Your must get food items from Japan?

Aside from the typical food souvenirs that everyone buys such as kit kats, Tokyo banana etc.

What are you must buys food items to take home?

I've only thought of green tea powder at the moment. We can get it here in Australia but I know I'll be picking some up when I'm in Japan. What else?

We always come home with heaps of different sorts of Meiji chocolate.

We like Chip Star chips- they are pretty plain but I guess it's just become a habit now to bring them home.

Be careful of Tokyo Banana the one time I did get some to bring home they were confiscated by customs at Cairns airport- apparently the manufacture process doesn't conform to standards. Hard to believe but the officer told me they dump kilos of the product.

I'm sure someone else will tell you they brought in TB without issue but this was my experience in Cairns in Feb. 2015.

If you're going to Hiroshima or Kansai airport, get some momiji manju - they were my favourite!

"Tokyo Banana" cannot be brought into Australia, as it contains fresh banana slices in it. So better make sure you get other cakes/cookies from the same confectioner, not this fresh one.

Apart from the gummy grape sweets, I bring the oddest of things. Not all food products I must admit, but essentials all the same, Attack detergent washing machine powder refills( nothing gets my whites as white,!) dishwasher gel, excellent for glassware, dish handwash detergent, can't get those cute little bottles of rose or lime scented at home. Add to this bread flour of my breadmaker and Freezedried yeast packs... the loaves are always successful. The soya sauce in the plastic containers that fit perfectly in the fridge door. I could go on and on.

Nori, kombu, goma baka uke, umeshu, Dars chocolate (though it's not as good since they changed the recipe), Yoku Moku esp. Christmas tins, Pocky.

I haven't taken back miso paste because I'm not sure if it's OK to take in.

If you're going to Hiroshima or Kansai airport, get some momiji manju - they were my favourite!

If you're going to get momiji manju, get a "nama-momiji."

Things like that or kuzumochi or any kind of food that doesn't last long are a must-get when you actually travel to that destination.

As for non-sweet foods, I've also brought some tsukemono (pickles) to Spain, because my cousins love them so much. Also, things like kanzuri and yuzu-koshou are great raw-type spice paste you can use on anything!

Japanese stationary products are very good quality and cheaper than in Australia.
For food, I don't know what you like and/or what you can't eat, lots of international visitors love "Kakino-tane", salty and crunchy rice cracker.
https://www.e-kakinotane.com/products/

and also, "Happy turn" is very popular rice cracker in JP.
http://www.kamedaseika.co.jp/item/itemDetail.html?itemId=973

" Attack detergent"

Do not ignore this valuable suggestion. Attack (a-ta-ku) contains enzymes not usually found in laundry detergent.

Shichimi....

I'm Japanese American, and I live in the USA. Typical omiyage for us when we travel to Japan are the foodstuffs that are seen in the Outer Market at Tsukiji. I have to bring an empty big backpack, while my wife buys tons of dried fish things, and flavored nuts, soybeans, kombu, etc. If you rely on the plastic bags that are given out, your fingers will lose all circulation with the weight of the merchandise.

We bicker with each other as I complain about the weight of all the things we buy and she just gives me the silent treatment. We usually purchase all of our omiyage the first day on arrival, since we wake up early the first day anyway. We like to head out to Tsukiji since they are open extremely early.

I know, TMI. But just walking around the Outer Market will yield a lot of food items that just cannot be found, practically anywhere else in the world. And the merchants are very tourist friendly and will readily give samples of food, so that you can know what you're getting.

Don't forget to stop to eat at any of the restaurants that strike your fancy!

Budget at least a few hours to roam the aisles.

Dale

@ Uco... what is nama-momiji ? Am I missing something delicious?
I understand momiji is Japanese maple tree???

I also endorse stationery of all types, and Yoko Moko's , in their well packed tins. Its so interesting others find Japanese goods intriguing, and so useful, and I also end up with bags of goodies to bring home. We always pack a spare, big, soft sided bag to pack these items in.

Shake Dashi Soya Sauce
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LOTS of Okinawa foods (Okinawa Soba, dashi, miso etc)
Mint Biscuit from Kitami, Hokkaido
Pickles from Karuizawa or Kanazawa/Kaga area
Stuffs from Kitami Selection shop (Curry flakes, Soba, Udon etc)
Castella from Kanazawa Uukokei shop
New item: Potato flavour Persimmon seed snacks from Kakitane Kitchen
Cooking ingredients like Rishiri konbu, Bonito flakes etc.
And many other stuffs..

There are many regional food shops in Ginza, eg. Okinawa and Kochi just beside one another. Kanazawa and Nagano shops are some distance away, Hokkaido one near Yurakucho JR.

Also soba noodles that have more soba than wheat (I usually get a brand that comes from Oshu, Iwate from Takeya in Okachimachi).
And
Saito Yoskue Inaniwa Udon from the Akita Antena shop in Ginza.

Apologies, it is Kitano Selection shop NOT Kitami, they have a few shops in Tokyo, so far the food they "selected" with their brands have not failed me yet.

At the airports I always buy Royce chocolate for myself and friends on the return trip home, they are delicious.

I've also come across "Matcha milk" in convenient stores and it's probably the best milk I've ever had. I would buy and drink it casually while sitting in my hotel at night or during early morning trips.

And while not something that you can take with you, I highly recommend anyplace that sells royal toast/honey toast.

@ Uco... what is nama-momiji ? Am I missing something delicious?

Sorry for my belated reply, and yes you are!

Momiji-manjuu is a maple-leaf-shaped cake that is very much like ningyou-yaki, sweet but quite dry. Nama-momiji is a more moist version of that with a more "raw" (nama) feel. You could hardly find anything like it outside Hiroshima!

They are available at most souvenior shops in Hiroshima, as well as the cafe at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

http://nisikido.co.jp/kasi/22namamomiji.html

Tonkotsu ramen I recommend

jaga pokkuru potato farm chips