on offer:

All done up in top secret NERV packaging, this duo of phone cases already brings the vibe before I've even opened them up. Now, let's see which two I've got:

These two are just my style. While there are plenty of designs with character art front and center, I'm a sucker for these more straightforward looks. The Angel case is extra slick, with just a wee bit of text—Our future depends on defeating the Angels.—at the bottom.

The other is just perfect: EVA-01 colors and design, a little NERV logo... basically, a solid design. I'm a big believer in character merch that blends into your everyday, so fellow fans know what's up and those not in the know just think it looks cool. The SEELE designs (seen in the press image at the top) are another good choice if you're of a similar mindset.

These cases are, as usual, sturdy and lightweight. I've never gone back to bulkier protective cases since getting my first CASETiFY case. It's nice to know my phone is protected without feeling like I'm carrying around an entire brick.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. This merch drop includes a whole line of stuff to NERV out your daily carry: earbud holders, wireless chargers, laptop sleeves and cases, magsafe wallets, power banks, and more.

Thanks as always to CASETiFY for letting me try out their awesome new anime goods and share them with you!

Shop the Evangelion x CASETiFY Co-Lab now!