10 Snacks Made in Japan You Can Get at Hawaiian 7-Elevens

In the mainland U.S., convenience stores like Circle K and 7-Eleven are convenient but lack that gathering vibe - there are no seating areas, but that's fine because I don't think many of us would want to hang around them past a few minutes.  Signature brands at these stores are making their move, but mostly they're an attempt to duplicate already hot selling items - like 7-Eleven's version of Hostess mini donuts.  Do you really want to risk eating non-Hostess donuts for a 50 cent saving?

Meanwhile, if you have been to Japan you know their convenience stores are awesome!  7-Eleven, Lawsons and my particular favorite, FamilyMart, are located everywhere and feature copying and ticket buying services, and sell unconventional things like transistor radios, stationary, t-shirts, underwear, and socks.  They feature places to sit while you enjoy fresh pastries, sandwiches, fried chicken, baos, even oden (Japanese hot pot), or a pre-prepared meals warmed up by very polite and attentive, uh, attendants.  In addition there are pre-packaged goodies - cookies, chips, chocolates - many of them signature brands.  And a lot of those snacks are an attempt to create something new, not duplicate what is already sold by a large company.

7-Eleven off Nimitz Highway on Oahu

So what to do if you're not in America and want some of those cool Japanese-made snacks only sold in Japanese convenience stores?  Not to worry, let's go to our state closest to Japan - Hawaii.  There their main convenience store, 7-Eleven, sells snacks extremely close to those found in Japanese convenience stores.

I won't be talking about this stuff.

I won't be talking about things like ume, pomelo, arare, iso peanuts and norimaki.  60% of which I can honestly say I'm not totally sure what they are, but instead this entry is for processed snacks.  So here we go, 10 Japanese-made snack items found in a Hawaiian 7-Eleven:

1.  Wheat Crackers - Let's start with the more exotic snack, and the most unappetizing to look at.  Much to my surprise this snack is sweet!  Its texture is very interesting - an inconsistent dense or hallow, with a crystallized brown sugar coating on the outside.  You spend most of your time eating this thinking, "What is this?  Was this bag left in a hot car, melted, and reformed into this shape?'  If you want consistency this is not the snack to get, but if you want a surprise in every bite this is what you should grab.  After getting past the look these things they could become addictive.  The bag is resealable.







2.  Butter Cookies - now let's talk about something less out-of-the-box, but at the same time in a box.  They are creamy, buttery, and not too crispy but definitely not soft.  It's just as good as an English Shortbread cookie!  What makes these unique - they're individually wrapped - 2 per package, 7 packages in the box so you don't have to worry about stuffing your face over concern they are going to all go stale?  They also come in a cool top-open box so you can display them to your envious friends.

Box and display case.

All the cookies came broken in half but I still managed to eat them.

3.  Choco Rusk - From my experience is a type of cracker/cookie that is harder than most crackers, but could been sweet (which is where the 'cookie' part comes from).  This is a very crispy cookie on one side, and on the other is a smooth layer of milk chocolate that has worked its way into the cookie's very porous texture.  I never had anything like this before.  These cookies also come individually wrapped.

 4.  Barbecue Snack - Strangely named 'barbecue' despite not being doused with bbq favoring as one would expect.  As a matter of fact I hardly tasted any bbq flavor and instead a light seasoned cheese taste.  These snacks are extremely light which can be dangerous - you could eat a whole bag and feel like you ate nothing - so have another bag.  Funions might be the closest taste relative.

Excuse the wrinkled bag, they had a tough plane ride.

 5.  Langue de Chat Choco - You could consider this a baby Milano from Pepperidge Farm, but the cookies are crispier and individually wrapped. 

6.  Choco Chip Cookie -  Once again, individually wrapped - there are 2 per package.  These cookies are very chocolatey, crispy, and not too sweet - maybe even bordering bitter.  Lots of chips in these!  I have been told they taste like a better version of Chips Ahoy.

7.  Chocolate Snack -  Have you every eaten something and not be able to categorize it?  I think that's why this product is vaguely called 'chocolate snack'.  It's just hard to describe.  No doubt about it it's loaded with chocolate while being light as air.  I have to say that of all the snacks I bought at 7-Seven, and I'm usually not much of a chocolate fan, these were my favorite.  It's the texture that makes them memorable - the puffed-cheese technology has been applied to chocolate.  But the flavor isn't from an outside coating but within the puffy - that's right, I'm a wordsmith. ;)

 8.  Corn Puff Snack - Very cheesy, as the name promises, but a little sweet too.  Some R&D geniuses at 7-Eleven figured out how to make cheese puffs circular.  They're like regular cheese puffs but you can conveniently wear them in your fingers.  They go down quickly.

9.  Potato Chips - These chips have a very fishy/seaweed flavor.  They're rippled and there is more fish taste than salt.  I must say they are slightly oily and very crispy.

 10.  Japanese Rice Crackers -  These are very crispy, not sweet, with a touch of soy sauce but not so much that it's overwhelming.  It would go great with a sweet drink.

So there you have it, your Japanese convenience store fixes outside of Japan.   Again, I appreciate Japan 7-Eleven's attempts to try new things as opposed to settling on duplicating big selling items.  So next time you're in Hawaii stop by 7-Eleven and pick up something a little different - maybe it won't become your favorite, but at least you'll try something you can't buy at any other convenience store in any other part of the United States.