Savor A Culinary Trip To Japan From Home! Delivery By Kokoro Care Packages

From Japan to You - Select Regional Foods Delivered to Your Door

Sampling delicious local dishes is a significant part of the fun of travel. Due to the current global pandemic, however, this has become very challenging and unrealistic. However, there is a way to satisfy your tastebuds and stay connected to Japan, even while at home.

Kokoro Care Packages—a service that offers international shipping of curated food and drink products—offers special care packages themed after the regions of Japan. Buy a box to try foods from throughout Japan, from the northern Tohoku area to the southern islands of Okinawa.

Let’s take a look at Kokoro Care Packages’ features, along with the contents of some of their regional packages!

What is Kokoro Care Packages?

Kokoro Care Packages offers boxes filled with an assortment of ingredients from Japan delivered directly to your door. Their care packages consist of nutritious, high-quality foods made without the use of MSG or preservatives. Every parcel also comes with an English brochure, detailing product ingredients, comments from the producers, and the story behind each product.

This service delivers to over 35 countries, including the United States, Canada, all European countries, China, and Hong Kong. Buyers can subscribe to two different packages. The Monthly Nourishing Essentials ($55/month) is a package plan shipped monthly, while Seasonal Delights ($95/month) is a package plan shipped once every three months.

The Monthly Nourishing Essentials Care Package includes more than five quality food products, and the Seasonal Delights Care Package contains over seven.

Experience Travel in Japan Through a Care Package

Starting June 2020, Kokoro Care Packages began delivering themed boxes to recreate the experience of traveling Japan. Each and every package is prepared with the hope that the recipient can preview Japan through the foods inside before visiting the regions in-person.

MONTHLY NOURISHING ESSENTIALS. Picture courtesy of Kokoro Care Packages

The Monthly Nourishing Essentials June Package and Seasonal Delights Summer Package both featured the Tohoku region.

Inside the Monthly Nourishing Essentials Care Package was a selection of unique Tohoku delicacies. Some items include senbei (rice crackers), a specialty in Aomori Prefecture, soy sauce-simmered mackerel pike harvested in Miyagi Prefecture, and smoked daikon pickles from Akita Prefecture.

Left: Date tea; Right: Smoked daikon pickles. Picture courtesy of Kokoro Care Packages

Date tea* from Miyagi Prefecture pairs roasted rice with tea leaves, both locally produced, to create the exquisite combination of mild green tea and aromatic rice. In the summers, it is very refreshing when served iced.

*This green tea is associated with Date Masamune (1567 - 1636), a famous feudal lord in Miyagi Prefecture.

SEASONAL DELIGHTS. Picture courtesy of Kokoro Care Packages

The Seasonal Delights Summer Package adds several new items on top of those featured in the Monthly Nourishing Essentials Package. This generous and hefty care package even comes with a local souvenir.

Left: Sweet and Spicy Hoya with Soy Sauce Mackerel; Right: Dried Chrysanthemum and Seaweed. Picture courtesy of Kokoro Care Packages

The combination of dried chrysanthemum and seaweed from Iwate makes a vividly colored salad when rehydrated and topped with your favorite dressing. Try pairing the sweet and spicy hoya (sea squirt) with a beer or your favorite beverage for a relaxing evening.

This particular care package also comes with nambu ironware furin wind chimes, a popular Tohoku souvenir.

An example of a furin wind chime. Photo by Pixta

Listen to the calming chimes of the furin when the wind blows, and you might even start feeling the refreshing Tohoku breeze at your door!

Look Forward to Okinawa and Kyoto Care Packages

A mozuku udon seller. Picture courtesy of Kokoro Care Packages

The Monthly Nourishing Essentials Care Package features Okinawa in July and Kyoto in August. The Okinawa Care Package is filled with Okinawan ingredients like mozuku udon, a type of udon that is kneaded with mozuku seaweed from the islands, and flour for chinbin, an Okinawan-style crepe.

Chinbin, an Okinawan-style crepe. Picture courtesy of Kokoro Care Packages

The care package will also come with an English brochure with product descriptions and recipes. Challenge yourself to try making Okinawan dishes at home with the ingredients in your box!

Taste Local Japanese Foods at Home

Each region in Japan has a unique food culture that is worth exploring. Subscribe to the themed boxes from Kokoro Care Packages to experience the richness of food found in this country. Boxes for those living in Japan are available in addition to the subscriptions for international customers.

Do you have a Japanese flavor that you like? After sampling it through these packages, be sure to make a note so that the next time you’re traveling to that region, you can try it where it originated.

Subscribe to Kokoro Care Packages now through their official website. Please follow the link below for more information.

Kokoro Care Packages Official Website: https://kokorocares.com/