We recently had the opportunity to try some products from Japan and wanted to see how they differed from American products. We tried an assortment of three different products: purple sweet potato Kit Kats, Strawberry Pockie, and Yojiya dissolving face wash. 

Purple Sweet Potato Kit Kat:

 Before we ate the kit kat we expected a more savory flavor, similar to how orange sweet potatoes taste here in the United States. It was interesting to see on the packaging that Japanese sweet potatoes are purple and they serve them whipped. The Kit Kat itself was covered in a light purple chocolate coating. We were surprised by the sweetness of the treat; it tasted similar to extra sweet white chocolate with a slight fruit tang and the taste lingered in our mouths after we ate it. The wafer was the same, but like the Kit Kat’s found in the U.S. where the middle is usually more chocolate, the sweet potato had a different taste than the outside did. 

Strawberry Pockie:

 Although this product can be easily found in the United States we wanted to see if there was a difference in taste between the Pockie from Japan or one found on a supermarket shelf in the U.S. There were only a few differences with the Japanese Pockie and the American one. There were strawberry sugar pieces in the dip and the sticks themselves were darker colored than the ones sold in the U.S. The taste is very similar to the artificial strawberry flavor which is known to be very sweet. Overall we wouldn’t want to eat these again as they were too sweet and a very artificial flavor.

Yojiya Dissolving Face Wash:

 This product comes in an envelope type packaging, and  inside are thin sheets of face wash. The packaging is a blush color with Japanese letters. We didn’t expect much from the face wash as it was only very thin paper sheets but to our surprise it worked very nicely. In order to use the face wash we took out one of the sheets and laid it flat on your hand. Then we wet our hands and rubbed the sheet between our hands until it turned into soap. Once it was a soapy substance in our hands we then applied it to our face and rubbed it in. After a few seconds of rubbing we then rinsed it off. After washing our faces we are left with our skin feeling fresh, but also tight. If you have drier skin, we would recommend using a moisturizer after as it does cause some dryness.  For those interested in the face wash, visit their website. https://www.yojiya.co.jp/en/store/honten/.

It was a unique experience to review these products and compare them to everyday products we have in the United States. If interested, these products can be found through an easy Google search.