Day 5— Snacking Across the Pacific: Childhood Snacks in the U.S. vs. Japan
Although all snacks are great, we each had our favourites when we were children. Back when you would go to the supermarket and stare at the racks of candy twice your height, trying to figure out what you could afford with your fortune that you had in your pocket, figuring out the best snack was crucial to your satisfaction. Having spent some parts of my childhood in the U.S. and others in Japan, I evidently had two lists of favourite snacks as a child. And now, thinking back, it seems like there was some kind of commonalities between my lists, so here I am decades later, trying to recall from my memories the names of my favourite snack products and comparing them with each other. If you are a child (or an adult who is a child at heart) and is stuck choosing the best snack when you are visiting the U.S. (or Japan), this post will hopefully be of help. For others, well, I hope I make you cry from nostalgia.
- おっとっと(Ottotto) and Goldfish
Why do both countries have cracker-type snacks that look like fish???
Not like I know the answer, but the shapes certainly did appeal to me as a child. Ottotto is a salt-flavoured snack, and is really light to eat since they are completely hollow inside. Goldfish are the classic American cheddar cheese snack for children, with each cracker shaped like a smiling goldfish. It’s really interesting how you can see the prevalence of seafood cultures from just the shapes, since Ottotto comes in a wide variety of sea animal shapes, like octopus, squid, tuna, and puffer fish while Goldfish only features one shape. But Goldfish can come in different colours, which is definitely something that I have never seen in Ottotto. And there was always that one kid in your class who insisted that the different coloured Goldfish tasted different too, even though it was probably just food colouring.
2. シゲキックス(Shigekix) and Sour Skittles
I was addicted to sour candies as a child, especially the ones with the white sour powder on it. Shigekix is a hard gummy candy that is actually really sour. If you have never had Shigekix before, be prepared: it is probably sourer and definitely harder than you imagine. In regards of the category of gummy candies, I understand that perhaps some may argue that Sour Patch Kids or Sour Gummy Worms would be worthy of being compared with Shigekix, but in regards of chewiness, I believe Sour Skittles is more similar. Sour Skittles are chewy colourful candies that have the sour powder stuff coated on them. Forget normal Skittles, because Sour Skittles was where the game was really at for me. Extra bonus points since all the powdery stuff comes off and in the end you can pour it into your mouth straight from the bag.
3. マイク・ポップコーン(Mike Popcorn) and Smartfood Popcorn
These two are probably the two that I still buy most as a working adult. I understand that popcorn is commonly thought of as a movie supplement, but to me, popcorn is the main entertainment. You can make me watch the most boring movie ever and I won’t even complain as long as the popcorn lasts.
The Japanese Mike Popcorn is butter-soy sauce flavoured (this is a common snack flavor in Japan), and I can almost guarantee that you will not be able to stop eating this until you finish the whole bag. Smartfood Popcorn comes in many flavours but the most popular is the white cheddar, which I would say is as addicting as Mike Popcorn. The only thing to keep in mind is that Smartfood Popcorn is indeed an American product, and the largest size bag they offer it in is like 300g or something. That is 6 times the 50g size of Mike Popcorn, and hence probably that many times more calories.
4. 暴君ハバネロ(Boukun Habanero) and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
Here we are at the spicy snacks section. Boukun Habanero comes in alarming packaging, with an evil looking habanero chili pepper. However, the taste itself isn’t as spicy as it looks, and you will feel more of the saltiness and sourness rather than the spice. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, on the other hand, is a different story. The packaging looks less intimidating with a cool-looking cheetah with sunglasses, but I don’t think I would ever be able to finish a bag of this without at least a sip of water or two in between. Also, I definitely recommend the lime-flavoured Flamin’ Hot Cheetos if you ever see it, since it adds a tinge to the spiciness.
5. たべっ子どうぶつ（Tabekko Doubutsu）and Teddy Grahams
Since we started with fish-shaped snacks, other animals also deserve some of the spotlight. Tabekko Doubutsu is one of the various animal-shaped biscuits out there, but I must say this was definitely my favourite. The fine taste of butter is really mouthwatering, and they even aim to educate children, as each biscuit is labeled with the English animal name. The only downside is that the silhouettes of the biscuits are so vague that it’s hard to imagine that children don’t have difficulty figuring out what the animal is. Teddy Grahams are teddy bear-shaped biscuits that taste like Graham crackers. I loved Graham crackers overall, but these won extra points since they were shaped cute.
This definitely isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s enough to get you started. Next time you visit the U.S. or Japan, I have faith in you that you will head straight toward the snacks section.
Happy Snacking!
This article is part of the HENNGE Advent Calendar 2019. An Advent calendar is a special calendar used for counting down the days till Christmas. HENNGE Advent Calendar 2019 presents one article by one HENNGE member per day for 25 days until Christmas, 2019.
