What brand of snack would Japanese junior and senior high school students most eagerly recommend to foreign tourists?
Jagarico potato snacks came out on top in a survey by the Yomiuri Chukosei Shimbun, a newspaper for such students.
The survey asked the students about "recommended snacks that are available at convenience stores and other retailers" and "Japan's appealing points that they want to convey to foreign tourists."
Wide variety of flavors
The survey was conducted to help promote Japan's attractive points to the rest of the world from the perspectives of young people, ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2025 Osaka Kansai World Expo, during which large numbers of inbound tourists are expected to visit Japan.
In the survey, a total of 10,254 junior and senior high school students at 45 schools nationwide and one school overseas responded.
In a written question asking students to recommend a single snack, potato products, including Jagarico and potato chips, ranked high. Potato chips are a classic snack, and Jagarico crunchy sticks have been on the market for more than 20 years.
The result showed the popularity of standard tastes that have been familiar in Japan for many years.
Jagarico was introduced by Calbee Inc. in 1995. According to the company, Jagarico's concept is "a snack that high school girls eat while chatting."
The packages are not soft bags but sturdy cups that are easy to carry in school bags. The sticks are processed to prevent one's fingers from getting dirty.
There have been more than 130 varieties of Jagarico with different flavors, including those limited to certain regions or periods of time.
In the survey, a large number of respondents praised not only the crispy texture but also the wide variety of flavors. A second-year high school girl in Osaka Prefecture wrote: "They have flavors available only for limited periods. I can choose depending on my mood."
Potato chips of both Calbee and Koike-ya Inc. were ranked within the top 20. A second-year junior high school girl in Aichi Prefecture wrote that potato chips in general "are widely available overseas. Exactly because of that, I want foreign tourists to explore differences between Japanese ones and those in their home countries." There were similar opinions from other respondents.
Yaokin Inc.'s Umaibo snack was ranked third, due to its low price and wide variety of flavors, such as seasoned cod roe and corn potage soup.
A first-year junior high school boy from Tokyo wrote: "There are various flavors. They are yummy and only 10 yen."
Survey respondents included students at a Japanese school in Derbyshire, England. Among them, a third-year high school boy recommended Puccho from UHA Mikakuto Co.
He explained the reason for his choice, saying, "It's rare in other countries for soft candies to have a gummy center."
Foreign visitors like them, too
Japanese snacks and sweets are highly praised by foreign tourists.
According to research by the Japan Tourism Agency in 2018, products that foreign tourists bought in Japan and felt most satisfied with were snacks and sweets, a category that includes items such as traditional Japanese confections. Three out of four said their satisfaction was because the products were "delicious."
An official of a business research section of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC) said: "There are a variety of flavors in Japanese snacks and sweets. There are even snacks for health-conscious people and some that are a little luxurious. The variation seems to be attractive to foreign tourists, too."
In addition, the same research by the agency found that three out of four foreigners who visited Japan for sightseeing purposes shopped in convenience stores.
The SMBC official said: "Long-stay travelers and repeat visitors have more opportunities to try Japanese snacks and sweets through convenience stores and other easy-to-visit shops. It's possible their interest rises in response to encountering them that way."
"Product lineups on shelves in convenience stores' snack and sweets corners change with each season. Also for foreigners, it's fun to choose their favorite ones," said Fukiko Mitamura, a freelance journalist who is knowledgeable about snacks and sweets overseas.
Mitamura said that the attractiveness of Japanese snacks and sweets is their high level of excellence from multiple perspectives.
"Fruit flavors using real fruit juice, textures, cute packaging, product collaboration planning, and so on. The level of skill and efforts made by Japanese confectionery makers surprises consumers," she said.
Celebrities known as snack fans discuss their passion for Japanese-made snacks.
Erina Oda, 22, a member of girl band AKB48 Team 8, is reputed to be the most enthusiastic Jagarico fan among the group's members, many of whom love snacks.
She said: "[Jagarico] is tasty on its own. Recently, you know, a trendy way of eating it called 'jaga-aligot' arose, where we add cheese and hot water, then mix it up. I also used to eat Jagarico mixed with hot water. After mixing, it becomes similar to potato salad.
"Currently, ways of eating snacks are not only devised by company officials. New ways of eating that are posted by people on Twitter and other platforms gain instant popularity."
Yui Oguri, 17, also a member of AKB48 Team 8, loves Country Ma'am chocolate chip cookies.
She said: "I love Country Ma'am because of the limited edition flavors. I've liked them for a long time, but when I started touring around the country after joining Team 8, I realized that there are many different flavors [some of which are only available in certain regions]. The packages are cute, too.
"For example, the packaging of Country Ma'am sold in Okinawa Prefecture features pictures of shisa [mythical lion-like creatures]. I started collecting Country Ma'am from all over Japan because the packaging looks so cute.
"[Japanese snacks and sweets] are surprisingly full of variety. There are even products aimed at health-conscious people."
Yuki Ono, 35, is a voice actor known for his performances in hit anime, including Taiga Kagami in "Kuroko no Basuke" (Kuroko's basketball).
He said: "I buy many snacks before going to a studio for voice recordings.
"Recording takes a very long time. Sometimes five hours are spent recording a 30-minute anime program. When I feel hungry during recordings, I eat snacks.
"I think the appeal of Japanese snacks lies in the mix of tradition and novelty. While there are snacks like Pocky [chocolate biscuit sticks], which have not noticeably changed for a long time, there are new types of snacks that are created through innovations, such as Aerial [corn snack], which has four layers."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
