Be prepared for a lot of snacks and a lot of attention.
While there’s a common image of Christmas in Japan as being a holiday mainly for couples, it’s also catered to kids! Even when our Japanese-language reporter Mr. Sato was a wee boy, one of his favorite parts of Christmas was having a Christmas stocking–or “Christmas boots”, as they’re called in Japan–full of snacks.
So when he heard about a Japanese snack shop in Tokyo’s Akabane neighborhood that sells enormous Christmas boots, he made a beeline for it. So what if Mr. Sato is an adult now? He can still be just as excited for it as kids probably would be.
He soon arrived at the snack shop called Okashi no Taneya, a 10-minute walk from JR Akabane Station. Inside he found many types of dagashi, nostalgic Japanese snacks, and the main event: the Christmas boots. In order to feed his inner child as well as his outer adult, Mr. Sato went with the king-sized Christmas boot, priced at 15,000 yen (US$110).
To be honest, Mr. Sato doubted it would actually be as big as people said it was. Boy, was he wrong. It was so big, it was a little embarrassing to lug on the train ride back to the SoraNews24 newsroom. He did hear some young women in passing comment on how cute the stocking was, though, so it wasn’t a total disaster.
Mr. Sato asked a fellow reporter, P.K. Sanjun, to take some photos of him holding the Christmas boot. “You look like you’re about to have a Christmas party,” P.K. commented.
Mr. Sato was feeling the party vibes, actually. Caught up in a sudden gust of Christmas spirit, he shouted, “メリークリスマースッ!!” (“Merry Christmas!!”) Yep, he was now officially a Christmas guy.
As you can see, the stocking is absolutely overflowing. There’s also a bell on the front that kept ringing while Mr. Sato carried it around, which was only slightly embarrassing.
The snacks were packed to overflowing, but inside netting to keep them from spilling out. Mr. Sato estimated that the volume of the snacks was probably 1.8 times the size of the stocking itself.
Propping it up next to Mr. Sato could give you even more clarity as to its sheer size. He’s around 170 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) tall, and the stocking came up to his hips.
In total, there were 45 types of snacks in the stocking. Ready for a list of all of them? Roll up your sleeves because we’re digging in.
From left to right, top to bottom:
1. Fried Chicken-flavored snack
2. French Fry-flavored snack
3. Okonomiyaki-flavored snack
4. Brown sugar fugashi (candy made from wheat gluten)
5. Kishiue Ninjin (sweet rice candy)
6. Cut Yocchan Squid
7. Nakamura Cheese Arare (flour-based cheese snacks)
8. Bottle Ramune Cola candy
9. Mini Miree biscuits
10. Niginigi Osushiya-san gummies
11. Super Big Choco bar
12. Umee Paper (ume-flavored sheet)
13. Pukupuku Tai (lemon tea-flavored puffed monaka snack)
14. Mochitaro Arare
15. Fruits no Mori (hard candy)
16. Oranda Candy
17. Pokémon Snacks
18. Butamen (ramen snack)
19. Strawberry Soft marshmallow
20. Yanyan Tsukebo (biscuits with dipping cream)
Also included was a variety of Umaibo, which are best described as fluffy corn puff sticks.
21. Umaibo Corn Potage Flavor
22. Umaibo Yakitori Flavor
23. Umaibo Natto Flavor
24. Umaibo Mentai Flavor
25. Umaibo Veggie Salad Flavor
26. Umaibo Nori Salt Flavor
27. Umaibo Beef Tongue Flavor
28. Umaibo Sugar Rusk Flavor
There were also snacks in packs of four:
29. Pakkuncho Chocolate and Strawberry (cream-filled biscuits)
30. Marugoto Fruit Gummies
31. Anpanman Caramel Corn (corn puff snacks)
32. Sumikko Gurashi Korokoro Rusk (sweet bread crust)
And finally, there were snacks in pouches or boxes.
33. Tomodachi Watagashi (cotton candy)
34. Hoshi Tabeyo (salt-flavored rice crackers)
35. Obaachan no Potapota Yaki (sweet rice crackers)
36. Fujiya Home Pie (flaky pie crust snack)
37. Corn Potage puff snacks
38. Anpanman Soft Rice Crackers
39. Bakauke Aonori Soy Sauce Flavor (rice crackers)
40. Caplico Mini (ice cream puff snack)
41. Yuki no Yado “Salad” (sweet and salty rice crackers)
42. Tabekko Aquarium animal crackers
43. Kameda no Kaki no Tane, 6-pack (spicy and sweet flour-based snacks)
44. Milk Labo (turns milk into a cream soda float)
45. Baby Star Guruguru Monja (ramen snack, pictured below)
But wait, there’s more! There were also some inedible items in the Christmas stocking.
- Soda bottle shaped like a lightbulb
- One Piece picnic sheet (Coca Cola)
- Bottle Holder (Kocha Kaden)
- Mug with a lid that can also turn into a small dish (Qoo)
Quite a haul, and certainly one that would make any child or Mr. Sato happy. If you know someone that really likes snacks–enough to want to eat 45 different kinds of them–then consider picking one up for Christmas! They’re also a great primer on some more traditional Japanese snacks.
Store information
Okashi no Taneya / お菓子の種屋
Address: Tokyo-to, Kita-ku, Akabane 1-29-10
東京都北区赤羽1-29-10
Open 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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