Won't Miss #540 - Japanese marshmallows

I haven't celebrated Easter for quite some time because I have learned that there are greater costs to eating sweets than the impact on your wallet. Every time I have seen Easter candy here in America, I have thought about how the idea sounds better than the treats will taste. That being said, I have always loved all things marshmallow and occasionally will indulge in them here. I've even found that there are lots of different flavors now that you can enjoy in various ways. I've used the holiday gingerbread marshmallows for rice krispies treats and the pumpkin spice ones in hot chocolate. These are yummy treats.

In Japan, there are also variations on marshmallows, but there is something wrong with how they work. Flavored marshmallows are generally filled with goo. This can be good, or it can be quite a bit less so. The main problem is that they are sticky, don't melt properly, and have a texture which is a bit stretchy or rubbery. They also sometimes have a funky aftertaste. I never tried to use them in marshmallow treats (as finding rice krispies was never easy), but I did try them in hot chocolate and they just sort of sat there vaguely melting, but not doing what I expected of them.

It is a small thing, but life is composed of delights both tiny and gross, but I didn't like the marshmallows in Japan and I don't miss them.

Will Miss #427 - warabi mochi

Many people write about the stages that foreigners go through when they come to Japan. Generally, they capture the flavor of what people go through, but are overly simplified and a generalization. Still, generalizations do have their place in helping provide a framework from which we can understand a situation better. For me, the food in Japan has followed a very odd pattern of approach. At first, I was wary and squeamish and never had the sort of open-minded notions that many newbies have. I stayed away from anything that looked "too Japanese". It's only really since starting my snack blog that I've become increasingly open to sampling everything in my wake. Part of the draw of blogging for me is that it does help me expand my horizons, and since my focus on food has been relatively narrow for so many years, I'm grateful that I started that blog.

"That Japanese stuff" which I avoided would include things like warabi mochi. It appears to be little gooey blobs packed in dirty with a packet of soy sauce. What it really is relatively tasteless chewy jelly-like bits of gelatin made from bracken starch that can range from bland to highly sweet. If you think that sounds unappetizing, remember that Western-made gelatin is made from bones and hooves and Japanese agar-agar gelatin is made from seaweed. Bracken starch doesn't sound so bad, then, does it? The gelatin is coated in kinako (toasted soybean powder) and offered with a packet of black (brown) sugar syrup. It's a texture and flavor treat with good depth of flavor from the various components.

I came by eating warabi mochi late in the game, but now I'm such a fan that I actually crave it from time to time. I'll miss having easy access to copious amounts of the fresh stuff.

Will Miss #399 - chinsukou

There are a lot of efforts in Japan to simulate Christmas, but most of it comes off as simply copying images without any of the concurrent spirit. Strangely enough, the thing that really tastes like Christmas to me are chinsukou cookies. They smell like what mom was baking for the holidays when I was growing up and taste like heaven. There are many things that are like them made in other countries, but there is nothing quite like the sugary, crumbly, crispy texture of these cookies. They are a specialty of Okinawa and I've tried many varieties (coconut, chocolate chip, chocolate, pumpkin) and they never fail to delight, though the original ones are really the best.

I'll miss these chinsukou cookies and how they are both unique and reminiscent of home at the same time. 

Will Miss #349 - taiyaki/imagawayaki

If you walk around nearly any city in Japan for a little while, you're bound to come across someone with fish-shaped molds pouring what looks like pancake batter into them. After a short while, a generous dollop of red bean jam or custard will be added to the center and two molds will be combined to sandwich the filling between the two fishy halves. The outer portion of this treat is like a pancake or soft waffle and the filling is soft, warm, sweet and rich.

The fish-shaped version is taiyaki and the round version (which isn't really different except in size and shape) is imagawayaki and they are delicious right off the griddle, and I'll miss being able to have them fresh and warm.

Won't Miss #308 - rakugan

One of the most beautiful Japanese sweets is rakugan. These are often served as part of Japanese tea ceremony and are pressed starches, bean or other types of powders, and sugar. They are extremely dry, too sweet, and also don't taste like much of anything. They are a perfect example of style over substance as they look good, but don't offer much in the texture or flavor department (unless you're a fan of sugar).

I'm sure there are people who love to chow down on desiccated pressed powders and sugar, but I'm not one of them so I won't miss rakugan.

Won't Miss #306 - carb and calorie bombs

This plain-looking bit of sponge cake is a calorie bomb waiting to explode onto your thighs.

Early on in my time in Japan, most products did not have complete nutritional data on them. In particular, calorie information was not commonly given. These days, you find it on most, but not all foods. Generally, mass-produced food by major companies have such information, but traditional snacks or foods made by smaller places do not. Back when I first got here, I tried to gauge the caloric impact of a food by its sweetness or size. If it wasn't very big or sweet, I figured, "it can't be too bad." When it comes to the rows and rows of not-too-sweet packaged pastries that fill the shelves of convenience stores and supermarkets, I couldn't have been more wrong. One of my favorites was a steamed cake that I have pictured above. It's about 10 cm/4 in. in diameter, has no filling or frosting, and is only lightly sweet. I ate a lot of these back in the day. Now I know that they are 460 calories apiece and won't touch them. These pastries are monster carb and calorie bombs despite the fact that they look and taste like they'd be much less bad for you than say, a Twinkie. You can actually eat three Twinkies for the caloric cost of the sponge cake above (and still come out 10 calories below) and they both have trans fats.

I won't miss these calorific pastries.

Will Miss #293 - soba boro

There is a type of buckwheat cookie that is unique to Japan (in my experience) which I really love. It's called "soba boro", and is a small, flower-shaped crispy treat. It is made with simple ingredients - buckwheat flour, sugar, and eggs. They aren't too sweet, taste of caramel, and have a lot of the crispy, airy nature of meringue cookies due to the large amount of eggs and sugar that are used. What is more, they are low in calories (about 11 each), and very cheap and can be found everywhere.

I'll miss having easy access to these cheap, tasty, cookies any time and nearly anywhere.

Will Miss #246 - traditional sweets shops

One of the joys of living in Japan is that there are a plethora of traditional sweets shops that offer fresh treats made daily and in great variety. Very early in my time in Japan, I became a fan of white bean cakes, and often enjoy the unique offerings of manju or other traditional treats that are available at such shops. They are not only fresh, but each shop has its own special selection.

I'll miss these traditional Japanese sweets shops.

Won't Miss #171 - Japanese sugar wafers

Sugar wafers were one of my favorite treats back home. I rarely indulged in them, but when I did, I savored the experience. In Japan, wafers are sold nearly everywhere, and they all taste like pretty much nothing. The wafers themselves are usually fine, but the filling is slippery, soft, fatty goo with no flavor. This is because the Japanese don't like things as sweet as Westerners, but also because wafer makers appear to think it's okay to skimp on things like vanilla, cocoa, and any other flavorings. If I'm going to eat sugar wafers, I'll always buy the expensive European imports.

I won't miss these bland, lifeless wafer.

Will Miss #144 - Crunky

One of my fellow food review bloggers once said something about Crunky possibly meaning "crunchy" and "funky". The truth is that I'm not sure how the name came about, but I liked his thinking. I've always thought of Crunky as a weird form of "crunchy" since the Crunky family of candy is based on malt puffs. Some people really go for Crunky and some don't like the flavor of it's crispy puffs. I'm a fan because I love the plethora of little crunchy bits. Sometimes when I have had a hard day, nothing makes me smile like a Crunky both because it has a silly name and it tastes good.

I'll miss seeing Crunky bars.

Will Miss #92 - mont blanc

Mont blanc is a dessert made with sweetened chestnut paste. The origin is not clearly known, but either some place in Japan gets credit or a place in France. Whatever the origin, I never saw mont blanc in the United States and don't expect to find it easily there when I return. In Japan, mont blanc is sold almost everywhere, from 99 yen convenience stores with refrigerator cases to supermarkets to classy patisseries.

It has become one of my favorite desserts and I'm going to miss being able to have one whenever I want (or possibly even at all).

Will Miss #67 - wagashi

Traditional Japanese sweets, wagashi, come in many shapes, sizes, flavors and colors. One of my favorites are the types that are covered in soft mochi (pounded rice cake) and have a sweet, soft filling. The mochi itself is rather bland and forms a chewy wrapper for the stuff inside. The texture and flavor combination is quite unique, and I really enjoy it.

I'll miss access to fresh wagashi-style sweets.