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See This Month's Box →A look at the savory side of Japanese summer snacking, from wasabi rice crackers to an eel-inspired sauce flavor.
Japanese summer snacks are not all watermelon, shaved ice, and sweet candy. Some days, the snack that sounds best is salty, tangy, a little sharp, and easy to enjoy with something cold to drink. That is where savory Japanese snacks come in, with flavors like nori, wasabi, ume, and soy sauce.
The Savory Side of Japanese Summer
When the weather gets hot, summer snacking does not have to mean sweet flavors. Japanese snack shelves also have a savory side, from nori rice crackers and wasabi kaki no tane to ume potato chips and sauce-flavored snacks.
These snacks lean on rice crackers, pea snacks, and potato chips instead of candy or chocolate, and quite a few appear in seasonal flavors once summer arrives. Some pair well with cold drinks or beer, while others are easy to enjoy by themselves when you want something salty instead of sweet.
This list includes limited-time summer releases and classic savory snacks that suit the season, so there is a mix of things worth trying whether they are around all year or only for a few months.
Five Snacks for a Hot Summer Day
Here are five savory Japanese snacks that bring a different kind of summer flavor: salty, tangy, sharp, saucy, and easy to pair with something cold.
Sayaendou Shio Aji – Whole Pea Snack With a Light Salty Crunch
Made with whole green peas and not fried, Sayaendou Shio Aji is shaped to resemble a pea pod. A simple salt seasoning brings out the flavor of the peas without making the snack feel heavily seasoned. It is a green pea snack included in this month’s Japanese snack box.
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Subscribe Now →Mugen Nori Okonomiyaki Sauce Flavor – Rice Crackers With Nori and Sauce
For this limited-time summer flavor, the rice cracker is seasoned in two layers: an okonomiyaki sauce-flavored oil followed by a matching powder. It is made with three kinds of nori: aosa, yakinori, and aonori. The sauce adds a savory, slightly sweet edge from the vegetables used in okonomiyaki sauce, while the different noris bring their own umami.
Kameda Kaki no Tane Wasabi – Rice Crackers With a Sharp Wasabi Kick
Made with wasabi powder from real wasabi grown in Azumino, these rice crackers bring a sharp, tingling heat from wasabi. Peanuts are mixed in with the rice crackers, giving the pack both crackers and nuts in one snack. It is the wasabi-forward choice on this list, especially if you like snacks with a little nose-tingling sharpness.
Unagi Kabayaki-fu Snack – A Sweet-Savory Soy Sauce Snack Inspired by Grilled Eel
Inspired by the sweet-savory sauce used for unagi kabayaki, or grilled eel, this snack leans on soy sauce and a touch of sansho pepper. It has a slightly charred note similar to the glaze on the real dish, all wrapped around a light, crispy texture. In Japan, eel is often associated with summer, especially around Doyo no Ushi no Hi, a day when eating unagi is a long-standing seasonal custom.
Natsu Potato Kishu Nanko Ume – Ume Potato Chips With a Light, Tangy Finish
Fresh Japanese new potatoes harvested in summer are cut into thick, wavy ridges for a light, crisp bite. Kishu Nanko ume, often described as Japanese plum, gives the chips a gentle, tangy aroma instead of a heavy or salty one. The result is a brighter style of potato chip centered on the refreshing tang of ume.
How to Pick What to Try
If you want something sharp, Kaki no Tane Wasabi brings the wasabi heat. If you want something milder and easy to snack on, Sayaendou Shio Aji keeps things simple with peas and salt. Mugen Nori is the sauce-and-nori option, while Unagi Kabayaki-fu Snack brings in the sweet-savory flavor of kabayaki sauce.
Natsu Potato Kishu Nanko Ume adds a tangy potato chip option to the list, especially for anyone curious about ume-flavored Japanese snacks. A few of these work especially well with cold drinks or beer, though all five can be enjoyed without a drink in hand too.
Where These Savory Flavors Come From
Savory snacks like these can also fit the otsumami style, a term often used for small snacks served with drinks such as beer or sake. Of course, they can also be eaten on their own. Rice crackers, pea snacks, and potato chips can all be enjoyed that way, especially when the flavors lean salty, spicy, or umami-rich.
A few of the flavors here are tied to specific ingredients and seasons. Wasabi grown in Azumino, ume from the Kishu region, and new potatoes harvested in Japan each carry their own regional or seasonal image. Eel is a slightly different case: it is tied less to a growing region and more to a specific custom, eating unagi around Doyo no Ushi no Hi to help get through the hottest stretch of summer.
None of that means these snacks are only for one season or one kind of drink. A rice cracker made with wasabi powder or a chip flavored with ume can work as an everyday savory snack, while seasonal versions add a little extra variety to Japan’s summer snack shelves.
Conclusion
Japanese summer snacking is not limited to sweets and fruit flavors. Rice crackers with wasabi, chips flavored with ume, a nori-and-sauce flavor released for summer, and an eel-inspired soy sauce snack all show a different side of the season.
So after watermelon candy and shaved ice flavors, these savory snacks show another side of Japanese summer: bright, salty, sauce-flavored, and ready for a hot afternoon.
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