Random Weekend Picture 3

Three days ago, I took a walk around the neighborhood and noticed that the Setsubun Aero and KitKat bars which I reviewed in February are being relegated to bargain bins at Okashi no Machioka. One of the reasons not to release such bars is that the date at which they were released is so obvious. The original price was 120 yen ($1.33) and the sale price is less than half that at 59 yen (65 cents). Note that there are more KitKats left than Aeros. I guess the Japanese aren't any fonder of the dirt-like flavor of the Setsubun KitKats than I was.

This sort of steep discounting is actually quite rare.

KitKat Mild Bitter Mini (Okashi no Machioka exclusive)

In last Friday's post on Okashi no Machioka, I mentioned that there is an exclusive KitKat for sale at their shops. This is that very number. I do wonder just how "exclusive" it is, and whether or not it may show up at other outlets. It's certainly possible that the Machioka people will sell their stock to others. I guess it's also possible that the people who re-sell Japanese items to foreigners can buy up some of these and offer them. If any of my readers see these at other shops or can acquire them through mail order, please leave a comment and let me know.


As for the candy itself, I had seen it on a previous visit, but skipped it because of the necessity of buying 14 mini bars for a sampling. When it comes to minis, I usually try and locate a single one being sold at convenience stores for 40 yen. Since this is an exclusive, there was no chance of that, so I picked up a bag for 279 yen ($3.10) at Okashi no Machioka, and hoped that it was going to be enjoyable.


Each bar is 12.3 grams (.43 oz.) and 66 calories. Two fingers of these short mini fingers are about the same size as 1.4 regular KitKat fingers. The chocolate coating on these seems firmer, more brittle and flakes more easily than other types of KitKats. This is likely because there is less butterfat, milk, or milk products in the darker chocolate coating. This also means that they melt less readily than other types of KitKats I've encountered in Japan.

The smell is of dark chocolate, though it's not a deep scent. The bars are crispy and the chocolate has a nice snap. The chocolate coating sits cooler on your tongue than milk chocolate. The flavor is a very mild dark chocolate flavor with so little bitterness that I'm not sure that these have earned the name "mild bitter". They are actually mild dark chocolate rather than bittersweet, and that suits me just fine as I am not a fan of strong dark chocolate.

While I really liked the combination of the wafers, cream and mild dark chocolate, I think some people may find these to be too little variation on the regulation milk chocolate bar. The main benefit of this is that the chocolate flavor is a little more pronounced, the bar a bit less fatty, and the texture crisper. It's quite a tasty KitKat, much as plain KitKats are, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. I'm just not sure I can recommend that anyone else go out of their way to track it down or pay more for it as an import.

Variety Friday: Machioka Candy Shops

The front of an Okashi no Machioka shop (click any picture to see a larger version).

On many occasions, I've mentioned that I have picked up one product or another at a "discount candy shop". That shop is Okashi no Machioka (おかしのまちおか). "Okashi" is Japanese for "candy" or "sweets", though these shops actually carry a wide variety of snacks including sembei, salted snacks, drinks, and diet-oriented snack foods.

Boxes of stock cluttering already pretty narrow aisles is the norm in many Tokyo stores. It makes navigating these places a chore.

Okashi no Machioka is a chain so their shops are located in various areas of Japan with many located in Tokyo but some in neighboring areas. If you can read Japanese, you can access their web site to find out where their shops are located. All of the stores have the same white on red lettering that you see in the picture at the top of this post and there are often pictures of their little blond-haired mascot, Machiko, pasted or hanging around the shop.

Machiko, the mascot, looks on at a "mild bitter" bag of KitKat minis that are exclusive to Machioka's stores. (image pinched from Okashi no Machioka's web site)

The shop carries a lot of items that aren't readily available in other outlets such as markets or convenience stores, but it also has special Machioka-only items. Recently, for instance, they have collaborated with Nestle Japan to make a KitKat mini which is an exclusive to their shops. This mini is a "mild bitter" flavor which I'll try to review at some point soon.

Products that are normally 100 yen are marked down to 84 yen at Machioka.

There are actually two of these shops located within walking distance of my apartment. Each carry similar, but not exactly the same inventory. Both have boxes of items sitting in the front in copious quantities and carry an interesting array of snacks for a cheaper than usual price. The best thing to hit them up for are items that are about to be or already discontinued, but such bargains are unpredictable.

If you are in Japan and interested in snacks, these shops are worth looking up and visiting if you're in the general area of one anyway. I'm not sure they're worth going out of your way for unless you check the web site and there is an announcement of a Machioka-only item of interest. Though the snacks are cheaper there and the selection different, the price cuts are not that deep. That being said, for someone who does what I do, these shops are a gold mine.