Sweet and Sour Plum Candy

Upon checking into my hotel room in Fuji Kawaguchi-ko, I was greeted with a welcome kit that had a tiny packet containing four soft, raisin-like edibles. My first bite of this dangerously mysterious candy resulted in a lot of screaming and jumping around as I had never put something so ridiculously sour in my mouth. It was like a giant sultana, but a million times more pungent, yet somehow tastier. After a few minutes, I went back for a second followed by a third. Upon asking the housekeeping staff, I learnt that these addictive delectable is just dried plums, and had to immediately visit a local store to buy a few packets for myself.

Also known as umeboshi, these dried ‘Ume’ are pickled in salt and vinegar with the occasional addition of sugar. Packaged in attractive plastic bags with cute graffiti and text, these candies dot all supermarkets and convenience stores across Japan. Remember to not eat too many, so as to save your stomach from dying a thousand deaths. Some variants of umeboshi are basically tiny vinegary plums that haven’t been dried, and while most kids like to eat them as candies, they are essentially served as pickles alongside sticky rice. A fun snack to occasionally pop into your mouth, umeboshi also has anti-ageing properties, and successfully combats fatigue.
Where to buy: 7-Eleven, Lawson, souvenir shops, and hypermarkets all across Japan have several varieties of umeboshi.