Over the years, I have written many, many reviews of Godzilla snacks and goodies available in Japan, to the point I got really tired of writing them. Yet, because I was always looking for something unique and silly to write about, and figuring (with that adage I adopted) “no one will write about these if I don’t,” I kept buying more cookies, more snacks, drinks, curries, hot sauces, candies, and more—always thinking I would write more reviews of all of them. However, over the years, I probably skipped writing complete reviews of just as many Godzilla-related snacks as I bothered to write full articles on. There were just SO MANY of these snacks, and I even wasted a number of boxes of Godzilla goodies without eating them because I didn’t have the energy to write a review at the time, and they expired! How ridiculous is that? Just as bad, I have these empty boxes and junk sitting around my apartment, waiting for me to write up something, ANYTHING, about them, and I don’t want to throw them away until I grace the products with some kind of article.
So I just decided… I am going to write about them together today. Rather than writing full reviews, I will write shorter bits and include images and brief remembrances of each of them. Otherwise, I think I will never get through with these Godzilla-related junk food and I’ll feel all of it was in vain! At least I can get some satisfaction if I write up an abbreviated article like this, and I hope you all can get a few laughs at my expense.
In order to avoid the regret of such a scenario, let’s hurry along and see how many food reviews I can crank out in this one article today.
Godzilla the Ride Tap Tap Sumo Print Cookies
Anybody who has read my Godzilla Print Cookie review (or the Namjatown addendum) knows the drill for this one. Another Godzilla print cookie set was released with the Godzilla vs. Evangelion the Real USJ ride a few years back, and that one came in a big metal box. Basically, these are like little round (or in this case rectangular) sugar cookies (vanilla flavored I suppose), and they have something printed on them. This time, it was the redesigns of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, and Rodan, as well as the Godzilla the Ride logo from the Seibuen Yuenchi theme park—I picked up this box back in 2021 when I visited.
The cookies are fine. They taste pretty much identical to the previous print cookies I had from my older reviews. I like the taste—not too sweet, not overwhelming, just a mild and delicious and crisp cookie. The downside with these print cookies is that the print job looks terrible—each kaiju came out looking like a dark blur with poorly defined features. Shucks!
A bit more fun, though, is the “tap tap sumo” part of the package. Again, longtime readers will know what this is, too—way back in 2016, a Godzilla vs. Evangelion ramen snack box was released which ALSO had this gimmick. The idea is that you cut out the featured monster or hero characters, fold them so they stand up, place them at designated areas on the box in which they came (which is designed to look vaguely like a sumo ring), then tap the box until either one of the battling kaiju falls over or one of them bounces out of the ring. The one left standing, or the one remaining in the ring, wins. The difference with the Godzilla the Ride box is that we have three contestants—even Rodan gets a standee, so maybe my favorite kaiju pterosaur can claim his revenge after getting pathetically owned in the ride movie!
I think this one is designed to be played with two players banging away on the box. Unfortunately, once I tried the game, I found it’s pretty boring, as it took a long time for the monsters to jig around enough to actually fall over. I had Godzilla go after King Ghidorah, but Godzilla fell over, so KG took the win. Rodan stepped in next and faced off against King Ghidorah. The fight started off well, with KG seeming to bounce around a lot more than Rodan, who was standing tough. However, King Ghidorah became aggressive and crossed the distance to collide into Rodan, who started moving towards the outside of the ring. The flying kaiju was mostly out of the ring, and I started panicking, hoping my buddy could pull things through. Suddenly, KG fell over out of the blue (maybe he got tired), and so Rodan was the victor in the tournament! I am so proud.
(Note: I know that in sumo wrestling a wrestler can lose for stepping outside the ring, but the instructions for Godzilla the Ride Tap Tap Sumo Print Cookie CLEARLY shows the losing condition as a monster COMPLETELY standing outside the ring, so as far as I am concerned, that means Rodan wins. So there.)
Godzilla the Ride Potato Stick, Consommé Flavor
So, okay, you’ve had potato chips. You’ve had French fried potatoes. You’ve probably also had shoestring potatoes (oh my gosh I love them). Now how about potato sticks?!??! In Japan, you can buy these cups of potato sticks at just about any supermarket or convenience store, and they are essentially fry-shaped crisp potato snacks—Jagabee makes the more fry-alike kinds, and Jagariko makes all kinds of flavors with spices imbedded in the crispy snack (I like the cheese ones). They are awful for you, so don’t eat them.
Godzilla the Ride Potato Stick, Consommé Flavor, is not just awful for you, it tastes awful, too. Consommé is a soup, or in the case of Japan, can refer to an instant stock cube that you can cook up to make soup, and they make SO MANY snacks with consommé flavoring. I usually avoid them (give me seaweed flavor, please), but when I went to Seibuen, the Potato Sticks only came in consommé flavor, so that’s what I bought. Unfortunately, the sticks tasted stale even before the expiration date—I felt like I was chewing on them rather than taking a crispy bite. It was nasty business. The flavoring—I guess it adds a little spice, but it wasn’t good. It was just unpleasant all around, and I ended up eating only two out of three of the baggies inside because they were so unpleasant.
Godzilla the Ride Candy
I didn’t even eat any of these until way after they expired, but they are just hard candies, so I should be ok if I chow down now… right? Basically, the kind of candy we are talking about here is… well, I am not sure what you call them precisely. They aren’t the sort of round, hard candies we see in the West so much. Basically they are made with these machines that extrude worms of fruity flavored candy with a design in the middle, and those preparing the stuff break or cut up the worms into small pieces and sell them.
I left my bag untouched for ages because I was procrastinating on my review, so when I finally ate some, they weren’t hard anymore, and all the pieces were sticking together. Still, upon consumption, they were really tart and tasty—maybe the most delicious of the three snacks I got at Godzilla the Ride. The package included three kinds of candy—blue Rodan ones, yellow King Ghidorahs, and red Godzillas. I think they are different flavors even, but I am not sure what flavors they are—they just taste really tart and sweet. No points for packaging, though—talk about snooze city!
Godzilla Flame Dressing and Godzilla Fire Dressing
Recently Godzilla hot sauces have become a big thing in the USA, but a few years ago Godzilla “dressing” (really hot sauce) came out in two different flavors in Japan—and they can still be purchased at the Godzilla Store. I saw them just last month there. The two flavors are Godzilla Fire Dressing (which is supposed to be medium heat) and Godzilla Flame Dressing (which is “extra spicy”). As with some of the spicy Godzilla-related foods I have reviewed before, these have packaging featuring burning Godzilla from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)—but don’t worry, neither of the sauces is very hot. (In Japanese, they both have the same name: Godzilla: Honou no Tare.)
Now I bought these after my heart attack, and I have greatly reduced my meat intake, so I had some difficulty figuring out what to try the sauces out on. I ended up putting them in my hummus and vegetables (I know…), and I found I greatly preferred the extra spicy one. It has a cleaner, more straightforward savory taste. The Fire Dressing has this kind of thick, syrupy sweet taste that I really didn’t care for, and while I didn’t find myself going back to either sauce much, I absolutely gravitated to the Flame Dressing more. Note that I am not at all surprised that neither sauce is very hot, as Japanese palates tend to prefer milder flavors, and their cuisine is not at all known for spice (other than wasabi, which is another matter).
Godzilla Energy and Godzilla Energy II
There have been a few different Godzilla energy drinks, including apparently a Godzilla vs. Kong blue raspberry abomination, but I only subjected myself to two of the ones released in Japan—the Godzilla Energy drink (that’s all that it’s called), and the Godzilla Energy Drink II—the one with Kiryu on it, not the one with Destoroyah. These energy drinks were made by a company called Cheerio, and the newer ones (with Kiryu and Destoroyah) are still as of this writing on sale at the Godzilla Store.
These monster drinks (yuk yuk) pack a wallop, with 210 mg of caffeine, and 630 mg of arginine in each can. I resisted buying a can of the Destoroyah version, but I have tried the other two—and the weirdest thing about them is that they don’t seem to have a freaking flavor identified on either can! They are just Godzilla Energy, or Godzilla Energy II 3rd Version Kiryu. For me, both of the flavors taste like fruity chemicals, emphasis on the chemicals, but the earlier one I liked more. I found the fruit flavor more palatable and easy to drink than the vaguely tart berry tang of the Kiryu version. But I don’t have a lot to say about either drink as far as flavor goes.
What I really like about both cans is their design. The original Godzilla Energy drink has some great sales copy on the side—”The advent of Godzilla in the form of an energy drink!! Caffeine, Arginine, Maca!! The power of the kaiju king will change your everyday!” The can features an image of Godzilla from Shin Godzilla (2016), but what I really like is that his mouth beam is cutting through the warning label text on the side (which is printed at an angle as if the skyscraper-shaped text is falling over), and the ISBN box is disintegrating! The Godzilla Energy II can is also pretty memorable, with added lightning bolts striking in the background, both Godzilla and Kiryu facing off, and an image of three fighter jets carrying a giant can of pop where the ingredients and warning label text are printed.
Godzilla Kaki no Tane—red capsicum and black Japanese pepper flavors
I bought these snacks when I visited Nijigen no Mori the second time… and I didn’t eat them until they had expired. This was another instance in which I was trying to take care of my health, and I had so many other things on my mind, it was hard to focus on writing snack reviews for Toho Kingdom. I also was under the impression that the snacks would take ages to expire—I guessed roughly I could go for a year and they would be fine. Unfortunately, no, and when I did try eating some of them, they already tasted stale—though the black Japanese pepper ones tasted worse than the capsicum flavor.
Still, I can make a few comments. Kaki no tane are common Japanese snacks eaten with beer, and it seems they are sometimes served at bars (I don’t frequent bars enough to know). They are crescent shaped rice rice crackers, a bit longer and thinner than a peanut, and they normally are flavored with soy sauce and served with peanuts (in which case they are often called “kaki-pi”). Their name means “persimmon seeds” because they are shaped similarly to real persimmon seeds of some varieties of the fruit (though not all). For me, I mostly relate them to times when I would sit with my friend Frank in his apartment and we would watch the cheesiest science-fiction, fantasy, and horror films we could find.
What is interesting about the Godzilla version boils down to their extra flavoring—the spices—and their unusual packaging. Each package I bought came in a plastic bag over a foot long and filled with small, individually packaged servings of the kaki no tane, each with about eleven pieces.
For this article, I ate a couple of my long-expired kaki no tane, and the red capsicum ones are definitely spicier—they have a kick that builds in your mouth. The black ones have a subtler, I would say richer flavor that lingers in a pleasant way. I think both taste quite good, and they would be worth a purchase—as long as you eat them before they expire!!!
Please note that their packaging explicitly identifies them as a product of Nijigen no Mori, so you aren’t likely to find these snacks in other places.
Godzilla Message Cookies
Sold at the Godzilla Store back in 2018 (sigh), these are another set of snacks I… never ate. I still have them in their original packaging, but I am NOT eating these now. These puppies are basically larger, thinner versions of the Godzilla Print Cookies I reviewed years and years ago. The print images on these, though, are in full color and are surprisingly clear, even five years after purchasing them. They feature Godzilla or Mothra (imago and larva), in those familiar chibi cartoon stylings which have been bopping around since about 2016 on lots of different merch—often snacks.
Each cookie has a different message—Mothra is encouraging the recipient to “Go for it!”, and Godzilla’s two cookies are each “thank you” messages—one in English, one in Japanese. Curiously, the Japanese one has him wagging his tail and looking directly at the camera—he is looking backwards over his shoulder. I think the Japanese message cookie is the only time I have seen that wagging image of this chibi Godzilla, so points for originality there at least. I kind of like the idea of these—passing on a Godzilla cookie to show your appreciation to a friend or loved one. It seems like a sweet gesture, and maybe something folks might do more often than sharing Godzilla valentines (which also exist of course). They didn’t seem to catch on, though, and are no longer sold.
Godzilla Ramune, Shin Godzilla Ramune, and Kure Kure Takora Ramune candies
These are another set of candies that I never bothered to actually open and eat—three sets, actually. Given that they are just hard candies made from sugar and corn starch, though, I don’t think they are dangerous to eat, even several years after purchasing (I would feel the same about a bag of Skittles in the USA). All three are made by MNH, and all three have eight ramune candies, each package advertised as being made from grape sugar. The designs printed on each candy vary. The Godzilla Ramune features the now familiar colorful chibi Godzillla art popular at the time (this time with three featuring an identical Godzilla candy, one with a Mothra larva facing the camera, one with a Mothra larva spraying thread with a “hyuu” sound effect, one with chibi Ghidorah, one with chibi Mothra imago, and one with Showa Mechagodzilla), the Shin Godzilla set has eight different designs featuring the stages of Godzilla’s evolution in the film (as well as text like “Go,” “Shin Godzilla,” the name of the anti-Godzilla task force, and “Yashiori Strategy”—the name of the final strategy used in the movie to fight Godzilla). The final set, Kure Kure Takora, comes from a children’s Toho series starring an anthropomorphic octopus and other animal characters portrayed by people in costumes. The series seemed to have a resurgence in goods for a few years, but has now tapered off again.
The term “ramune” comes from a transliteration of the English word “lemonade” and generally refers to a kind of soda drink that has been enormously popular in Japan for decades—a drink famous for its peculiar Codd-neck bottle (look it up). I have had a hard time pinpointing exactly what the flavor of the drink is, other than sweet, but I have seen it written up as a lemon-lime flavor ala Sprite or Seven-Up. I tried a couple of the candies just now, and they were just about what I expected—pure sugar that melts on your tongue in seconds, filling your mouth with sweetness and light. I actually really like them.
Godzilla Kaiju Marshmallows—plain flavor
Also from MNH company, the Godzilla Kaiju Marshmallows falls into the category of “dumb Godzilla snack that Nick bought and never ate” as well—and this one, I am not going to eat. The package has six mini marshmallows printed in the same set of designs as the chibi Godzilla set of ramune candies, except smaller, and the images are becoming indistinct as the marshmallows have aged. Given that they are plain marshmallows, I doubt they have any interesting flavor, though I have heard it said that Japanese marshmallows differ a bit from the American kind. Recently at a smores-cooking activity, the other teachers and I were discussing differences in Japanese and American snacks and wondering why graham crackers never caught on in Japan, and it was made mention that Japanese marshmallows cook differently than American ones over the fire. I think the idea was that Japanese ones are easier to cook and hollow out more inside.
I am not going to try these to find out if they follow that pattern.
Godzilla Osaka AmeChan Box
I bought this little box of hard candies years ago at a special opening of a Godzilla snacks-and-goods store related to the Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) release in theaters. I reviewed several of the other snacks I got that day on TK way back when, but never got around to this one—I mean, they were just round, hard candies in various fruity flavors you could suck on. The more interesting part of this merch is that each box includes one of four possible kaiju magnets—with each purchase, you can get one magnet. I am pretty sure the images on the outside of the box show the four possibilities—Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Anguirus.
I was really hoping to get Anguirus, as he has long been one of my favorite kaiju—and I actually got him! The magnet features Anguirus on a circular magnet (looks a lot like a pin), his name, the Osaka Castle in the background, and “Osaka” printed to the side.
It’s pretty awesome!
Mothra Chocolate
I bought this Mothra Chocolate at the Godzilla Store back in 2020 at the Godzilla Valentine’s Day café—and then freaking never ate it. In a sense, I almost don’t blame myself. Like with some of the Godzilla Valentine’s Chocolate I bought years and years ago (and also reviewed for Toho Kingdom), this chocolate looks amazing.
The images from several Mothra films: Mothra (1961), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), and Rebirth of Mothra II (1997). Overall they look really fantastic. Who would want to eat these chocolate chunks? This stuff is art! The packaging has a sophistication to it as well, with a sort of impressionistic silhouette image of Mothra on the cover and that deep, romantic red background. Very impressive.
Chocolate on Cookies Godzilla
Another purchase from when I visited the Valentine’s Café, this one… I never even opened it to see what the cookies look like. I was sweeted out, man. Back then I was fat on life, or just plain fat, and in addition to all that stuff I ate at the café, I also got Godzilla donuts (which I DID eat—they were pretty decent for store-bought). Anyway, let’s take a look at the box, and then… I’m going to open it up and see what the cookies look like. (The cookies expired way back in May of 2020, so I am not going to be eating any of them.)
The image on the box is wild. A bulbous and checkered red Godzilla is rampaging and blasting his nuclear breath while a green Showa Mechagodzilla shoots his eye rays and a checkered King Ghidorah zaps gravity beams in the sky, which are snaking out in erratic directions. An orange Mothra flies by, and a green-and-yellow Rodan perches on a broken and burning—wait, is that the Eiffel Tower? The Arc de Triomphe is busted and burning in the background, too—the very same one that Gorosaurus busted up in Destroy All Monsters (1968). Anyway, this is one of the most memorable pieces of box art I have seen—almost looks like a stained glass window of destruction, fire, and mayhem.
And the cookies! Oh, man, these look delicious! The cookies are these little ridged biscuity things, and each has a chocolate bar with a kaiju printed on it, using the stylized designs from the top cover. Man, check out those white monster name texts in katakana, too! Each cookie is just supposed to be 69 calories, too! Nice! Now I am just kicking myself for never trying these three years ago!
One last note about the Valentine’s Café snacks I bought—when I purchased them, they came with a cute Godzilla postcard with the “Godzilla vs. Valentine” logo and snack packages and lots of hearts and bags. And, even better, they included a roll of Godzilla Valentine wrapping paper!!! The paper takes the weird checkerboard stained glass kaiju from the “Chocolate On Cookies” packaging and transposes them on a pink background with further silhouettes, claw marks, and the like to create an adorable (if busy) design. Truly a unique collector’s item!
Godzilla vs. Giant Unknown Creature Disaster Affairs Administration Rice Puff Snack, Curry Flavor
I have been meaning to write a full review of this snack for AGES, but as with so many things, I just kept putting it off and putting it off and, well, here we are. This bag of puffed rice snacks is part of the “Person Snack Series”—again, from MNH Company.
The Person Snack Series included all sorts of unlikely entries not limited to Godzilla, fantasy, or common sense—I remember picking up a package of zombie snacks in the series, but they also had “People of Heisei” themed snacks (meaning people from the Heisei era), people from different prefectures like Ibaraki and Toyama, the Lions Baseball Team people snacks, people from Tokyo snacks, people riding a ferry snacks—I had no idea there were so many until I looked them up just now. If you google ひとスナックシリーズ, you can take a look at the astonishing variety. There were even TWO different Godzilla versions—another was the Monsterverse version, which had BBQ flavor.
Honestly, I didn’t like either one as far as the snacks’ taste went (YES I ACTUALLY ATE THEM), and that was a big reason why I never got around to reviewing them.
But the fun thing about these snacks is that… they include a diorama.
You are supposed to play with the human-shaped rice snacks with the package as a diorama. This. Is. Awesome. Maybe it’s because I never really grew up, but I adore the fact that so many of these Godzilla snacks have a play function of some kind. In this case, a diorama is built into the packaging showing the final showdown of Shin Godzilla and the people of Japan and their special trucks they used to pump coagulant into Godzilla’s mouth. Enthusiastic kids (or adults) can cut out three vehicles—a pump truck, a bulldozer, and some kind of tanker truck I guess—and place them on the diorama. Then you can put the people-shaped rice puff snacks on the diorama, too—they don’t scale perfectly with the vehicles, but it’s close enough to have fun with the set. I had a grand old time setting things up, clipping out the vehicles, and placing the rice puff men and women on the board. Now, granted, the diorama is flimsy as all get-out and it won’t even stay standing up without something to prop it in place, and the vehicles (especially the pump truck) also feel about ready to collapse if you breathe wrong. But still… Still… This is just ludicrous fun, especially if you have the snack men run around on the diorama and then scream “oh nooooo” and eat them. Come on, you can’t get much more fun than that!
