15 Best Japanese Candies: The Most Popular Candy From Japan to Try

Japanese candy is easy to spot on a store shelf. There are hard candies made with soy sauce, milk candies made with Hokkaido fresh cream, drops that come in eight fruit flavors, and chewy sweets wrapped in a film you can eat. Most of them come individually wrapped, so they are easy to carry and share.

In this guide, we introduce the 15 best Japanese candies: long-selling favorites you will find in supermarkets and convenience stores across Japan. For each one, we explain what it is, why people love it, and which flavors to try first.

Japanese Candy List: 15 Picks at a Glance

How We Picked These Japanese Candies

We chose long-selling candies that are sold as everyday staples in Japanese stores, and we covered a range of styles: chewy candy, caramel, hard candy, milk candy, throat candy, lollipops, and traditional sugar candy. Gummies are not included here because they are a category of their own.

The numbers in this list are for easy reference, not a sales ranking. Product details and flavors come from each maker’s official website.

1. Hi-Chew (Morinaga)

What It Is

Hi-Chew is a soft, chewy candy packed with juicy fruit flavor. Morinaga describes its texture as unique: it has a satisfying chew at first, then slowly melts away as you enjoy the flavor.

Why It’s Popular

Hi-Chew is sold in more than 30 countries, with the United States as its biggest market, so it is one of the best-known Japanese candies overseas. In Japan, you can also find regional flavors sold as souvenirs, which you rarely see abroad.

Must-Try Flavors

Grape, which Morinaga calls its most popular flavor, plus Strawberry, Hi-Chew Premium Kyoho Grape, and Hi-Chew Premium Nanko Ume (Japanese plum).

2. Puccho (UHA Mikakuto)

What It Is

Puccho is a soft candy with small, springy gummy pieces inside. You get two textures in one bite: the soft candy first, then the chewy gummies as you keep chewing.

Why It’s Popular

The double texture makes Puccho more fun to eat than a plain chewy candy. It comes in both stick packs and bags of individually wrapped pieces, in a wide range of flavors.

Must-Try Flavors

The four-flavor bag (Arida mikan orange, Nagano Purple grape, soda, and cola), Strong MEGA Soda, and Mochitto Shine Muscat.

3. Milky (Fujiya)

What It Is

Milky is a soft milk candy made with sweetened condensed milk and cream. The classic white Milky has no added flavoring or coloring, so it tastes of milk and nothing else.

Why It’s Popular

Fujiya calls Milky a long-selling candy, and its gentle, creamy sweetness appeals to both children and adults. The package features Fujiya’s mascot, Peko-chan.

Must-Try Flavors

Original Milky, Kacchikochi Milky (a hard, longer-lasting version), and Premium Milky with a sauce-filled center.

4. Milk Caramel (Morinaga)

What It Is

Morinaga Milk Caramel is a classic caramel with a rich milk taste and gentle sweetness. It is made by slowly cooking ingredients such as condensed milk, butter, and brown sugar syrup, and the classic box holds 12 pieces.

Why It’s Popular

Its sweetness is mild rather than heavy, so it is easy to enjoy one piece at a time. The small box fits in a pocket or bag, which makes it a handy snack.

Must-Try Flavors

The original Milk Caramel box, the bag of individually wrapped pieces, and Toro Nama Caramel, a softer caramel made with Hokkaido fresh cream.

5. Kanro Ame (Kanro)

What It Is

Kanro Ame is a hard candy made with soy sauce. Its sweet and salty taste is similar to mitarashi, the sweet soy glaze used on Japanese rice dumplings. The recipe is simple: sugar, starch syrup, soy sauce, and salt.

Why It’s Popular

You won’t find this sweet and salty taste in most other candies. Kanro Ame is also vegan certified, and its maker, Kanro, holds the No.1 share of Japan’s hard candy market (Intage SRI+, 2025).

Must-Try Flavors

Original Kanro Ame, Salt Kanro Ame, and the bite-size Smaller Kanro Ame.

6. Pine Ame (PINE)

What It Is

Pine Ame is a sweet-and-sour pineapple hard candy. Each piece has a hole in the middle, shaped like a slice of pineapple, which is the candy’s trademark.

Why It’s Popular

It is made with pineapple juice, and a little skim milk powder rounds out the flavor, so it tastes juicy without being too sharp. Its soft, pale color comes from natural colorings.

Must-Try Flavors

The standard Pine Ame bag, Mini Pine Ame with half-size pieces, and Orange Ame, its sister candy.

7. Sakuma Drops (Sakuma Confectionery)

What It Is

Sakuma Drops are fruit hard candies in eight flavors and five different shapes. Each flavor has its own color, and they are made with concentrated fruit juice.

Why It’s Popular

Every bag feels like a small surprise, because you never know which flavor comes next. The peppermint drop is white because air is worked into the candy, which makes it easy to tell apart. Peppermint was voted the No.1 favorite flavor in a 2024 poll on Sakuma’s official X account.

Must-Try Flavors

The eight-flavor mix of strawberry, peppermint, apple, plum, lemon, melon, orange, and pineapple. Peppermint fans can also buy a peppermint-only bag.

8. Kuro Ame (Kasugai)

What It Is

Kuro Ame is a hard candy made with high-quality Okinawan brown sugar (kokuto). It is boiled down over a direct flame, which gives it a rich aroma and a deep, complex sweetness.

Why It’s Popular

Kasugai says Kuro Ame is still its best-selling candy. The flavor is mellow on the throat, and the classic twist wrapper opens easily, which makes it popular with people of all ages.

Must-Try Flavors

Kuro Ame comes in one flavor, Okinawan brown sugar, in several bag sizes. Kasugai also makes a brown sugar salt candy.

9. Ryukakusan Throat Candy (Ryukakusan)

What It Is

Ryukakusan’s Nodo Sukkiri Ame is an herbal candy from Ryukakusan, a company specializing in throat care. It contains Ryukakusan’s herb powder plus an extract of 19 herbs, including peppermint, chamomile, and eucalyptus. It is sold as a food, not a medicine.

Why It’s Popular

The herb powder is kneaded into the candy, so the flavor and cooling feeling last a long time. That makes it a handy candy to keep nearby when your throat feels dry.

Must-Try Flavors

The original herb flavor, 120max with 20% more herb powder, Shikuwasa (Okinawan citrus), and sugar-free Cassis & Blueberry.

10. Pop Candy (Fujiya)

What It Is

Pop Candy is Fujiya’s fruit lollipop. It contains green tea polyphenol, which Fujiya describes as tooth-friendly, and it comes on a paper stick.

Why It’s Popular

Each lollipop has a rock, paper, scissors or heart shape on it, so children can play janken (rock-paper-scissors) while they eat. The mixed-flavor bags make it a popular candy for sharing.

Must-Try Flavors

Grape, Orange, and Strawberry, plus a limited-time flavor that changes throughout the year. For a bigger treat, try Deluxe Pop Candy in Amaou strawberry and Shine Muscat.

11. Kin no Milk (Kanro)

What It Is

Kin no Milk (“golden milk”) is a premium milk candy made with Hokkaido fresh cream. It is cooked at a high temperature for a very short time to keep the natural taste and aroma of the milk, and it contains no flavorings or colorings.

Why It’s Popular

The taste is rich and creamy, yet it finishes cleanly. Kanro says Kin no Milk is the No.1 milk candy brand in Japan by sales (Intage SRI+, April 2024–March 2025).

Must-Try Flavors

Original Kin no Milk, Matcha Latte made with Uji matcha, and Café Latte.

12. Tokuno Milk 8.2 (UHA Mikakuto)

What It Is

Tokuno Milk 8.2 is a rich milk hard candy made with Hokkaido fresh cream and Madagascar vanilla. It feels smooth and creamy the moment you put it in your mouth.

Why It’s Popular

It has a strong milk flavor but doesn’t feel heavy, and the sweetness doesn’t linger too long. There are several flavors, so it is easy to find a favorite.

Must-Try Flavors

Hokkaido Milk (the original), Salt Milk, Peach, and Aged Matcha.

13. Ramune (Morinaga)

What It Is

Morinaga Ramune is a small tablet candy that tastes like ramune, a Japanese soda. It comes in a green container shaped like a ramune bottle, and the tablets melt quickly with a light, fizzy feel.

Why It’s Popular

Each tablet is up to 90% glucose, so Morinaga promotes it as a quick refresher for students and busy workers who need to focus. The bottle-shaped container also makes it fun to eat.

Must-Try Flavors

The original Ramune, Large Ramune with pieces about 1.5 times bigger, and Extra-large Ramune.

14. Bontan Ame (Seika Foods)

What It Is

Bontan Ame is a chewy candy made with glutinous rice and flavored with bontan, a pomelo grown in southern Kyushu. Each piece is wrapped in oblaat, a thin, edible film made from starch, so you can eat it wrapper and all.

Why It’s Popular

The texture is soft and springy, a bit like mochi, and the citrus flavor tastes fresh and sweet-tart. Seika Foods calls it a hidden best-seller at JR train station kiosks.

Must-Try Flavors

The classic Bontan Ame box and Pineapple Ame, its sister candy made with golden pineapple juice.

15. Konpeito

What It Is

Konpeito is a traditional Japanese sugar candy with a small star shape. At Osaka Toka, one of the companies that makes it, craftspeople coat and dry the candy by hand. The result is a clean sweetness and a moderately hard texture that isn’t grainy.

Why It’s Popular

Its bright colors and star shape make konpeito pretty to look at, and the tiniest types can be sprinkled on ice cream or cakes. Because it is made mainly from sugar, it keeps well at room temperature.

Must-Try Flavors

Fruit-flavored konpeito (the color shows the flavor, such as lemon, melon, or grape), wasanbon sugar konpeito, brown sugar konpeito, and salt konpeito.

What Makes Japanese Candy Different

The first thing most people notice is the variety of textures. In one store aisle, you can find chewy candy with gummy bits, caramel, hard drops, fizzy tablets that melt in seconds, and candy wrapped in an edible film. Many Japanese candies are made with fruit juice, and milk candies often use fresh cream for a richer taste.

Japanese makers also use ingredients you rarely see in candy elsewhere, such as soy sauce, Okinawan brown sugar, and blends of herbs. Most candies come individually wrapped, and seasonal or regional flavors, like the local Hi-Chew flavors sold as souvenirs, give you a reason to keep trying new ones.

Where to Buy Japanese Candy Outside Japan

The easiest way to get these candies is to order directly from Japan with kachicollect. We only carry products made for the Japanese market, and you pay the listed price plus shipping, with no proxy fees. The total, including import duties, is shown at checkout in your local currency, and orders ship worldwide with tracking, arriving in about 7 to 14 days.

If you can’t find a candy in our shop, send us the product link from a Japanese marketplace. You’ll get an instant quote and can buy it directly on kachicollect.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular candy in Japan?

No single candy is the top seller in every category, but long-sellers like Hi-Chew, Milky, and Kanro Ame are widely sold in Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores. Among milk candies, Kanro says Kin no Milk is the No.1 brand by sales.

What Japanese candy is famous overseas?

Hi-Chew is probably the best known, since it is sold in more than 30 countries. For other Japanese treats that are famous abroad, see our list of the best Japanese snacks.

How is Japanese candy different from American candy?

Japanese candy often focuses on fruit juice, milk made with fresh cream, and unusual textures, such as candy with gummy bits or an edible wrapper. It also uses local ingredients like soy sauce, brown sugar, and matcha. To learn more about the companies behind these candies, read our guide to Japanese snack brands.

Can I buy Japanese candy online from outside Japan?

Yes. kachicollect ships Japan-only sweets worldwide with tracking, and the total including duties is shown before you pay. If a candy isn’t in our shop, send us the product link to get a quote.

Conclusion

From soy sauce-flavored Kanro Ame to creamy Kin no Milk and star-shaped konpeito, Japanese candy offers flavors and textures you won’t find anywhere else. If you’re not sure where to start, try Hi-Chew, Milky, and Sakuma Drops first, then move on to Kuro Ame or Bontan Ame for something more traditional.

The best way to get the real thing is to order directly from Japan with kachicollect. You get the same candies sold in Japanese stores, the total including duties is shown before checkout, and first-time customers can use the code WELCOME20 for 20% off.