What to bring as a gift from Japan?

What to bring as a gift from Japan?

Of course, Japanese sambei rice crackers!

There are various theories of the origin of Japanese sambei crackers, but most researchers believe that these snacks first appeared in China and were introduced to Japan during the Asuka period (late 6th - early 8th century).

Sembei is now called “rice crackers,” but these Japanese snacks were originally made not from rice, but from flour and water.

Sambei from rice appeared much later - in the Meiji era (1868-1912).

At the time, an elderly woman was selling dango (rice koloboks) in Soka-juku, a post office on the road leading to Nikko.

According to legend, when she threw away unsold dango, one of the samurai suggested that instead of throwing away valuable food, flatten them and bake them, which led to the creation of the Sambai we know today. Well, since the name of that wasteful woman was "Osen", the flattened and baked rice koloboks became known as "Sambei".

The reason why sembei became very popular was that there was always enough rice available in Japan, and the way rice crackers were made did not require much effort and time.

In Japan, you can visit one of the many Sembei factories and see how it is made today.

And of course, here you can try different types of rice crackers and buy the ones you like the most.