Umai-bo!

I gotta stop posting, but I thought I would shoot a quick blog post about the god of all 10 yen (10 cent) Japanese snacks, the quintessentially Japanese Umai-bo. Umai-bo literally means "yummy stick," and after forgoing all sundry sexual connotations attached to this translation, it REALLY IS A FREAKIN' YUMMY STICK.



I comes in a variety of flavors (salad, takoyaki, corn, etc.), each sporting a character similar to the cartoon robotcat Doraemon. If you've never had one, imagine if a Cheeto was expanded into the size of a toilet paper roll core and given different flavors.



You can buy it ANYWHERE, and it only costs 10yen. If you are in Japan right now, take a look at the pavement around you, walk around for 30 seconds, and you'll find the funds to purchase them. Of course, if you can fight off the security guard, you can always just rip one off the Umaibo Eiffel Tower. There is no escargo-flavored Umaibo, by the way.



(translation of sign: 7 workers took around a month to create this 5 meter tall tower consisting of even over 1200 Umaibo's. It is a display of the cultural exchange between France and Japan, and hopes to draw attention from around the globe.)

My favorite kids snack is actually Yocchan Ika. But that will be addressed in a subsequent post.