Oyatsu Cha Cha Cha are based in Japan and consist of a team who want to allow others to experience a little bit of the country through yummy treats and food. They felt that Japan was never known for more than their sushi, so by introducing sweets and treats they hoped that people would take a wider interest.

The OyatsuBox is available every month at $39 inc shipping (roughly £30) and contain an assortment of treats – up to 15-20 kinds of snacks, chocolate, confectionery and candy. The total weight is up to 1.5 lbs. The box is tracked shipping, so you can see where your package is at any given time. They accept payment by Visa Debit, credit card and Paypal, and you can cancel at any given time with no fees.

Interaction with their customers consists of votes on past boxes and votes about products that can be included with future boxes. There is a huge community section on their website where reviews, comments and pictures from customers can be found. To take their journey of educating others in the culinary talents of Japan, Oyatsu Cha Cha Cha have also got a recipe page where they introduce some of the less known favourite dishes of Japan, allowing you to have a go at cooking them yourself.

When my package arrived, it was surprising to see such a large box – even my postman commented on the size of it. All the items were inside a plastic bag inside of the box which kept them all secure. There is a check sheet with all the information about the products, any directions should they be needed, ingredients, an English translation of the product, and a website of the company it is from. There were 24 items in the box they sent us.

Popin Cooking  – Pudding Parfait DIY Kit

DIY kits are still huge, but my personal preference on them is that they all taste the same with their sherbet jelly sweets. This was different as the base of the treat was actually a cold custard mix, with sweet fruity jellies to top it off. Unfortunately, I messed mine up, but I winged it and it still tasted great.

Matcha Adzuki Cookie (Limited Edition)

I am a huge green tea fan, and knowing that there was red bean cream inside, I was even more excited. Whereas others who tried these were not fans of either green tea or red beans, it seemed that these were one of the biggest successes in the box. I was not disappointed. These biscuits are bitter and crisp, but are mellowed out with the red bean cream inside. A perfect balance between bitter and sweet.

Olive Pretz Basil

It’s been a while since we had something truly savoury within a treat box, so these were a nice surprise. They were salted but had a very light olive taste to them. They were flaky like cheese straws but without the cheese. These go really well as a party snack with dips, with humus, or on their own.

Caramel Corn – Salted Vanilla

The absolute favourite of the whole box, these sweet sugar coated crisps are gifts from the gods. They are the shape of cheesy Wotsits, but remind me of chocolate covered popcorn with a caramel flavour. It’s totally worth getting the box just for this.

Matcha Choco Kinako Mochi

Looking at the packaging, there wasn’t really any hints as to what to expect from this DIY kit. Technically I wouldn’t call it a DIY, but then I can understand why it is one. When you open it there are some dried tablets (DO NOT eat these, they taste horrid), and if you follow the instructions they tell you to wet the tablets with some cold water. Spread the tablets out and make sure they get soaked in the water and leave them for about three minutes. Whilst they are soaking the water up, empty the contents of your chocolate sauce and matcha powder into their own sections. Use your mochi fork and turn your now soggy tablets (which is your mochi) over to make sure they are fully ready. Dip into your chocolate first, and then your green tea powder, and enjoy a refreshing, fun and very tasty treat.

Pudding Gokko!

Even now I am still undecided whether I love this or loath it. Taste wise, it’s like a vanilla custard drink – texture wise, it felt like sucking a load of slugs through a straw. Again, as a DIY it has that same overly chemical taste, but at the same time it’s one that is very addictive.

Dontacos Enchiladas Crisps

Weirdly the best thing about Japanese snacks is their crisp flavours, enchiladas being one of those flavours I wouldn’t mind eating again. With a mix of meaty flavours, a hint of tomato, and a lot of cheesy goodness, it felt like you was eating an enchilada.

Setoshi – Yuzu Shio, Ebi, Nori Shio

Lovely savoury snacks for people who are on the go. Each had their own distinct taste, and although they look like a prawn cracker, they are made with rice, so it feels like a nice healthy alternative. Warning: these are very addictive.

Kaki No Tane – Wasabi

If you like little baked crisps made from pastry, then you will love these. They are wasabi flavoured, so could be a little too much for others to handle, but these little cracker bread stick pieces are really nice with an ice cold beverage of the alcohol kind.

Onigiri Senbei

If you like rice cakes, and are partial to onigiri and seaweed flavours, then these crunchy, sweet and savoury triangles are for you. The packaging is cute and the taste of the product is strong with its glaze over the dried rice cake.

Elise – Milk and White Chocolate

If you took the chocolate from a Pocky stick (in this case, the milk and white chocolate flavours) and put them in a wafer tube, then you would have the Elise chocolates. Sadly the chocolate in Japan doesn’t have the most amazing taste for me, so this was a letdown. But if you like Japanese chocolates, then you will love the taste of these.

Calico – Strawberry

I must say we were all disappointed with this. We really hoped that there would be some form of marshmallow inside, but instead it was that same Japanese chocolate taste with a chemically strawberry flavour to compensate it. Think a strawberry Aero inside a small ice-cream cone.

Fue Ramune Whistle Sweet, Milk Senbei and Ume Jam

The Fue Ramune Whistle Sweets are nothing new to us, and something we always enjoy receiving. They taste of the Ramune drink from Japan, but are in a compressed powdered sweet, which if you hold between your teeth and blow, create a whistle sound. The Milk Senbei crackers are like light wafers that ice cream parlours place in their products. They are slightly sweet as well. As for the Ume Jam, I will never get rid of the taste; it is awful, super salty and truly horrible.

Ninjin Pop Rice

What’s not to love about this product? The packaging is the shape of a carrot and the contents are Rice Crispies with a soft sugar glaze that makes the treats sweet and very moreish.

Choco Dama Hi-Chew Strawberry & Banana

While Japanese chocolate isn’t a personal favourite, these chocolate covered Hi-Chews are absolutely delicious. The yellow banana flavoured ball reminded me of the chocolate foam bananas you get in the UK. The strawberry chocolate ball did taste like strawberry’s dipped in chocolate, which was a nice surprise from the usual chocolate I’m used to from Japan.

Himo-Q Coke and Soda Strings

Like flavoured licorice shoe laces, but these are a nice change to the usual flavours you get in the UK. They reminded me of lace gummy worms, but with a lemonade and cola flavour.

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The box and the contents were a really nice size with lots of different flavours, though maybe a little too much chocolate. The inclusion of three DIY items, a few limited editions and last chance items meant that the box was completely unique.

Please do check out Oyatsu Cha Cha Cha’s website if you’re thinking of ordering their subscription box. If you have any queries, the team will be willing to give you a helping hand and answer any questions you may have.