Truly the Best Japanese Chocolate Candy, Snacks & Desserts Ever

Christmas is right around the corner and soon Valentine’s Day will be, too! What do many people think of when they picture the holidays? If you’re thinking CHOCOLATE, you and I are on the same page! Although I consider myself a chocoholic, I sometimes have to remind myself that there are SO MANY options out there outside of the usual popular chocolates we find here in the United States, such as Dove chocolates and Lindt chocolates. Have you ever thought about trying chocolates from Japan? Well, what I have for you today are some of the best Japanese chocolate candy, snacks, and desserts! Just scroll down a little further to find out about these popular Japanese chocolate brands and recipes.

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Japanese Meiji Seika Chocolates

Meiji is just one of the most popular Japanese chocolate candy brands.

According to the Meiji chocolate website, Meiji chocolate is the most popular chocolate seller in all of Japan. In fact, it dominates 24.6% of the market!

Some of the more popular Meiji Japanese chocolates include the following:

Meltykiss
Apollo
Kinoko no Yama
Takenoko no Sato

However, Meiji milk chocolate bars are very popular, too. If you’re here in the United States, you can easily purchase them from Amazon if you don’t have a Japanese market near you.

You should definitely give them a try!

Kinoko No Yama

So, these are chocolate-covered biscuits that are shaped like mushrooms.

(By the way, the literal translation of kinoko no yama is a mushroom mountain.)

These classic Japanese chocolate snacks also known as Chocorooms here in the United States, are made by a company called Meiji Seika (mentioned above).

The bottom portion, the stem of the mushroom, is made of biscuit while the top part, the mushroom hood, is made of chocolate.

FYI, although chocolate is the most common flavor, these Chocorooms do come in other flavors.

If you’re interested in buying these delicious Japanese chocolate snacks, you can sometimes find them at Five Below or Daiso.

(If you’re not already familiar with Daiso, it’s a Japanese store that’s based in Japan but they have several locations here in the United States. Sadly, they do not have any here in the greater Pittsburgh area at the time of this writing).

Of course, you can also purchase them on Amazon.

Also, FYI, you should also consider getting Takenoko no Sato (bamboo-shaped), which is very similar to Kinoko no Yama.

**Pocky (Mikado in Europe)**

So, the first time I heard of Pocky was when I was a freshman in college. Literally, ALL of my friends were Asian (or of Asian descent) and they were SO SURPRISED that I had never heard of Japanese Pocky.

(So sinful of me to not know what these were! Lol.)

Ok, so if you were like me and you’ve never heard of Pocky, let me explain this to you.

These Japanese chocolate snacks are basically very thin biscuits (think of a pencil), that are dipped in chocolate.

I’m telling you… these are SOOOOO popular not just in Japan, but in the United States, too. I would often find them not just at Japanese or other Asian markets, but I would often find them at local grocery stores, too (although they’re not too easy to find in Pittsburgh, unfortunately).

They are sooo addicting, too. They come in tiny boxes with like 20 of them (I think … I never actually counted).

(FYI, in my opinion, Pocky is possibly the best Japanese chocolate snacks around!)

Now, if you’re interested in learning more about Pocky, check out this EXCELLENT YouTube video by very popular YouTuber (currently 2.86 million subscribers) emmymade:

(By the way, I had NO IDEA until recently that there are GIANT Pocky sticks available. I plan to try them soon!)

By the way, if you can’t find Pocky at your local grocery store, you can totally purchase it on Amazon by clicking here.

Also, I HIGHLY recommend you take a look at the Pocky website to find some Pocky recipes, such as for Pocky cake pops 😉

Other Popular Pocky Flavors

FYI, although chocolate is the most popular flavor, some other popular flavors include the following:

Strawberry
Green tea
Cookies and Cream
Honey
Banana
Caramel
Strawberry and Coconut
Lychee
Coffee
Melon
Marble Royal Milk Tea
Honey & Milk
Berry
Coconut
Cream Cheese
Sweet Potato
Corn on the Cob
Pumpkin
Tomato
Pineapple
Cherry
Orange
Blueberry
Mixed berry

Interestingly, they also have regional flavors:

Grape (Nagano)
Tangerine ( Kyūshū)
Yūbari melon (Hokkaidō)
Powdered tea azuki bean (Kyoto)
Five-fusion berry (Goka)
Kobe wine (Kobe)

Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend you try Pocky if you haven’t. Again, chocolate is the most common flavor for this super popular chocolate Japanese snack.

Royce

Ok, so now are you ready for the best Japanese chocolate candy around?

Many people would say that the Royce brand chocolate is one of THE BEST chocolates from Japan!

Royce is arguably the best known for its nama chocolate, which is a kind of ganache made with cream and melted cacao and covered with cocoa powder.

Here, take a look at this YouTube video below by ROYCE’ Chocolate USA to see just how MOUTH-WATERING these chocolates are:

So hard to resist such deliciousness, right!? As mentioned previously, some people would say these are some of the best Japanese chocolate candy products around.

Other Royce chocolates from Japan include chocolate bars, chocolate-covered potato chips, and petite truffles, among other Japanese chocolate products.

FYI, Royce has several retail store locations all throughout Japan. You can find some of these locations in the airports, too!

However, lucky for those of us who live in the United States, they have several locations here!

They currently have locations in the following cities and states:

Arlington Heights, IL
Chicago, IL
Boston, MA
New York, NY
Edgewater, NJ
Bellevue, WA
Seattle, WA
Tukwila, WA
San Jose, CA
Costa Mesa, CA
Irvine, CA
Torrance, CA
Santa Clara, CA
Arcadia, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Johns Creek, GA
Houston, TX

Gahhh! I was so lucky when I lived in California! However, if you’re like me and you don’t have a location near you, you can always order some Royce chocolates on their website.

However, if you like to bake, you can always make your OWN Royce Japanese chocolate candy!

There are several recipes out there that mimic Japanese nama chocolates.

Check out this one by Nino’s Home.

It only requires 3 ingredients!!!

What do you think? I’m about to go make myself the best Japanese chocolate candy with this recipe, lol!

Other Chocolate Candy, Snacks, or Desserts

Best Japanese Chocolate Cake Recipes

There are many different kinds of cakes in Japan including the famous Japanese cheesecake and Japanese chiffon cake.

Japanese cheesecake is normally less sweet than the kind we have here in the United States, and the texture is lighter, too. The light texture, in case you’re wondering, is produced by separating the egg whites from the egg yolks and whipping them separately.

Chiffon cake is also a SUPER popular cake variety in Japan.

Similar to Japanese cheesecake, the Japanese chiffon cake is also lighter than the cakes we normally make here in North America.

One of the things that makes this cake lighter is that it’s normally made with vegetable oil instead of butter or shortening. Also, the egg yolks and egg whites are beaten separately.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a good Japanese chocolate-flavored chiffon cake, I recommend you check out this highly-rated recipe by Indulge with Mimi.

Also, if you’re looking for an EXCELLENT and SUPER INFORMATIONAL recipe for Japanese chocolate cheesecake, I HIGHLY recommend you check out this YouTube video by SUPER popular YouTuber Emojoie (currently 2.19 million subscribers):

Japanese Chocolate Milk Bread

Another SUPER popular Japanese snack (or dessert) is Japanese chocolate milk bread.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of milk bread, it’s a kind of light-textured, fluffy bread that the Japanese developed in the 20th century. So, you can say it’s a fairly new concept.

People make Japanese milk bread by using tangzhong, which is a kind of paste made of warm flour and water. This kind of paste was originally developed in China to make lightly-textured buns.

Honestly, the concept can be a little difficult to describe.

Please, take a look at the video below by The Bakeanista to see just how super FLUFFY and BOUNCY this Japanese chocolate milk bread is:

Now, doesn’t that just look INCREDIBLY MOUTH-WATERING!? These are arguably the best Japanese chocolate snacks or desserts around!

If you’re interested in baking this bread, I recommend you check out the recipe by clicking on this link.

Best Japanese Chocolate Candy, Snacks, and Desserts FAQs

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about the best chocolates in Japan.

What is the most popular chocolate in Japan?

Here is a list of some of the best Japanese chocolate candies:

Meiji chocolates (arguably the most popular chocolate in Japan)
Lotte chocolates
Pocky chocolates by Glico
Royce brand Nama chocolates
Nestlé Kit Kat chocolates
Ghana chocolate bars
Morigina chocolates (DARS is very popular)
Chocoball chocolates
Toppo chocolates (similar to Pocky)
Fujiya chocolates (“Look” is popular)

What chocolate is famous in Japan?

The most famous chocolate company in Japan is Meiji. Other popular chocolate brands in Japan include Lotte, Morinaga, Ezaki Glico, and Fujiya.

Is Meiji Chocolate good quality?

Yes, these chocolates are very good quality. In fact, Meiji chocolate has won awards in both gold and silver at the Superior Taste Awards and the International Chocolate Awards.

FYI, if you’re interested, you can read more about these fine chocolates on Forbes.

Final Thoughts on the Best Japanese Chocolate Candy, Snacks, and Desserts

And that’s a wrap! What are your thoughts on some of the best Japanese chocolate candies, snacks, and desserts? Do any of these chocolates or chocolate recipes seem especially interesting to you? Have you tried any of these chocolates from Japan? Do you have a favorite chocolate from Japan? Please let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you.

Truly the Best Japanese Chocolate Candy, Snacks & Desserts Ever

Japanese Meiji Seika Chocolates

Kinoko No Yama