Dounan Corn Caramels

There's a super funky shop in a neighboring area which sells all sorts of novelty items for the hip crowd that hangs around the live houses in the area. They sell a ton of imported junk like big plastic M & M's full of, well, M & M's and the kind of stuff your pervy uncle might take to a party to amuse himself. They also carry a huge variety of extreme and atypical sweets. One of the caramels they had, for instance, was "Ghengis caramels" with a picture of Ghengis Khan on the cover. I almost went for it, but chickened out and bought these corn caramels instead.


As is the case with many of the weird caramels I review, this is from Hokkaido. They are the Nestlé of the caramel trade, it would seem, in that they are intent on coming up with as many freaky caramel flavors as Nestlé Japan is with KitKats. I can't recall exactly what I paid for this, but I think it was in the ballpark of 100-150 yen (about a dollar to a dollar-fifty) for 18 small caramels.

Each caramel is around 16 calories and wrapped somewhat loosely in wax paper. I didn't open the plastic wrapper on this box for well over a month and they kept in pristine shape even in the summer heat and humidity. I'm guessing now that the seal is broken though, that they will get a bit gummy through time.

The caramels just smell sweet. I couldn't really detect any corn scent though these are made with real Hokkaido sweet corn. The flavor at first is pretty mild but the corn flavor ramps up as you chew. It really is like eating an ear of very sweet corn from a flavor point of view and is a pretty nice taste experience. You might expect it to be a tad strange, but I enjoyed it. However, I don't know if getting your corn in caramel form (as opposed to caramel corn) is everyone's cup of tea. I'd definitely consider getting these again if the mood struck me.

Tokachi Kinako Caramels

One of my students recently visited Hokkaido. She brought back a plethora of pictures of flowers, green fields, and nature. She also brought me back a souvenir, as is commonly done in Japan. Though the item was supposed to only be available in Hokkaido, it was a very familiar item to me. Yes, it was the wonderful Ezo Brown Bear caramels that I had reviewed previously.

There seems to be a never-ending supply of Hokkaido-only caramels that are sold all over Tokyo as that is what the kinako caramels that I'm reviewing today are supposed to be. I found these at the local discount snack shop for 100 yen (about a dollar). Dounan, which makes both these and the Ezo Brown Bear caramels, seems to get around.


In case you don't remember or are a new reader, kinako is toasted soy flour. It has a nutty flavor which can be similar to peanut butter, but it doesn't always carry much of a peanut flavor. It's just the toasting process. These caramels carry the scent and flavor of kinako and are nicely sweet. The kinako is neither too strong nor too weak. It's really very nicely balanced. The caramels themselves are easy to bite into and stick to your teeth a bit. Because of their size, they vanish all too soon. If you want to savor them, sucking on them might be a better bet.

It took me a long time to consume the 18 caramels in the box and by the end they had picked up some moisture and gotten a bit soft and sticky. They still tasted great, but the texture lost some of its luster. Each caramel is 17 calories and quite small. They make for a nice little sweet, but I think most people wouldn't be satisfied with just one.

If you like kinako, it's nearly a lock that you'll enjoy these. I really liked them and would definitely buy them again if I wanted some caramels. However, I would either keep them in the refrigerator or only buy them if I could share them, eat them faster, or if it wasn't summer in Tokyo when it's hot and humid.

Ezo Brown Bear Strawberry Milk Chews

So much Japanese candy is adorned with cutesy little cartoon mascots. It's almost refreshing to see a ferocious, snarling bear on the front of one the them. In fact, I really wish I could send a case of these to Stephen Colbert. I'm sure they'd be all the more appetizing to someone with his unique appreciation of the less cuddly nature of bears. Some might doubt the marketing value of putting a creature that looks like it would enjoy nothing more than mauling you on a box of sweets, but it can't all be Pikachu and Totoro.


These candies are a souvenir from Hokkaido, though we picked them up at a candy shop in our neighborhood in Tokyo. Somehow the whole Japanese regional food obsession seems a little less understandable if you can get these types of things anywhere outside of their specific regions. The box has one of those long-winded statements in English that you sometimes find on Japanese products. For the record, most of these assertions are earnest and about nature preservation or appreciation. I'm told this sort of thing plays well with the locals, but mainly as a decorative element as most Japanese folks don't bother to read the English (or understand it). To me, these statements have always come across as a bit corny, but they're not there for the likes of me.

These are made by a company called Dounan. The company is located in Hakodate in Hokkaido (northern Japan) and was established in 1919. Their Ezo Brown Bear line includes 3 flavors of caramel chews and a few chocolate bars. They make a variety of caramel "chews" as well as a few drinks and other sweets. One of the more interesting items they make is chocolate-covered freeze-dried strawberries. If I could get my hands on them, I'd love to try their corn chocolates and caramels. The corn chocolates look like little cobs and are just darling. Everything they make can be purchased via mail order from their web site if you can understand Japanese, though I'm betting they only ship domestically.


The box contains 18 strawberry milk chews which are 1.5 cm (.6 in.) x 2 cm (.8 in.) in size and wrapped individually in wax paper. The box could easily fit 20 candies because there's a long gap at the top, but I guess that they're being a little cheap or someone didn't design the box properly. The candy smells faintly of real strawberry and each is firm to the touch. When you put them in your mouth, they're slightly sweet and a little tart. They're pleasantly chewy and easy to bite into. There's a hint of milky flavor as well. They're like a soft Tootsie roll in terms of texture. They're not as slick or gum-like as a Hi-Chew.

These have a very good and natural strawberry flavor. It's mild because of the milk, but the flavor is clearly present and well-balanced. These are definitely worth a try. Even if you hate strawberry, you should buy them for the nifty box.