I think Umaibo is the most famous snack in Japan

Japanese children like to eat Dagashi. Dagashi means Japanese cheap snacks. When I was a child there were a lot of Dagashi stores under individual management. They almost have disappear recently. one of my favorite Dagashi snacks is Umaibo which is a bar-shaped snack that is sold by RISKA Corporation. The standard price is 10yen (excluding consumption tax). It was released in July 1979. The price has not been changed since  the release date surprisingly.

It is a popular snack mainly for children because it has unique flavors and is not expensive. As Dagashi stores under individual management disappear gradually RISKA Corporation began to sell Umaibo at convenience stores, discount stores and supermarkets. It is fun to choose Umaibo from many tastes.

The beginning is only one kind of "source taste". The following year of the launch, the number of flavor became six types in 1980 and 12 types in 82! At that time there weren't many kinds of Dagashi.

Umaibo has a hole in the center. The holes make the texture better and the crispness improves. In addition, it becomes hard to crack up! There is an exception that does not have holes in order to reproduce the texture of "rusk" like the sugar rask taste.

There are some products that have the same taste but the different packages. there are several illustrations and comments. you can enjoy illustrations, colors, the delicious bars are designed to enjoy "Fun" and "Delicious" at the same time.

The reason why Umaibo sells so cheap is the company's efforts and idea. Umaibo was born in 1979, and at that time it was also the time when cheap snacks and sweets were disappearing from Japan because of the second oil shock. Under these circumstances, children weren't able to buy snacks and sweets, so Umaibo was released for 10 yen because of the desire to please children.

The price is maintained by adjusting the length, the size of hole of the snack bar in order to keep Umaibo price cheap. This effort makes it possible for children to buy Umaibo at a cheaper price.




If you want to enjoy all flavors of Umaibo you should go to Umaibo building. It is located in Kinshicho in Tokyo.