Umaibo : The Top 10 Best Flavors Selected by Japanese People

When it comes to Japanese snacks for kids, Japanese children especially like “Dagashi (駄菓子)”. Dagashi are cheap and relatively small Japanese snacks and candies so that kids can enjoy the treats only with their pocket money.

Yaokin Umaibo

Among those Dagashi, “Umaibo (うまい棒)” is a long-selling series of Dagashi snack which is fairly well recognized even in many counties outside of Japan as well as being popular in Japan.

• What Type of Dagashi Snack is Umaibo?
• Flavors of Umaibo
• The Top 10 Most Popular Umaibo Flavors in Japan

What Type of Dagashi Snack is Umaibo?

As you may already know, Umaibo is a Japanese corn puff snack bar with a slightly hard texture and a hole in the center part, which is manufactured by Riska and sold by Yaokin.

Umaibo comes in many unique flavors, most of which are so cheap, sold for just 10 yen (about 0.1 USD) in Japan, that the Dagashi snack is especially popular with children. Amazingly, the price of 10 yen hasn’t changed since the first flavor went on the market in 1979.

Even now, the Yaokin’s Umaibo is one of the best-selling Dagashi series in Japan, which is loved by not only children but also adults. This is why some Japanese Dagashi lovers call the corn puff snack bar “The King of Dagashi”.

In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that Umaibo is one of the best and tastiest Dagashi snacks, because it is really yummy and filling for its price.

Flavors of Umaibo

As for the variety, there are a wide range of flavors in the Yaokin’s Umaibo series. Some Umaibo have the flavor of a savory Japanese food widely enjoyed in Japan, while some others are available only in local areas and have the flavor of a local specialty food.

According to the official website of Yaokin, Umaibo comes in the following 18 regular flavors as of today (12/7/2019).

18 Regular Flavors

• Tonkatsu Sauce (とんかつソース : Pork Cutlet Sauce)
• Salami (サラミ)
• Cheese (チーズ)
• Teriyaki Burger (テリヤキバーガー)
• Corn Potage (コーンポタージュ)
• Yasai Salad (やさいサラダ : Vegetable Salad)
• Mentai (めんたい)
• Takoyaki (たこ焼 : Octopus Balls)
• Chicken Curry (チキンカレー味)
• Ebi Mayonnaise (エビマヨネーズ : Shrimp Mayonnaise)
• Gyutan Shio (牛タン塩 : Salted Beef Tongue)
• Natto (なっとう : Fermented Soybeans)
• Sugar Rusk (シュガーラスク)
• Yakitori (やきとり : Grilled Chicken)
• Chocolate (チョコレート)
• Lemon Squash (レモンスカッシュ)
• Satokibi (さとうきび : Sugarcane)
• Cinnamon Apple Pie (シナモンアップルパイ)

3 Premium Flavors

In addition to the above 18 regular flavors, Umaibo has another 3 flavors in Premium Umaibo series. A bag of 10 Premium Umaibo bars costs 200 yen (about 2 USD) in Japan.

• Mozzarella Cheese & Camembert Cheese (モッツァレラチーズ&カマンベールチーズ)
• Mentaiko (明太子)
• Wafu Steak (和風ステーキ)

The Top 10 Most Popular Umaibo Flavors in Japan

Among these 21 flavors of Umaibo, what do you think are popular in Japan? According to the survey where 1,381 Japanese men and women between the 20’s to 60’s answered, the top 10 most popular Umaibo flavors selected by the people are as follows.

The 10th Place : Pizza (ピザ)

Image : ebloger.net

Umaibo Pizza has a flavor of slightly tangy tomato and cheese. This corn snack bar is characterized by its good taste balance between savoriness and mildness.

The 9th Place : Yasai Salad (やさいサラダ)

Umaibo Yasai Salad might be somewhat different from what you expect. Despite its name, this corn puff snack has a satisfying savory taste that comes from plenty of umami ingredients of vegetables, such as potato, cabbage, and garlic.

The 8th Place : Chocolate (チョコレート)

Image : kurabeta.jp

Umaibo Chocolate is slightly small in size as compared to other Umaibo bars. As you can see from the above photo, the surface of this Umaibo is coated with a thin layer of mild chocolate.

The 7th Place : Teriyaki Burger (テリヤキバーガー)

Umaibo Teriyaki Burger Flavor tastes like a sweet Teriyaki sauce. Its refreshing tangy tomato flavor gives the snack bar an addicting touch.

The 6th Place : Tonkatsu Sauce (とんかつソース)

Umaibo Tonkatsu Sauce Flavor tastes like a fruity Tonkatsu sauce. This corn puff snack bar is characterized by its savory, a little bit spicy taste that stimulates the appetite.

The 5th Place : Takoyaki (たこ焼)

The flavor of Umaibo Takoyaki emulates Takoyaki sauce. This corn puff is pretty savory and somewhat sweet, but not spicy at all.

The 4th Place : Salami (サラミ)

When you slit the package of this Umaibo open, a distinctive appetizing smell spreads in the air. In fact, this snack bar is flavorful just like real salami.

The 3rd Place : Mentai (めんたい)

Umaibo Mentai is slightly spicy and is full of flavor like “Mentaiko (明太子)“. I think the taste of this snack is unlike any other in the world.

The 2nd Place : Cheese (チーズ)

When you slit the package of this Umaibo open, the good fragrance of cheese spreads in the air and stimulates your appetite. In fact, this snack bar is rich in flavor of cheese that you will never get tired of.

The 1st Place : Corn Potage (コーンポタージュ)

Umaibo Corn Potage Flavor smells and tastes just like a corn potage soup. This snack bar has such a great taste that it never lets snack lovers down.