Eye candy

Japanese sweets are as much about the package as the palate

by Kerry Lynch

The Japanese have a well-known penchant for all things cute -- just look at the raging popularity of such huggable cultural icons as Hello Kitty, Pokémon, and Mickey Mouse. The cuteness craving doesn't end at Badtz-Maru backpacks and Pokémon cell phones, however: it also carries over to Japanese comestibles, particularly the sweet stuff.

Japanese sweets tend to be small and devourable in one delicate, discreet bite. It's not just about nougat and toffee here -- it's about the pitch, the packaging, and adorable frolicking creatures that entreat you to munch their heads off. Why settle for something as mundanely monikered as a Clark Bar when you can indulge in Monkey Banana, Bad Badtz-Maru Lips Candy, or Gummy Choco "Fruits Mix" Tube? And who could resist a sublime pitch like "The gorgeous taste of fully ripened pineapple, imposing as a Southern island king crowned in glory, is yours to enjoy in every soft and juicy Kasugai Pineapple Gummy"? This isn't candy -- it's Booker Prize material.

We bought a bagful of the most eye-catching Japanese candies we could find at Kotobukiya, in Cambridge's Porter Exchange mall, and put them to the real test: we ate 'em.

Kasugai Muscat Gummy, $2.30. In its other life, muscat is a wine grape. Here it is rendered into juicy little blobs described thus: "Its translucent color so alluring and taste and aroma so gentle and mellow offer admiring feelings of a graceful lady. Enjoy soft and juicy Kasugai Muscat Gummy." The taste is very grapelike and, yes, juicy, though the candies are disappointingly shapeless.

Meiji Choco Baby, $1.40. We can't read the package -- it's in Japanese -- but the winking "Choco Baby" implies heaps o' cocoa fun. The candy comes in a plastic dispenser that looks like a large Tic-Tac container; the teeny little suckers inside resemble gerbil pellets, but pack a chocolate punch.

Morinaga Bad Badtz-Maru Lips Candy, $1.10. Badtz-Maru, the naughty penguin nemesis of Hello Kitty, promises wicked sugar-high high jinks. His hard orange candies -- we don't know why they're called Lips -- come in a reusable round metal tin that's great for storing jewelry when traveling. The taste is rather wan. Badtz-Maru is all bark and no bite, if a penguin can bark.

Fujiya Monkey Banana, $1.20. The words are in Japanese again, but the smiling hula dancer and disco-dancing chimps hint at what's in store. The pocket-sized cardboard box has a handy opening spout that lets you pour the entire contents into your mouth at once. When you do, you're inundated with little monkey-shaped Nestlé Crunches smelling vaguely like banana.

Meiji Gummy Choco, $2.60. A chic little tube decorated with jiggling fruits and, inexplicably, some skipping turtle-like creatures. The enigmatic words promise "Sweet Candy (Gummy Choco `Fruits Mix' Tube)." Inside are disappointing round jellies covered with something not even vaguely choco-related. And where are the turtles?