REVIEW | Skoshbox! (Japanese Snacks Subscription Box) + GIVEAWAY!

*Disclaimer: This post is brought to you courtesy of Skoshbox.com. I received samples of their products in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and are in no way influenced by their company.

I'm super excited to announce a collaboration with Skoshbox + my first giveaway! Skoshbox is a pretty unique subscription box service that delivers legit samples of Japanese snacks to your door! I'm a huge fan of Japanese snacks so I definitely wanted to give this a try. Skoshbox has kindly sent me a sample of December's subscription box to try! Read on to see what goodies were in the box + Skoshbox has generously decided to giveaway this Skoshbox to three of my lucky readers so stay tuned to the end of the post!

First Impressions

The box was definitely a lot smaller than I was expecting. The packaging was what won me over; simple yet clean. The snacks were neatly packed within tissue paper and sealed with a crane sticker. Also, there's a little stamp on the box that tells you who personally packed your box! Awesome--thanks Emi! :)

Do keep in mind that Skoshbox sends samples, and not full-sized versions, of their Japanese snacks. There is also the option to buy the full-sized version of their snacks on their website. Skoshboxes are $12/month or $10/month for a full year subscription, both including shipping. In my opinion, the value of the snacks in this particular did not add up to $12/month, but I live in an area where snacks such as these are more readily available in larger sizes. However, I think this would be a fantastic subscription service for those of you who don't have access to these snacks because you have to take into account that shipping is included (always a plus!). This was definitely a fun little box to try and I was overall pleased with the variety of snacks in the box, but I do wish they gave more of each item. I would definitely recommend this regardless because it's a great way get a little taste of another country without having to leave your house. Their service is fantastic and their shipping is fairly reliable (they deliver around the 1st of each month)

Caramel Pie Pretz x 1 package 
I've had the original and salad flavors of Pretz before but I've never seen a caramel flavor! Pretz is a kind of savory cracker stick but with a different texture than American pretzels, and similar to Pocky (which is the sweet version except covered with a fudge coating). Upon opening the package, I got a very strong whiff if caramel and the Pretz ended up being a bit shorter and flatter than typical Pretz, and slightly hollow in the middle. It had a crunchy, flaky texture and tasted exactly like chewy caramel candy, only in cookie form! There were about 15 sticks included in this package and I loved that it was resealable. I'm not sure where the "pie" part of this snack comes in...but it's delicious and I would highly recommend it!

Super Mario Galaxy Gum (soda chewing gum) x 1 piece
To be honest, this didn't really look like much...I guess I'm just used to nondescript bubble gum tasting like the very-Americanize Dubble Bubble bubblegum flavor. I read on the card that this was soda flavored! I noticed that there's quite a lot of soda-flavored stuff that's very characteristic of Japanese snacks in this Skoshbox! Ramune (Japanese soda) itself is a bit different from Western soda...still somewhat lemony-limey but also a bit bubblegum-y. This gum was definitely Ramune-flavored with a great chew (not great for bubble blowing though) but unfortunately didn't last very long. I've actually never had Ramune-flavored gum so this was a lovely first taste!

Calpis Marshmallow x 1 package (with 4 pieces)
Although I'm not a huge fan of marshmallow, I was pretty excited to try these because I had heard that they were good. The marshmallow itself was fluffy and soft and had a jam-like filling that tasted like Calpis! Calpis is an uncarbonated Japanese soft drink that is slightly milky but with a bit of tartness, somewhat like a yogurt drink. Really lovely flavor and texture but I don't think I can eat more than one at a time.

Nori Wrapped Senbei (seaweed wrapped rice cracker) x 1 piece
This is very similar to the nori-wrapped rice cracker rolls I had as a child so this definitely brought back memories of after school snacks. This small rice cracker is crunchy, savory, and slightly sweet, complimented by a small sheet of nori (dried seaweed). Lovely little taste of childhood.

Potato Ring Snack x 1 package
These were so cute! I was mildly surprised that these weren't quite as vibrant orange as depicted on the package. These rings tasted a lot like potato chips except not as greasy, and the natural potato flavor really shone through. I absolutely loved the tiny ring shape because it had such a fun mouthfeel! Personally I felt that they were slightly on the salty (read: MSG-y) side but not overly so. An overall very enjoyable, simple little savory snack that ended up being really addictive!

Bubble gum balls (cola flavor) x 1 box (with 4 pieces)
I'm not a fan of cola and was hoping to get the yogurt flavor but alas... I'm obsessed with the fruit-flavored gums but I haven't tried cola flavor before. before When I first bit into it, it was like WHAM IN YOUR FACE Pepsi/Coke (sorry I can't tell the difference :x) flavor. It has a somewhat hard sugar shell that you have to bite through but the flavor wasn't too unpleasant, even though I don't like cola that much. Super flavorful, again with a great chew like the Mario gum but also doesn't last very long. Should be great for you dark soda fans!

Vegetable Salad Umaibo (salad flavored puffed corn snack) x 1
I've seen but never tried these before so I sorta knew what it was going to taste like. Beware, this stuff gets everywhere! This reminded me of a huge corn puff (think BIG Cheetos) and it was so jam-packed full of flavor! It's hollow in the middle (not too sure why) and had a satisfying crunch. The seasoning on it was fairly complex and savory, not just salty. Now if only real salads tasted like this...

Super Soda Hard Candy x 2
I've had Ramune (Japanese soda) candy before so I braced myself for an explosion of fizziness in mouth. It doesn't look like much but man, this thing was SOUR! It reminded me most of the Warheads I had when I was younger. However, the soda candy that I tried had was so super fizzy that it almost hurts your tongue, but there was none of that in this one. If you ever get a chance to try Ramune soda, be prepared for crazy carbonation. If you're not into that soda-carbonated-ness and just love sour candy, you'd love this.

Giveaway!

Here's the giveaway form! I'll be announcing the winners on my blog, Facebook page, and Instagram so be sure to follow those pages on Friday, December 12!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to Alejandra C., Vivi, and Amanda! 
Please check your e-mails for details on how to get your Skoshbox :)