For 2023, we are celebrating the year of the auspicious rabbit. Rabbits are a sign of good fortune, forward momentum, cleverness and self-devotion. As snow falls gently across the prefecture of Niigata, those young and old venture outside to create yukiusagi, snow rabbit sculptures; no doubt with thoughts of the prosperous year ahead.
We are immensely proud to have partnered with the Niigata Prefectural Government to bring you sweet and savory snacks only available in this prefecture.
Indulge in these culinary delights and become enriched with the customs of Japanese New Year.
Bourbon (Niigata)
These iconic snacks have been sold in Japan since the 1980’s. Inside you’ll find rice crackers, bite-sized bean treats, and anchovies.
Common Allergens: Milk, Wheat, Shrimp, Peanuts, Squid, Sesame, Soy
May Contain Traces Of: Egg, Crab
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Ingredients:Starch (produced in Japan), vegetable oil and fat, peanuts, sugar, wheat flour, corn flour, rice flour, glutinous rice flour (produced in Thailand), soy sauce (contains wheat and soybeans), rice flour (glutinous rice (produced in Thailand)), black soybeans, anchovies, salt, dextrin, syrup, molasses, shrimp powder, fermented seasoning, edible processed oils and fats, chopped Squid, laver, glucose-fructose liquid sugar, sesame, protein hydrolysate (contains soybeans), powdered soy sauce (contains wheat and soybeans), flavored oil (contains wheat, shrimp and soybeans), yeast extract powder, shrimp seasoning powder, chili powder, kombu powder, bonito seasoning (contains milk ingredients), green laver, shrimp seasoning (contains soybeans) Garlic powder, processed starch, leavening agent, coloring (carotenoid, caramel, turmeric), trehalose, sorbitol, seasoning (amino acid, etc.), emulsifier (from soybean), flavor (from shrimp), antioxidant (V.E, V.C), cellulose, spice extract, silicon micronized oxide
Kanai Foods (Niigata)
Konjac and yokan are quite a rare pair. Craftsmen at Kanai Foods have paired azuki beans with a special konjac flour to create this sumptuous yokan treat. The packaging has cute Japanese depictions of a plum flower, sea bream, and Mt. Fuji.
Common Allergens: N/A
May Contain Traces Of: Peanuts, Sesame, Walnut
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Koshi An (red beans, sugar, salt), glucose-fructose liquid sugar, konjac flour/polysaccharide thickener, glycine, sorbitol
Ashida Confectionery (Kyoto)
The rabbit is seen as the luckiest sign in the lunar calendar and symbolizes mercy, elegance, and beauty. Here, we see the auspicious rabbit in the form of a sweet hozui, or Japanese style marshmallow. This delicate treat is filled with a creamy white bean paste.
Common Allergens: Egg
May Contain Traces Of: Sesame
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Candies (made domestically), sugar, fillings, kimoto candies, chilly, egg white, chilly plum powder/spice, coloring materials (red 3, red 106, green 1, red 102, yellow 4)
Sakura Confectionery (Niigata)
Makers at Sakura Confectionery crafted this sweet and spicy rice cracker seasoned with bonito and kelp broth and topped with a sweet soy based sauce. It’s then covered with a dusting of coarse soybean flakes.
Common Allergens: Soy
May Contain Traces Of: Dairy
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Sugar (made in Japan), rice glutinous rice (Niigata Prefecture), soy sauce, starch syrup, hon mirin (Japanese sweet cooking sake), bonito flakes extract, kelp extract, yeast extract powder, starch/thickener (processed starch), (contains soybeans and wheat)
Seika Foods (Kagoshima)
This exquisitely soft and elastic mochi boasts the bold flavors of seaweed, green tea, and white bean paste. Its packaging and name are inspired by “The Tale of Hyoroku’s Dreams”, a highly acclaimed Japanese story of a man hunting wild mischievous foxes.
Common Allergens: Soy
May Contain Traces Of: Dairy
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Starch syrup (made in Japan), sugar, maltose, glutinous rice, white bean paste, oblong bean paste, soybean flour, dried laver powder, powdered green tea (from Kagoshima), starch/emulsifier (from soybeans)
Amidaike Daikoku (Osaka)
Starting as early as the 8th century, travelers would try okoshi, crushed millet treats, in Osaka and buy them as souvenirs. Here, Amidaike Daikoku has flavored their okoshi with white chocolate and raisins, creating their renowned Osaka Chiyoko.
Common Allergens: Dairy, Soy, Wheat
May Contain Traces Of: Egg, Peanuts
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Chocolate coated (contains dairy ingredients, manufactured in Japan), corn flakes, waffle corn (wheat flour, sugar, corn starch, others), raisins/emulsifier (derived from soybeans), leavening agent, coloring agent (caramel, carotenoids), flavorings
Seki Confectionery (Kyoto)
These fortune cookies are slightly sweet and have a warm, comforting taste. Inside these cookies you’ll find an omikuji, or fortune. What does 2023 have in store for you?
Common Allergens: Egg, Wheat
May Contain Traces Of: Buckwheat, Peanuts, Dairy
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Flour (manufactured in Japan), sugar, syrup, glucose, egg, honey
Kiyonoya (Niigata)
Kiyonoya uses miso from Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture to perfectly compliment Fukaya green onions, or negi, for the glaze that coats these fluffy baked rice crackers.
Common Allergens: Wheat, Soy
May Contain Traces Of: Egg, Dairy, Shrimp, Crab, Peanuts
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Rice, miso, vegetable oil and fat, sugar, green onion, soy sauce, mirin-like seasoning/seasoning (amino acid, etc.)
Diversion (Gifu)
Niigata is a major producer of sake, an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice. The distinct blue and white double circle pattern on the bottom of the cup is strikingly named jenome, a snake’s eye. This specific design is said to enhance the subtle yellow hues of sake. We’ve partnered with Diversion to bring you this timeless classic.
Dishwasher/Microwave Friendly: Yes
Natsume Confectionery (Aichi)
With over 2000 years of history, karinto is a classic in Japanese snack cuisine. Indulge in the satisfying crunch of karinto infused with a rich brown sugar flavor.
Common Allergens: Wheat, Sesame
May Contain Traces Of: N/A
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Wheat flour (manufactured in Japan), brown sugar, san'on sugar, rice oil, syrup, white sugar, sesame, shortening, yeast, wheat germ, salt / coloring agent (caramel)
Kimura (Kumamoto)
This dorayaki is characterized by its sweetness, richness, and delicious flavor. The soft, chewy outer layers are the perfect veil for the richly flavored matcha bean paste filling inside.
Common Allergens: Egg, Milk, Wheat, Soy, Japanese yam
May Contain Traces Of: N/A
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Matcha bean paste [Ingen bean, sugar, reduced sugar syrup, matcha, agar] (manufactured in Japan), wheat flour, chicken eggs, sugar, sweetened glucose liquid sugar, vegetable oil and fat, whole milk powder (including milk ingredients), honey, brewing seasoning, corn syrup, yam flour / sorbit, expansion agent, emulsifier (from soybean), casein sodium, flavor
Ishizuka Confectionery (Kyoto)
2023 is the year of the rabbit according to the lunar calendar. This perfectly firm sweet chew is modeled after a yukiusagi, or snow rabbit. Snow rabbits are round snow sculptures made to resemble small rabbits with green leaves of evergreen trees for ears and red nuts for eyes. These cute creatures are a quintessential representation of winter.
Common Allergens: Milk, Egg
May Contain Traces Of: N/A
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Sugar (made in Japan), syrup, agar agar, egg white, white bean paste, marron paste (white bean paste, reduced syrup, sugar, margarine, chestnut sweetened paste, butter, salt) / processed starch, glycine, flavor, color (red 3, yellow 4, gardenia)
Kuriyama Beika (Niigata)
These crispy bite-sized fried rice snacks have black sesame seeds with honey soy sauce kneaded into the dough, giving them their sweet and savory flavor.
Common Allergens: Wheat, Sesame, Soy
May Contain Traces Of: Shrimp, Crab, Egg, Dairy, Peanuts
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Rice (Uruchi rice flour (US, Australia, Japan), Uruchi rice (Japan, US)), vegetable oil and fat, sugar, soy sauce (contains wheat and soybeans), sesame, starch, honey, fermentation seasoning (contains wheat and soybeans), seasoning extract (contains wheat and soybeans), amino acid solution (contains soybeans), pepper sauce (vinegar, hot pepper, salt) / processed starch, seasoning (amino acid, etc.), caramel color, flavor (from sesame)
Kikuya (Niigata)
Makers at Kikuya in Niigata made this western-style pastry using Niigata strawberries called “echigohime”, meaning the princesses of Echigo (modern-day Niigata). The strawberry creme is wrapped in a blanket of fluffy cake.
Common Allergens: Egg, Milk, Wheat, Soy, Japanese yam
May Contain Traces Of: Orange, Walnut, Salmon, Apple, Gelatin, Sesame, Cashew, Almond
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: vanilla filling(shortening,syrup,reduced syrup,sugar,others)(made in Japan), egg, sugar, wheat flour, sweetened condensed milk, rice flour, strawberry powder, shortening, whole milk powder, syrup, egg white, Japanese yam, liquid maltose, fermented seasoning, glucose, Echigohime powder/processed starch, Trehalose, Emulsifier, Expanding agent, Flavoring, Glycine, Lysine, Liquorice, Glycerol ester, Egg white lysozyme, Antioxidant(V.E,V.C), Color(benikoji),
Chirin Confectionery (Osaka)
The crisp colorful coating on these bite-sized morsels is protecting the melt-in-your-mouth chocolate hidden within. Each package of chocolate contains words of gratitude commonly expressed during the start of a new year.
Common Allergens: Milk, Soy
May Contain Traces Of: N/A
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa butter, lactose, cocoa mass, whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, cocoa powder, vegetable oils and fats, starch, processed starch, thickener (gum arabic, gum tragacanth), calcium carbonate, brightening agent, emulsifier, coloring agent (carotenoids, flavonoids, vegetable dye, gardenia), flavor, antioxidant (rosemary extract) (This product contains milk and soy as part of its ingredients)
Shikoen (Niigata)
The craftsmen of Shikoen have created their Genmai Black Bean Houjicha with inspiration from the traditional New Year’s food osechi. Osechi features small side dishes that each represent a different meaning for the new year. Black beans represent strength and health.
Common Allergens: Soy
May Contain Traces Of: N/A
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Ingredients: Black soybeans (Hokkaido), mung tea (domestic), brown rice (Niigata)
Echigo Meihan (Niigata)
The nanban shrimp of Niigata are renowned for their red color and shape, which resembles a nanban pepper. These shrimp are caught off the coast of Sado Island, Niigata. From there, the shrimp are made into a paste and carefully kneaded into dough, which is then baked to crisp perfection.
Common Allergens: Egg, Wheat, Shrimp, Soy
May Contain Traces Of: Buckwheat, Dairy, Crab
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Ingredients: Liquid egg white (including egg, manufactured in Japan), reduced syrup, starch processed food (starch, wheat flour, others), processed leavened rice food, shortening, sugar, wheat flour, dried shrimp, ground shrimp, salt / seasoning (amino acid, etc.: origin of soybeans), expansion agent, color (turmeric, red 102)