Some Japanese snacks reign supreme, while others appear to be shameful. 

Swedish YouTuber Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, recently made news after he bought a house and moved to Japan. 

Like any new resident, the 32-year-old has been familiarising himself with his new surroundings, which, when you move to Japan, involves scouring the shelves of your nearest convenience store. That’s exactly what he did for a recent YouTube video, heading over to Lawson to try “EVERY Japanese snack”, which wasn’t really every Japanese snack, but he came home with quite a haul nonetheless.

▼ Take a look at the video below.

As he’s new to the world of Japanese snack foods, PewDiePie leaves viewers in the dark about what a lot of the actual snacks are called, so let’s take a look at what he ate, how he rated them, and our own personal comments and recommendations below:

Pizza Bun: 3/5
You can get a better one at Family Mart, PewDiePie!

Crunky: 4/5
Did you know…you can get free Crunky if you stay at the Lotte City Hotel?

Super Fat Koeda (“Twig”) Chocolate: 3/5
Next time you try a Koeda twig chocolate, you should size up and pair it with a glass of Japanese whisky.

Yakisoba Bread: 3.5/5
The bread isn’t filled with spaghetti, nor is it called a “weird sausage thing” — it’s filled with yakisoba, and you can find udon versions too.

Chocoball: 2/5
If you’re like PewDiePie and don’t like peanuts, you can always try these non-peanut versions.

Big Katsu: 2/5
You can have fun with this product by using it to make katsudon like we did earlier this year.

Apollo chocolate: 3.4/5
If you like Apollo chocolate, you’ll want to try Apollo yoghurt.

Toppo: 2/5
Not all Toppo are created equal — these Toppo, for instance, were developed by an AI programme.

Dried Salmon: 1/5
Perhaps better as a furikake rice topping.

Lactic-acid Bacilli Soda: 2/5
A perfect partner for this instant ramen that contains 40 billion lactic acid bacteria.

Pizza Potato Chips: 4/5
These chips ranked in the top ten best in a Japanese survey.

Garlic Butter Flavoured Bakauke senbei rice crackers: 3.4/5
Should’ve picked up a pack of Grandma’s Soy Glazed rice crackers instead.

Boiled and Seasoned Quail Eggs: 2.5/5
Yep, quails are birds, and this is what they look like.

Kappa Ebisen Shrimp Flavoured Chips: 2.9/5
Perhaps the matcha chocolate-covered variety would be more palatable?

Pickled Plum: “Disgusting”
Not if you eat epic pickled plums made by a Japanese grandpa!

Chocopan Chocolate Bread: 4/5
Chocolate bread is always good, even when it’s a sliced loaf from Mos Burger!

Umaibo Corn Potage Flavour: “No. I’m rating it no.”
Corn potage is just one flavour out of many, and it’s one of the best-selling snacks in the country.

Pie no Mi Coolish Ice Cream Flavour: 2.9/5
Pie no Mi literally translates to “Pie Nuts”, and they often appear in limited-edition varieties.

Caplico: 1/5 (although his wife, Marzia Kjellberg, gives it 3/5)
One time, they even made Caplico with a side of Doraemon augmented reality.

Choco Monaka Jumbo: 5.5/5
Worthy of its high ranking, this ice cream won the heart of a foreign reporter at the Tokyo Olympics as well.

Melon Pan: “Not my thing”
Give it another chance with this melon bread spread!

Choco Cornet: 2/5
No, it’s not a choco pan — it’s a choco cornet, and it’s a favourite staple at Japanese bakeries.

Spicy Grilled and Dried Squid Legs: 2.1/5
We prefer to have our squid fresh and on sushi, thank you!

Anpanman Gummies: 1/5
These gummies really are wedged into the packaging — so much so that people have been known to take part in Anpanman Gummi Opening Challenges online.

Purin: “It’s too weird. It weirds me out”
If you think purin on its own is weird, just wait ’til you try it with natto fermented soybeans!

Japanese Sweet Potatoes: 2.5/5
Sweet potatoes are super popular in autumn, becoming the star ingredient for convenience store sweets.

Shine Muscat Daifuku: 3.5/5
Daifuku like this have fruit on the inside, but there are specialty stores that make daifuku with fruit on the outside as well.

Jagarico Mentai Cheese Monja Flavour: SUPREME
Yes, Jagarico is a worthy choice for the top spot, and what’s even better, you can make mashed potato with it too!

Shrimp Rice Snack: 4/5
We’ll stick to McDonald’s Shrimp Rice Burgers, thank you!

Kaki no Tane: “I love ’em”
These snacks are so good they were declared space food by JAXA.

Pino Ice Cream
This turned out to be a fail, with all the ice creams melted and deceased inside, but these really are worth trying, although it’s cheaper to buy them at the supermarket.

Milky: 2/5
These sweets are so iconic McDonald’s even produced a line of milkshakes and ice creams with them, with the tagline: “The Taste of Mummy”.

Toppo Pistachio: 3/5
Pistachios are a top flavour in Japan, where people even pair them with matcha.

Dango Dumplings: 1/5
If you’re not impressed by convenience store dumplings, why not try these epic ones that are as long as a samurai sword?

Six Pack: “These are so bad. Shame pile.”
If you’re looking to add extra protein to your diet, you can always try these matcha cricket protein bars instead.

Chocolate Chou: 3.6/5
Choux pastries in Japan are really delicious.

Spicy Grilled and Dried Squid Soy Sauce Taste: 2/5
Like all the dried items in this collection, these are drinking snacks, and aren’t designed to be eaten alone.

The greatest snack out of all of these, in PewDiePie’s opinion, is the Jagarico Mentai Cheese Monja Flavour, followed by the Kaki no Tane, Crunky, and the Choco Monaka Jumbo. As for the worst item, that accolade goes to the Crunchy Plum.

So how did Japanese people feel about the ranking? Let’s take a look at some of their comments:

“There are many people who dislike the crunchy plums, even Japanese people.”
“To be honest, the squid with soy sauce really does taste bad.”
“I feel like this is a pretty high rating for the squid.”
“I can relate to not liking Caplico.”
“Why didn’t he try Black Thunder?”

Despite suggesting the video includes “every” Japanese snack, PewDie Pie failed to include some of the top-selling snacks sold at convenience stores, including Morinaga Milk Caramels and Black Thunder, a chocolate so iconic it even has its own hotel room.

Still, PewDiePie has just recently arrived in the country so he has a lot to learn about the Japanese snack world. However, with his keenness to try new snacks, even when they don’t smell or look particularly appetising, he’ll no doubt find even more unusual discoveries to share with his viewers in future!

Source: YouTube/PewDiePie via Hachima Kikou
Featured image: YouTube/PewDiePie
Photos © SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!