Sakuraco Review: Is It Worth It? [2024]

Thinking about trying a Japanese subscription snack box but want to read a Sakuraco review first?

Wondering if Sakuraco is worth it?

I’ve got you covered!

As a former resident of Japan and frequent visitor, I’m always looking for ways to experience Japan, its traditions, and treats anywhere I can.

I was recently gifted a Sakuraco box to check out and was not disappointed.

In this post, I’ll answer all your burning questions about Sakuraco, if it’s worth it, and let you know what to expect in each box, the pros and cons, and my honest thoughts.

Sakuraco Box Review

✅ Monthly traditional treats from Japan
✅ Supports small businesses in Japan
✅ Themed tea pairing
✅ Artisanal souvenir home good
✅ Great gift for adults and Japan fans
✅ Ships worldwide

➡️ Subscribe to Sakuraco here

Disclaimer: While I was generously gifted a box in exchange for a review, this post contains my honest thoughts and opinions about the product.

What is Sakuraco?

Sakuraco is a monthly Japanese snack subscription box that brings you authentic traditional snacks and teas as well as home goods from artisanal makers around Japan.

Each month’s box has a seasonal theme and the items are hand-picked from different prefectures featuring small Japanese businesses.

➡️ Sakuraco: Check prices and buy now

Sakuraco Snack Box Features

Sakuraco has four main features for subscribers:

Traditional Japanese Snacks (Wagashi)

Each month is a completely different box filled with 20 items.

These include:

• Japanese cake
• Mochi
• Yokan (Japanese confection made from bean paste)
• Taiyaki & Dorayaki
• Sweets
• Senbei (rice crackers)

There’s a new theme for each month so not only do you get new snacks to try, but you also get to experience a new part of Japan, too.

Past themes include:

• New Year’s in Hiroshima
• Autumn Moon Festival
• Kyoto’s Crimson Leaves

🌸 Get your 2024 Sakura-themed Sakuraco box now before March 15th! 🌸

Culture Guide with Snack & Allergen Info

With each box comes a 24-page booklet in English that packs quite a bit of detail in such a small guide:

• Cultural information about the season and its influence in Japan
• Highlight stories from snack makers featured in the box
• Details about each item in the box, the name of the company that produced it, and which part of Japan it comes from
• Basic allergen information about each treat

Tea Pairing

All Sakuraco snack boxes come with a Japanese tea that complements the month’s treats.

These are sometimes matcha, hojicha, or even a floral sakura tea.

The brewing instructions are also in English so you don’t have to fret if you don’t read Japanese!

Authentic Japanese Home Goods

If all those snacks weren’t enough, all Sakuraco subscription boxes come with a Japanese home good item sourced from traditional artisan makers in Japan.

These might be:

• Ceramics: dish, cup, plate
• Chopsticks
• Furoshiki (Japanese wrapping cloth)

➡️ Sakuraco: Check prices and buy now

Sakuraco Example Contents List

Here’s a full list of what was included in my March 2024 Sakuraco box, along with the company it’s from and prefecture:

Pros of Sakuraco Snack Box

Here’s a quick breakdown of my top five favorite things about the Sakuraco subscription box:

1. It Brings Japan to You

Not everyone can make the trip out to Japan, and others can’t get authentic Japanese snacks where they live.

Sakuraco makes it possible to enjoy the taste, flavors, and traditions of Japan in your own home.

This is especially great if you’re wondering “Is it worth going to Japan during cherry blossom season?”

If you decide to go to Japan to experience Sakura season– amazing!

If you don’t, you can still enjoy the festivities and flavors from the comfort of your own, uncrowded home.

2. You get a home good souvenir

This is probably the most unique feature that sets Sakuraco apart from other Japanese snack boxes– and my personal favorite!

With each month comes an authentic piece of tableware or traditional home good like a furoshiki (Japanese wrapping cloth) that you get to keep.

As a non-consumable product, you’ll get to enjoy this piece of Japan long after the snacks and tea from the box are gone.

3. Supports small businesses in Japan

Sakuraco puts small businesses front and center as the focus of its monthly boxes.

Each item is listed in the culture booklet along with the name of the company and which prefecture in Japan they’re from.

As someone who has lived in Japan and visits regularly, it’s nice to have that extra tidbit of information so that I can keep an eye out for my new favorite brands I’ve discovered through Sakuraco.

I also like that each month, a couple of the businesses whose treats are featured in the box also have a quick story in the guide so that subscribers can get to know the local brands better.

4. Makes a great gift for Japan lovers

Looking for a gift for friends who love traveling or family who are obsessed with Japan?

Sakuraco is the perfect answer!

It’s great especially if you don’t know much about Japan or Japanese culture but want to make sure your gift recipient gets something authentic.

Everything in the box is direct from Japan, so you don’t have to worry about potentially gifting someone knock-off Asian snacks.

5. Sample unique treats

Sakuraco allows you to taste test a variety of Japanese snacks and tea that you might not pick out on your own.

It’s also great if you’re like me and don’t care to purchase a whole package of something particular, like mochi.

I typically eat mochi maybe a few times a year, and it’s just a piece or two each time.

I don’t hate it, but I also don’t care to eat a lot of it.

With the Sakuraco box, I was able to enjoy an individual piece along with the tea without having to buy a whole bag of 20 pieces.

➡️ Sakuraco: Check plans and subscribe now

Cons of Sakuraco

I wouldn’t really call the following list as pure “cons,” but they are points I feel could be improved.

I’d also note that these are not by any means deal breakers for me personally, but might be informative for others considering subscribing to Sakuraco.

1. Home goods marked as “Sakuraco” and not the brand they came from

This is such a small and frivolous detail, but I figured I’d throw it in the list as I was a little bummed.

While the culture guide detailed who the month’s home good came from and which part of Japan, the underside of the dish just said “Sakuraco.”

As a non-consumable souvenir, I’d prefer the actual company’s name branded somewhere, just to lend to more authenticity.

For fans who subscribe to Sakuraco for multiple months, I think having a collection of Japanese home goods where they can remember which part of Japan they came from would also be welcomed.

2. Culture guide doesn’t highlight all brands featured

I noticed only two snack makers were highlighted with a short story of their brand in the culture guide.

Understandably the booklet is already jam packed full of amazing images and details, but I got so immersed in all the items that I wanted to know more about everything!

Maybe a solution to this would be to offer additional details about the other artisan businesses on Sakuraco’s website.

3. Limited allergen info

I noted this about Sakuraco’s sister brand in my Tokyo Treat review too, but the allergen information included in the culture guide is very basic.

Which on the one hand, is great and even ahead of curve for how Japan typically deals with food restrictions (aka they don’t really).

However, as someone who used to work on cruise ships with hundreds of kids with all sorts of dietary requirements, as well as the food service industry in Antarctic research stations, I know how important providing full allergen information is.

I do think the majority of people will be fine with the basic allergen notes provided in English, but having a full list– in English– somewhere, perhaps via QR code, for each item in the Sakuraco box would be more marketable for those with food restrictions.

My Experience: Sakuraco Snack Box Review

I really enjoyed my Sakuraco box.

I think it is worth the price tag as it’s got so much in such a small box from high-quality snacks and tea from small artisan shops straight from Japan to a souvenir home good.

As I mentioned earlier, while I’m not a huge fan of certain Japanese confectionary items, I was still happy to get a single serving size/piece or two to enjoy without feeling pressured to purchase an entire bagful of it.

My Japanese family also liked the traditional flavors and elements from the Sakuraco box.

Even though we live in a large U.S. city with a lot of good Asian grocery stores, we wouldn’t be able to find comparable items from the box here.

We would be able to find more mass produced, modernized versions, but not at all the small local brands that Sakuraco sources their box’s products from.

That being said, I think Sakuraco is great for those who like the more traditional aspects and flavors of Japan, whereas younger audiences might enjoy Tokyo Treat boxes more, which cater to a wider array of ages in my opinion.

Who is Sakuraco for?

There are a few demographics that I think Sakuraco would be good for:

• Gifts for people who like Japan, Japanese food, and Japanese culture
• People who enjoy afternoon tea
• Adults interested in a traditional Japanese experience

Sakuraco Pricing

Sakuraco offers their subscription boxes on the following plans:

• 12 Months- $32.50/month
• 6 Months- $33.50/month
• 3 Months- $35.50/month
• 1 Month (billed monthly)- $37.50/month

One thing to note is that this is a subscription-based service, which means plans are auto-renewed unless you manually cancel your subscription.

There’s also no option to purchase just one box to try out.

The “1 Month” option auto-bills every month, so if you plan on getting a single box as a gift, you need to stop the subscription after you purchase it.

Sakuraco Shipping

Sakuraco ships to over 100 countries worldwide.

Depending on the destination, the cost of shipping ranges from $10.50-$12.50 per box.

This means that each month’s total cost to receive a Sakuraco package will run between $43-$50.

Delivery time will also vary from 3-5 days all the way up to 90 days depending on the final destination.

Sakuraco uses the following shipping methods:

• DHL shipping: 3-5 days (This is what will be used if you live in the USA)
• Express shipping: 5-10 days
• JapanPost Priority Shipping: 14-28 days
• Surface Mail: 60-90 days

➡️ Check Sakuraco subscription plans here

Sakuraco vs. Tokyo Treat

Sakuraco and Tokyo Treat are sister companies, both founded by Tokyoite Ayumi Chikamoto.

They are both monthly Japanese subscription snack boxes that bring authentic snacks and treats from Japan to your door.

The cost of their boxes are also the same.

You can read more in my Sakuraco vs Tokyo Treat review, but the main difference is that Sakuraco is focused on more traditional, artisanal aspects of Japan.

The Sakuraco boxes include confections, senbei (rice crackers), and tea from small businesses around Japan along with a souvenir home good.

Overall, these boxes are geared toward adults.

Tokyo Treat is more for families or kids as its focus is on modern Japanese snacks and fun flavors.

Each Tokyo Treat box includes a seasonal KitKat flavor, ramen, a drink, candy, cookies, and baked goods.

FAQs: Sakuraco Subscription Box

Is Sakuraco a Japanese company?

Yes, Sakuraco is a Japanese company with a Japanese founder from Tokyo.

Is Sakuraco and Tokyo Treat the same?

Sakuraco and Tokyo Treat are sister companies, but the boxes are not the same.

Sakuraco is aimed toward traditional snacks, and comes along with a tea pairing and home good.

Tokyo Treat is geard toward a younger audience with an assortment of modern Japanese treats such as candy, seasonal KitKat, ramen, soda, cookies, and more.

Where does Sakuraco ship from?

Sakuraco ships from Japan.

Final Thoughts: Is Sakuraco Worth It?

Personally, I think Sakuraco is worth it for the amount and quality of items you get, but you’ll have to figure that out for yourself.

Those who like Japanese snacks and are interested in more traditional elements of Japan will definitely enjoy Sakuraco.

It makes a great gift, especially those who can’t travel to Japan or don’t live near a good Asian grocery store.

If you want to try out Sakuraco for yourself, order your first box here!