Mazuibo: Bad yet Delicious Sticks from Choshi Dentetsu

Today, I enjoyed another edible souvenir called Mazuibo (まずい棒) that my long-time friend got me when he came back to Niigata.

The product, whose name means bad stick, is apparently inspired by Umaibo (うまい棒: delicious stick), but what exactly is that?

Mazuibo (まずい棒)

Mazuibo is a snack not from a food maker but from a private railroad company in Choshi, Chiba, named Choshi Dentetsu (銚子電鉄) or Choshi Electric Railroad. 

Despite the name, these corn puff sticks are so tasty, like Umaibo, but the company’s financial conditions are not so good.

Based on their official site, about 70 percent of revenue comes from the sales of Nure Senbei (ぬれ煎餅: wet rice crackers).

Nure Senbei originated at Kashiwaya (Google Maps) in Choshi. And one of these sticks is Nure Senbei flavor!

So Mazuibo is a kind of pun. The puffed corn snack is known to those in the know because of its company’s uniqueness.

In fact, Choshi Dentetsu aims to become Japan’s No.1 entertainment railroad company and holds various quirky events, including summoning UFOs.