Australia definitely has its own fair share of fun snacks. Your mind immediately goes to Golden Gaytime, Lamingtons, Shapes and the incredible Caramello Koala as prime examples of our Australian snacking habits. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and neither do our snacks.
We aren’t in the same league as the Japanese though!
They take snacking to the next level, with a never-ending range of quirky, unique snacks and flavours. Japanese snacks really play with the mixture of savoury and sweet across every texture imaginable. It’s not what we’re used to here in Australia but Japanese snacks are incredibly exciting to try.
Let’s be honest, you aren’t going to bother finding and importing any Japanese snacks to try them. That would be an expensive and wasteful endeavour. So, why not get a curated box of snacks delivered right from Japan each month instead? That’s where TokoyTreat come in handy.
Can they deliver a great experience, exploring exciting snacks from Japan? Let’s dive into this TokyoTreat review.
TokyoTreat Japanese Discovery Box Review
TokyoTreat Snack Box Review Summary
TokyoTreat deliver an exciting Japanese snack experience that would otherwise be impossible to replicate here in Australia. This makes TokyoTreat fantastic value and perfect for gifting
Overall
-
Ordering - Website - 8/10
8/10
-
Products - Quality & Experience - 10/10
10/10
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Ordering - Delivery - 8/10
8/10
-
Value For Money - 7/10
7/10
Pros
- Unique, interesting snacks and flavours
- Reasonably priced shipping to Australia, from Japan
- Full-sized snacking
- 17 different snacks to keep you entertained
Cons
- Shipping quality/environment can’t be controlled
- Minimal discount for longer subscriptions
Discover Japanese SnacksTry TokyoTreat Today
I’ve already reviewed a few interesting snack subscription boxes here in Australia. You’ve got healthy snacks from GoodnessMe and The Goodie Box, vegan snacks from The Vegan Box and global snacks from TreatCrate. Let’s see how TokyoTreat compares.
Disclaimer: TokyoTreat reached out to me and offered a complimentary box, which is a hard offer to refuse. This has no bearing on my review and there have been no editorial revisions made.
Contents
Getting started with TokyoTreat
TokyoTreat offer a monthly snack box subscription, curating interesting Japanese treats for each edition. They really lean into the fun Japanese branding using a bright orange website and cute cartoon drawings. You get the Japanese experience right from the moment of purchase.
For Australians, you’ll get access to the TokyoTreat premium box containing 17 full-sized snacks. You’ll be able to see my experience below, but I can definitely say that 17 snacks equates to a lot of snacking!
Each box contains at least one drink and a Kit Kat party pack. We generally only have access to a couple of Kit Kat flavours here in Australia, so it’s super exciting to get a totally wild flavour.
Your box could also include various snacks like:
- Chocolates
- Salty Chips
- Gummi Candy
- DIY Candy Kits
- Dagashi
All of this is very difficult to find outside of Japan, so it’s a unique opportunity to try some weird and wonderful foods.
Shipping TokyoTreat
Most services that provide curated snacks from around the world (like TreatCrate) will import their snacks in bulk to Australia and send them on locally. TokyoTreat is a little different because they pack all their boxes in Japan and ship them worldwide.
How do I know this?
The wonderful shipping notification from DHL saying my box had just jetted off from Japan! Every box is shipped using ‘Express Shipping’ which means it only takes a few (2 – 5) days from dispatch to reach Australia.
That’s a very clear mark of authenticity. You know you’re getting the real deal.
All the customs costs and taxes are covered as part of your shipping cost for each box. For Australia, that’s a cost of $12.50 per box for shipping. This is actually very reasonable. You’d often expect to pay $10 just to send something locally in Australia, so covering express shipping and customs charges in $12.50 is quite generous.
Bear in mind that if you purchase a gift subscription, you’ll also be charged the monthly shipping costs.
My TokyoTreat Box
The boxes really lean into the orange branding, so you aren’t going to miss it when it lands on your doorstep! As you can see, it’s a little bashed and bruised from the travel but it’s held up well structurally so there’s no damage to the contents.
The box is definitely too big for a letterbox, so you’ll need to collect it from the postman, or you can authorise them to leave it outside.
There’s few more exciting moments than opening up a new discovery box to find out what’s inside. With TokyoTreat, I was happily surprised when it was absolutely packed tight with snacks. I’m not sure they could have fit any more into the box.
I love the packaging on Japanese products, which brings a lot more fun and vibrancy than we ever get in Australia. That’s one of the first things you’ll notice.
Unpacking the box reveals many delights, with snacks ranging from sweet to savoury and even a drink. I probably should have expected it, but I was genuinely shocked by just how many snacks you get. They’re all full-sized as well, so no mini packets where you barely even get a bite of food.
I got one of their ‘Fall’ boxes in November, so it was packed full of Autumnal products and flavours. That included some weird and wonderful snacks:
- Porickey German Potato (A stick, like a pretzel)
- Corn Okonomiyaki Puffs
- Chilli Tomato Crisps
- Mont Blanc Kit Kats
- Umaibo Cinnamon / Apple Pie flavour.
They’re really putting us Aussies to shame with some of these interesting flavours. Based on the packaging alone, I’m not sure I could even guess what half of the products are. Fortunately (for me), TokyoTreat provide a leaflet with each box explaining what each snack is.
One slightly disappointing thing was that some of the chocolate snacks had melted together during transit. Clearly, they spent some time in a warm place and this meant products like the ‘Pocky’ were stuck together rather than coming out as individual sticks. I can’t blame TokyoTreat for this and it definitely didn’t impact my enjoyment of each snack.
How much does TokyoTreat cost?
Without being able to get any of the products here in Australia, it’s hard to know how much value TokyoTreat provides. There isn’t a clear reference point, so you have to consider just how difficult it would be to source and try all these products if you tried to do it yourself.
| Subscription Length | Total Price | Price / Box | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Month | $37.50 | $37.50 | $12.50 |
| 3 Months | $106.5 | $35.5 | $12.50 /box |
| 6 Months | $201 | $33.5 | $12.50 /box |
| 12 Months | $390 | $32.50 | $12.50 /box |
$37.50 for a box of 17 full-sized snacks that you can’t get in Australia, feels like incredible value. The 3-month and 6-month subscriptions would be perfect as a gift for someone. I love a gift where it keeps on giving as they’ll be reminded of your generosity every month.
Since I first wrote this review, TokyoTreat have lowered the price of their 12 month subscriptions relative to their individual single month box cost. Now, you’ll save $60 with a 12 month subscription which feels like a worthwhile deal.
TokyoTreat Streaks
The longer you stay subscribed to TokyoTreat, the more Streak points you can earn. These points can then be saved up for spending on TokyoTreat’s partner site, JapanHaul. Based on this, you can discounted (or even free) items.
Based on the number of points you get for each box, it will take a while to be able to afford anything of real value. This is a nice bonus for maintaining a subscription, although if you skip a single month your points will reset to zero. I wouldn’t personally be subscribing just to earn points for my streak.
Final Thoughts on the TokyoTreat Box
Subscription boxes are a luxury product. Does anyone really need a box full of Japanese snacks every month? Probably not.
Do you really want to get a box full of Japanese snacks every month? Definitely.
TokyoTreat provides a fantastic experience, providing great value to anyone in Australia. If you’ve been missing Japanese food, or you want to experience Japan without the hassle of a long plane trip then you really can’t go wrong with TokyoTreat. It’s a fantastic monthly treat.
This would make the perfect gift for anyone who loves to visit Japan for the food. They’ll love the variety and the exciting surprise every month, it’s definitely a memorable present.