I have something a little different on the blog today, and I’m so excited about it! You know what I love more than books? Food. TokyoTreat reached out to me and thought I might like to give their Japanese snack box a try, and I jumped at the chance! My dad was in the Navy, and my family was stationed in Japan when I was born. My parents loved all the yummy Japanese foods, and I have heard about them my entire life (we moved away when I was 16 months old, so I did not get to sample the cuisine while there.). To this day, my parents reminisce about ramen and sushi and all the unique snack foods you could buy in brightly colored packaging. My dad’s entire Christmas stocking is filled with Japanese treats from our local Asian market each year, so of course I had to invite my parents to sample the treats with me! My review will include all the treats in the box as well as all of our opinions so hopefully you’ll get an idea if this is the right box for you.

Please note, this review contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase a subscription or one-time box, please consider doing so through my link. It will help me make more amazing content in the future!

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My Review of the September 2025 TokyoTreat Box, “Snacktastic Moonfest”

My TokyoTreat box quickly winged its way to me, straight from Japan. I couldn’t believe how quickly it arrived! And, for the most part, it arrived unscathed. A few of the treats were broken or shattered inside, which was unfortunate, but that didn’t take away at all from the enjoyable unboxing experience or the yummy flavors inside. I was delighted to see such a bright and colorful box on my doorstep, and quickly brought it inside. Even though it was approximately 75,000 degrees outside, nothing was melted. It was a summertime miracle!

First off, look at how colorful and detailed this packaging is! As you know, I’m a graphic designer, and I drooled over this box when I first saw it. I’ve never wanted to keep a shipping box before, but this one is a work of art.

Let’s dive in, shall we? Please note, I will most likely get obnoxious about the packaging. I will try not to mention it too often, but let’s be honest here… I will be mentioning it, well, often. Look how pretty! I love the dark blue with the bright colors. And the packaging on the treats themselves? Don’t even get me started. It was so hard to rip into the packages because they’re all so much fun to look at.

There’s no English on any of the packaging, but the accompanying booklet tells you everything you need to know about the treats, including dietary restrictions (like alcohol) and allergen warnings (like various seafoods), as well as their significance. This book was so much fun to read. The pages are glossy and, you guessed it, colorful! There’s so much information inside, and I loved learning about Tsukimi, the Harvest Moon Festival that this box is inspired by. This festival is all about the full moon and cozy autumn vibes, which I’m all about. Fall is my favorite season and I love being cozy! The booklet includes the historical roots of the festival, moon myths, Moon Fest classic foods, Tsukimi traditions, Lunar fast food, and even hosting your own party. Not only is this box a treat for the tastebuds, but an opportunity to learn about a country and customs you might not be very familiar with. I’m picturing families gathering around the table snacking and learning together. What a fun evening that would be! Also included is a little polaroid photo with a note from the company CEO on the back, further highlighting the excitement of Tsukimi. I officially want to go back to Japan now and experience this for myself. It sounds like so much fun!

As you can see in this picture, this box is bursting at the seams. They got a TON of seasonal, autumnal, yummy goodness in here. There’s savory and sweet snacks, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. My dad avoided more of the sweet treats due to dietary restrictions and stuck to the savory ones, and my mom and I were happy to indulge our sweet tooths (sweet teeth? lol). We read about every treat we tried as we sampled it, which really enriched our experience. So, let’s get into all the treats! I’m reviewing them in the order we tried them.

The Treats

Honey Butter Puffs
My mom and I loved these so much. They were our favorite of everything we tried. The texture is super light and fluffy and melts in your mouth. They were very lightly sweet (kind of like the sweetness of Corn Pops cereal), which was perfect. My mom remarked that it was the sweetest Japanese treat she had ever tasted.

Choco Dream Star Bites 
Yummm! These little chocolate stars were nice, not too sweet, and light and fluffy. There’s an almost waxy texture to the chocolate coating, which I thought was very good. These kind of reminded me of the flavor of Cocoa Puffs cereal.

Heartwarming Harvest Cookie
This was delightful. My mom and I loved the light, crispy, layered pastry texture. There’s a tiny bit of sweet, which you can see in the shimmer on the cookie, and a tiny bit of salty. It was such a nice blend of both flavors. Unfortunately, this is one of the items that arrived broken but we didn’t mind.

Sweet Potato Wafer Rolls
This treat came in a larger portion size, which was really nice. The box contains two packs of five wafer rolls each, so they’re easy to share. You have to really love sweet potatoes to like this treat, because it tastes very strongly of them. My mom and I loved the texture (similar to Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Creme Filled Wafers), but we didn’t love the flavor. My dad, on the other hand, really liked them! He’s a huge fan of sweet potatoes and took the entire pack when my mom and I offered. He said he could taste a hint of some kind of sweet berry in them, which my mom and I didn’t pick up on.

Fall Butter Biscuit
This was my mom’s and my second favorite. We loved the very thin and crispy texture. We could taste the butter and a subtle hint of sweetness. It’s like nothing we’ve ever tried before, and we wished we had more.

Moontastic Pudding Mochi
I have heard stories of mochi! My parents got to see people making it in Japan. I was eager to try this, but it was a little odd to me. I wanted to play with it more than eat it because it was so soft and squishy. It felt so cool! The texture was very light and pillowy, with a kind of custard in the middle. I didn’t like the flavor at all. My mom said it was much different from mochi she had in Japan: less chewy, less dense.

Carrot Crunch Rice Puffs
These were very fun to eat, but there was not much to them. You have to eat multiple pieces at a time to get the flavor. They’re very lightly sweet, crispy, and have a distinct rice flavor. The portion was nice and big, so we were able to make these last for a while. And I loved the cute carrot-shaped packaging.

Fall Fruit Jelly 
This was probably our least favorite treat of the the bunch. They smell just like the Dimetapp cough syrup I had as a child. My mom didn’t try them at all, and I licked the jelly to see if it tasted like it smelled. Sure enough, it did taste just like Dimetapp. lol. It’s verrrrrry grape and had the texture of a runnier jello. The booklet recommends popping them into the freezer, but I chose to try them at a slightly refrigerated temperature instead. The packaging is adorable with all the little Pokemon characters on it.

Seaweed Salt Potato Chips 
My parents loved these and said they tasted like seaweed flavored Pringles. They’re a little spicy, salty, with a subtle hint of seaweed. My dad took the rest of the bag for himself. lol.

Harusame Full Moon Egg Soup
My dad loves soup more than anyone I know, so we let him eat this entire cup of soup himself. Right off the bat, it smelled fishy with a hint of crab. My dad could taste the egg, onion, and crab but said the crab is the strongest flavor (which he loved). It’s not fishy in a bad way, and the flavor is fine and subtle. The rice noodles are a nice consistency and pick up the flavor really well. My dad immediately had me go online to see if I could buy more. He wants an entire case of it!

Crispy Seaweed Bites
These were my dad’s favorite. They’re very crunchy, with a shrimp-like taste. He wished the bag had more than the three tiny bites, though. He said it had a good aftertaste that stayed with him.

Mini Matcha Baumkuchen and Mont Blanc Kit Kats 

I mailed these last two treats to a friend who loves Japanese munchies because my family and I do not drink tea or alcohol (the baumkuchen has green tea in it and the Kit Kats contain rum). The Kit Kats are the typical “fun size” and you get a whole bag of them! I love that I was able to share this fun experience with a good friend! I will be awaiting their opinions on the treats and will update my review when they get back to me!

Our Final Thoughts

• Is TokyoTreat worth it? Absolutely! This was such a fun way to sample some unique Japenese treats that my family and I had never tried before. We highly recommend this box if you’re looking for a gift for your foodie friend or family member, anyone interested in trying new foods, and anyone looking for a fun way to experience a new culture. Buy a box and have a fun tasting night with your kids as a homeschool lesson, your significant other for date night, or a group of friends for a party.
• It was so much fun gathering around the table and sampling these foods together. We laughed and talked about our day, and it was a nice way to spend time together.
• With a lovely mixture of both sweet and savory treats, there’s something for everyone here. And you can always share if something doesn’t strike your fancy!
• The portion sizes for some of the treats were smaller than we would have liked, but some of the others had larger portions so it all balanced out.
• We loved the packaging and presentation of the box as well as the packaging of the treats themselves. The bright colors and wacky designs brought a smile to our faces and we had just as much fun looking through everything as we did sampling the foods.
• We particularly loved the booklet that shared information about the Harvest Moon Festival and Japanese traditions. We also really appreciated the allergen and ingredient lists so we knew what we were consuming. With my family’s varying allergies and dietary choices, we felt safe and confident making our choices.
• We do wish that nutrition facts (fat, carbs, sugar, serving size, calories, etc.) were included in the booklet. This is not exactly a diet-friendly box for that reason. If you’re on any kind of calorie or carbohydrate-restrictive eating plan, there’s no information that tells you exactly what you’re eating so you can work the treats into your diet.
• It’s so much fun to be surprised, and we really enjoyed that aspect of the experience. We had no clue what to expect, and every treat was like opening a present. This is something to look forward to.

The Details

• TokyoTreat subscriptions are available in annual, 6-month, 3-month, and monthly plans. The longer the subscription, the cheaper it is per month.
• Whichever plan you choose auto-renews, but you can cancel at anytime.
• Worldwide shipping is available.

Interested in subscribing? Use my link!

Thank you to TokyoTreat for providing my family with a fun afternoon of conversation and yummy treats! We really enjoyed this experience.

Today I’m reviewing a new (or at least new to me!) subscription box for bibliophiles! If you’re a writer or just a lover of books, you might enjoy LitKit. Learn a little about LitKit below, check out my unboxing experience, and see what I got in the March LitKit! I held off on posting earlier because I didn’t want to spoil the surprise for anyone who ordered last month’s box.

 

Born of the wet streets and dusty bookstores of San Francisco, LitKit is a monthly subscription box lovingly crafted to delight devotees of experimental literature, creative writing, and pen-and-ink publishing. Each month, we pair up with an independent author, poet, or small press publisher to showcase their most innovative and thought-provoking work. We bundle these carefully chosen publications with an assortment of unique literary devices, including high-quality writing implements and supplies, beautiful journals, thought-provoking prompts, and other interesting items intended to get your creative inks flowing freely.

Other things you should know:

– Price: $37 per month/$96 per 3-months/$334 per year
– Gift subscriptions available?: Yes.
– What does the box include?: “Small-press experimental literature, archaic and anachronistic writing supplies and technologies, tools and materials to make and repair your own books, beautiful journals and prompts to push your boundaries as a writer, mail art supplies and interactive projects, and various book-related goodies.”
– Who curates these boxes?: Read about them here.

So what did I get?

 
The LitKit box is shipped Priority Mail 3-Day, and got here looking great! This logo is stamped on the two ends of the box so you know what’s coming as soon as you see it.

Upon opening the box you get a little letter from the creators of LitKit, explaining what’s in the box. If you don’t want your items spoiled, hide this until the end! The back of this paper contains a monthly writing prompt calendar that provides one prompt a week, such as “What does the sun smell like?” and “”Who scares you?”. I love the crinkle pieces, and thought it was a fun way to pack the box.

After taking the crinkle stuff out, voila! Stuffs!

So, what is all this? Well, I got:

• Stolen Sharpie Revolution: A DIY Resource for Zines and Zine Culture by Alex Wrekk of Portland Button Works. The note says that this book is “an indispensable resource for literary creators”.
• A Read More Books button from Portland Button Works.
• An I <3 Books magnet from Portland Button Works.
• A retractable fine-tip sharpie.
• Two zines from Ellen Bae: Fixed and Fleeting meant to inspire me to create my own zines after reading the Stolen Sharpie Revolution.
• A kit to make three of my own little books, all supplies included except the glue stick.

How do I feel?

I think the idea behind the LitKit is very fun. When Meg, LitKit co-founder, pitched me this box she said it’s a great box to inspire writers and lit lovers. I can see that this might be true, however I was surprised that this month’s box surrounded zines. I’ll be honest, zines are not the first thing I think of when I hear “writing inspiration”. I actually had to look up what a zine is. lol. Wikipedia says a zine is “(an abbreviation of fanzine or magazine) most commonly a small circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images usually reproduced via photocopier”. This is cool to me! The zines I received are very simple, yet fun to look at. I can definitely see these inspiring people to try and create their own.

The book making kit is very cute, and I think it will be fun to make the books. The instructions appear to be easy to follow, and I will probably use the kit to make some journals for my purse. I’m a huge fan of bookish buttons and magnets, so I am happy to have these to add to my collection. And who doesn’t need a sharpie? Pretty sure my mom stole mine already. The packaging is very nice and I like that a note was included to explain what each item is.

Would I subscribe?

No, I don’t think I would. For what I got, I feel like the price is a bit high for a bookworm on a budget. I looked up each item online, and I could have put this box together myself for less money. I understand we’re paying for the labor of the curators, though, and I totally support that. I guess my biggest thing is that I personally will not get enough use out of the items I received to justify the cost involved. I feel like this theme was a bit obscure for the general writer/bookish person. There are other subscription boxes out there that fit my needs as a book lover more than this one does.

Should you subscribe?

When you buy any subscription box, you are buying a service as much as your are buying items. You are also going into things without knowing the outcome. Meg and Michael do a great job, and I can tell they care about their subscribers. Looking at past issues of the box, there are some interesting items included. If you’re an aspiring or independent writer looking for some tips and inspiration, perhaps this is the box for you!

Thanks so much, Meg and Michael, for sending me a box in exchange for my review! As always, my review was not swayed because I got something for free and my opinions are my own.