February '20: Sari Harris from New York

3. What made you decide to take the plunge and join?

We were curious since we didn’t really try many snacks on our trips to Japan.

4. Are you the kind of person who eats your box in one go, or do you take your time throughout the month?

We definitely make the box last. Usually, the sweet items go first since we’ll eat those as dessert after dinner. Then we usually make our way through the savory snacks during a movie on the weekend.

5. What was your favorite snack or theme from our past boxes?

Our favorites are any snack flavored with fish/seafood: salmon crackers and uni crackers. We also love all the citrus-flavored items.

6. Do you have a favorite thing about Bokksu? If so, what is it?

The booklet with the snack descriptions, maps and stories about the makers and Japanese culture. Without the context, they wouldn’t be quite as much fun! My son is learning Japanese in high school, so now he can read some of the labels, but we still wouldn’t have the backstory without the booklet.

7. Do you ever share your Bokksu? With who? (if not, we don’t blame you!)

As a small family of 3, we find it fairly easy to share the monthly box. We simply split the single snacks so that everyone has a chance to try everything. We never fight over the snacks, we’re all about equitable sharing. If we do discover something isn’t to our taste, then whoever likes it best gets to finish that one. Forfeiting a snack gives that family member an opportunity to open another item they might like better. :)

8. What is a future theme you’d like to see us do?

School cultural festival. We watch anime and see this event depicted a lot! Street festival food would be fun too, but maybe you’ve already done a Bokksu on that?

9. What Japanese snack would you like to see in a future box?

Mochi or coffee jelly inspired snacks

10. What’s your favorite Japanese snack or food? (doesn’t need to be a Bokksu snack)

This is a tough one - we love all types of Japanese food. But the thing I could eat every day is ramen… my husband and son would have sushi every day if they could.

11. Have you ever been to Japan? If yes, what was the highlight of your trip?

We visited Japan a few years ago during the hanami season (cherry blossom viewing). One of the highlights was a ryokan in Hakone. It was magical staying in this very old inn, being served dinner in our room, and sleeping by the sound of the river. During the day, we took the tram up to the Hakone Open Air Museum to enjoy the mountains and art.

Thank you so much Sari for being this month's Member Spotlight! I hope you and your family continue to enjoy Bokksu for many months to come!