The Japan Crate family range of crates are now shipping through DHL! To help guide you through the new shipping method, we’ve created this blog that will lay out some of the most important bits of info.

We know many of you love reaching out to us to tell us your favorite items from the crate, share your feedback, ask questions, and more but we want to ensure that all your interactions with the Japan Crate family of brands are from official Japan Crate team members.

We’ve had to make significant changes to our shipping systems over the past few months. While these changes were abrupt and sometimes confusing, they were necessary in order for us to continue operating. As we continue to resolve the remaining operational challenges, we would like to take this time and update the community on some of the recent changes.

We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this time. We put together an FAQ for those of you who have not yet received April’s crate. We understand how frustrating it is to still be waiting on your crate, and please know that we’re doing everything we possibly can to get your crate to you as quickly as possible.

Did you know the dates in Japan are often written as year/month/day? Keep this in mind when looking for Japanese Best Before Dates!

We wanted to share some important information and updates regarding how we’re shipping your crates during the current pandemic.
Due to the ongoing health crisis, we’ve had to make frequent changes to our shipping operations. Keeping up with these changes can be hard so we put together some answers to the most frequently asked questions!

Japan Crate shipping info: Crates are shipped on a rolling shipment system, which means there will be 3 waves of crate shipments from Japan. Crates can take 2-4 weeks from ship date to arrive to your country. We ask that you wait 6 weeks from ship date to allow for any weather, Custom, postage or holiday delays. Remember, orders are always for the “following month” so if you order in March, you will be receiving the April crate!

Japan is filled with delicious Japanese candy, snacks, and exclusive merch but did you know each city and region has specific treats? Today we'll be focusing on each Tokyo treat you need to check out when shopping online or visiting Tokyo!

Japan has a wide range of candy and snacks to offer from the famed and exclusive flavors of their Kit-Kats to yummy gummies and fun DIYs. While some are seasonal and limited-edition to Japan, these are the goodies you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled and on the lookout for your next snacking adventure!

We just had to get our hands on these precious little baby donuts that Krispy Kreme released on the 13th of November.
From left to right: “Chocolate Baby Snowman” (220 yen), “Melon Cream Wreath” (230 yen), “Caramel Baby Reindeer” (230 yen).

Halloween barely came to an end yesterday and Starbucks wasted no time in releasing their "Merry Strawberry Cake" Frappuccino and "Merry Strawberry Cake" Hot Milk beverage on November 1st bringing those winter holiday vibes. Strawberry cakes are known to be Japan’s signature Christmas cake using the red and white colors to symbolize luck for the new year. By placing all these festivities in one cup, we were able to get our slice of goodness on the go.

Calpis, in Japanese カルピス, is a noncarbonated soft drink. It was created by Kaiun Mishima while traveling in Inner Mongolia in 1904. During his travels he encountered “airag” a traditional milk drink made from fermented dairy. He returned to Japan inspired to develop a beverage from cultured milk and lactic acid. Calpis was first released and sold in 1919.

Dagashi refers to small and individually packaged candy and snacks sold in Japan. In Japanese the word translates to “da” as “negligible” and “kashi” as “snack”. We beg to differ on the first half. Dagashi is popular amongst children and usually has fun packaging that sometimes includes a prize or small toy. Some well known dagashi include konpeito, fugashi, umaibo and fue ramune.

Hi-chew is a Japanese candy similar to taffy that comes in various fruity flavors. It was created with the idea of being a type of edible chewing gum that would dissolve rather than spit out.

Hi-chew is a Japanese candy similar to taffy that comes in various fruity flavors. It was created with the idea of being a type of edible chewing gum that would dissolve rather than spit out.

Pocky (ポッキー Pokkī) are addicting biscuit sticks covered in chocolate. They taste like a simple cookie with a smooth chocolate coating like the snack form of sweet breadsticks. The original milk chocolate Pocky was produced by the Glico company in 1966. Other flavors such as almond was created in 1971 and strawberry in 1977. From then on Pocky continued to expand with a variety of flavors, types, and sizes.

Japan is famous for many drinks such as green tea, canned coffee, melon soda, calpis, and last but least ramune!

Sakeru Gummy is a Japanese gummy candy that comes in short and long strips. “Sakeru” in Japanese means “split”. The strips have ridges so you can tear it, share it, or just play with it before you eat it. The gummy melts in your mouth and comes in various fruity flavors.

Umaibō is a delicious puffy corn snack stick from Japan. Imagine a giant cylindrical cheeto that comes in savory and sweet flavors! This very popular dagashi (link) has been around since 1979. Each wrapper features Umaemon, its cat mascot, whose name is a pun on the character Doraemon.