Known for its delicious produce, many regional specialty snacks are available in Hokkaido, featuring the very best that the region has to offer. Individually wrapped in beautiful packaging, Japanese foods make excellent souvenirs for friends and family back home! However, with the smorgasbord of snacks and sweets available, you may not even know where to start! Here, we’ve done the hard work for you, and sussed out the best of Hokkaido food souvenirs to pick up before you fly home. The best part? Most of these snacks are available at New Chitose Airport’s duty-free shops, meaning that you don’t need to worry about not having enough time to shop or enough luggage space, and you can just shop to your heart’s content.
Glico Yubari Melon Jumbo Pocky
The Yubari Melon Pocky immortalises one of the region’s best products into a well loved Japanese snack. The white chocolate coating uses 24% real melon, lending to a delightfully rich melon taste. Unlike regular editions of Pocky, this one features extra large and long individually-wrapped sticks, making it a great gift for passing out to friends and family as well.
Shiroi Koibito
Definitely one of the most iconic Japanese souvenirs, Shiroi Koibito is greatly loved across the globe. It features a layer of chocolate encased in two langues de chat biscuits. While it is sold all across Japan, it makes even more sense to bring these back because they are manufactured in Hokkaido, so be sure to grab a box or two!
Marusei Butter Sand
A biscuit sandwich containing a mix of Hokkaido butter, white chocolate and a rich cream with soft raisins, Rokkatei’s Marusei Butter Sand is also another very popular souvenir. The rich taste of the butter, made from 100% Hokkaido raw milk shines through, and is complemented by the slightly sweet and soft biscuit.
Rokkatei Yukiya Konko
Another offering from Rokkatei, the Yukiya Konko is also very popular, featuring a black cocoa cookie with a white chocolate filling, and the design of the biscuits’ surface is meant to mimic snowflakes falling from the night sky!
LeTAO Double Fromage Cheesecake
LeTAO’s signature Double Fromage cheesecake features two layers: a baked cheesecake layer, and a second layer of mascarpone cheese mousse. One bite and the intense flavour of the cheese will hit you instantly. It may sound troublesome to bring a cheesecake all the way home, but it’ll be worth it!
Snaffles Cheese Omelette
For something a little bit easier to transport, look to Snaffles, a famous confectionary shop from Hakodate specialising in a souffle-like cheesecake made with Hokkaido cheese. These individually wrapped baked treats are so named because it “melts in the mouth like a soft cooked omelette”, and come in a variety of different flavours such as maple and chocolate, which are an absolute delight.
Calbee Jaga Pokkuru
Familiar with Calbee Jagabee? Jaga Pokkuru is a savoury snack one-upping it, made with Hokkaido potatoes. Light and crunchy, It’s going to be hard to control yourself when it comes to these potato sticks because they are so delicious!
Calbee Jaga Pirika
Another offering from Calbee Potato Farm, Jaga Pirika is made from three kinds of potatoes, resulting in a tri-coloured potato snack that offers more visual appeal over Jaga Pokkuru, but is just as addictive and delicious.
Ryugetsu Sanporoku
A well-loved souvenir even among the Japanese people, the Sanporoku is a baumkuchen cake coated with milk and white chocolate to resemble a tree bark. The contrast between the soft baumkuchen and the hard chocolate lend a nice bite, and you can be sure it is delicious because it even won an award! A small knife which resembles a saw is even included to fit with the theme!
White Black Thunder
Black Thunder is a popular chocolate bar in Japan, however, the White Black Thunder is region exclusive, only available in Hokkaido! A mix of chocolate cookies and puffed rice, it has a white chocolate coating covering the outside, adding a layer of sweet, creamy flavour to each bite.
Hokkaido Melon KitKat
How can you ever leave Japan without buying some of the many different flavoured KitKats? Aside from some other unique Japanese flavours such as, get a box of the Melon KitKat. With a sweet melon flavour, these will be a hit with everyone back home.
HORI Yubari Melon Pure Jelly
Another offering featuring the delightful Yubari melon, Hori’s Pure Jelly is made using real Yubari melon juice. It is so juicy that it is akin to eating a real Yubari melon!
