Try the World Japan

What is it? Try the World is a culinary-themed subscription box that showcases a different culture or country with a variety of edibles in order to give the subscriber a taste of each month's chosen theme. 

How much does it cost? $29.99/monthly but there are often deals to give you more for your buck so I'd suggest signing up under a deal

Sign-up and ordering: Sign-up and ordering the box are easy, especially if you sign up using a deal. I signed up under a free trial with auto-renewal, but made sure to cancel in enough time. 

Delivery and cancellation: Delivery came a couple of weeks after ordering the box and cancellation is a one-click process. From sign-up to cancellation, everything was easy to do and you have a clear picture of your account status the entire way through. 

Ease of ordering the products in the box: This was actually my main complaint with the box. I had a difficult time trying to find any of the products except on the companies' websites, but since they're all based in Japan I said forget it. I've been looking in local Asian markets for them instead.  

So what came in the box? 

Akagi Shokuhin Soba Noodles

When I first saw this package, I thought it was a bunch of chopsticks. lol Don't judge me. It's actually a package of buckwheat soba noodles, and you can eat them alone, hot or cold, or paired with the meal option I'm going to talk about in a few minutes. We haven't tried these just yet as we're trying to find different things to eat them with (and we're out of ponzu lol) but I believe my sister's had soba noodles and she likes them a lot. I've never had buckwheat noodles so I'm not sure what I'm in for, but I'm looking forward to trying them out.

Kasugai Peach Gummy Candies

These candies were the bomb dot com. They weren't full of artificial flavorings or extra sugar and as a result the peach flavor tasted very natural. The flavor sort of explodes in your mouth lol, but the gummy isn't that irritating 'get stuck in every crevice of the mouth' type so it won't completely kill your teeth. The bag is resealable, which I appreciated. The candies were really soft and combining that with the strong taste of the peach was a good move. My sister and I split the bag in half, enjoyed them thoroughly then lamented about not having any more. lol

Takaokaya Seaweed Snack

I tried seaweed once when I was 13, and I hated it. It's been 15 years, and nothing's changed. lol Surprisingly to me, my sister wasn't too crazy about this either. The salt seemed very high in this seaweed, and as a result it tasted like crunchy, bitter saltwater. From what I read on the enclosed card, this seaweed was harvested directly from the ocean and dried, so that would explain the flavor. My sister likes seaweed as a snack but even she agreed that it was a bit too salty on its own.















Wadakan Umami Ponzu Sauce

For me, this was probably the shining star of the box. This is like soy sauce x10. The flavor is saltier and more savory than soy sauce so I wouldn't advise this for every Asian dish, but if you find your food is a little bland, sprinkle some ponzu sauce on it. This sauce is a combination of citrus and soy flavors, and it is amazing on fried rice. Ponzu is typically used as a dressing or dip for grilled chicken, fish and sashimi, but it also works well with other dishes. Unfortunately, I didn't properly read the directions and as it turns out, ponzu sauce contains seafood and other ingredients that need to be refrigerated after opening, and since I didn't do that I had to throw a good portion of mine away. I was unable to find this specific sauce at a couple of local Asian markets so for now, my ponzu sauce is a distant memory. 😞

AOI Blueberry Matcha Tea 

I've heard a lot of things about matcha tea over the years, but hadn't tried it before. After trying this tea, I probably won't again. lol The blueberry flavor wasn't overpowering, I actually wouldn't have minded it being a bit stronger, but the matcha had an awful effect on me. I wasn't even halfway through my cup before I started feeling hot and sweaty and my heartbeat went through the roof. It later triggered an IBS episode and a small anxiety attack. If I knew this was panic-induced IBS in a bag, I never would have tried it. lol I looked it up later and apparently, matcha isn't the best ingredient for those with anxious disorders and I found a few people who'd had the same issue. My sister, however, had absolutely no issues with this tea. She found it light, refreshing, and really enjoyed the subtle blueberry flavor. She had no adverse effects from the matcha so I let her have the rest of the bag. There was a recipe for matcha shortbread cookies in my culture guide booklet, but I didn't try it.

Otafuku Okonomiyaki Kit

This is a Japanese griddle cake kit, and it's supposed to contain almost everything you'd need for an entire meal within that little bag. On the upper right-hand side of the bag, you'll see the list of ingredients you'll need in order to make the meal and at the time we received the box, we didn't have any of them. The bag's expiration date was not long after we received it so this is one we didn't get to try, but we're going to check out one of the local markets and see if one of them carries these.

Morinaga Milk Caramels

These caramels are another bomb dot com addition to the box. These are little caramel cubes with a flap at the top, so you can carry them around with you. The caramel flavor is light but savory and the candies are rich but not saccharine sweet. Like the peach gummies, these taste more authentic and less processed, something I notice with the American counterparts to these caramels. These are sweet without being overwhelming and solid but not to where you're chipping a tooth trying to chew. We loved these as well. 

All in all, I was pretty satisfied with Try the World. I loved the ease of signing up and ordering my box, and I was equally pleased with the ease of cancelling and coming back later. I still receive deals and notifications from the company through the email newsletters, and I'm more than willing to try another box. One thing that set Try the World apart for me was that rather than getting one-sitting sizes of chips and various snacks, there was a mix of snacks and meals that you can prepare on your own. It really gives you the chance to absorb the culinary tastes of the month's theme and if you have a small stomach, some of the things last longer than others. I'm speaking from experience. lol I would suggest a bit more ease with buying these products after you use what came in your box; I had a terribly difficult time trying to find them and because much of it wasn't in English, I didn't know what to tell people when I went to the Asian markets looking for them, either. This was the first box that I was seriously interested in buying products from though, and that says something.

When you think of other countries' culinary offerings, typically people only think of certain things. These boxes give a well-rounded view that's worth the subscription price. The enclosed culture guide helps drive home the box's theme, helping you to get a glimpse at different elements of the chosen culture's life and even provides a couple of traditional recipes using things that came in your box. I wasn't able to try everything from my Japan box, but I loved it nonetheless. The thought that went into the box isn't something I see too often anymore because subscription boxes are so popular now. But overall, I loved my experience and if you'd like to take a culinary vacation to another country without having to buy an airline ticket, Try the World is a great option to utilize.

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Being Thankful

Happy Turkey Day! I have to admit that as an adult, Thanksgiving really isn't a holiday I'd prefer to celebrate. There are multiple reasons why I don't care for the holiday, but that's another story for another day. For me, I choose to look at Thanksgiving as a day when I get to enjoy four of my favorite things in life: food, family, football and fun. I do appreciate the concept of making the day about gratitude and thankfulness, which I think we should do more of on a normal basis. The day is a nice reminder that with the busyness of everyday life, sometimes we do forget to say thank you. Sometimes we forget to sit and breathe for a moment, to really absorb the blessings, even the atom-sized ones, in our lives. It's also a wonderful day because it's pretty much the last normal day of the year. The holiday season kicks off with a bang tomorrow, and after that's it's full-on Christmas craziness, which I am dreading yet crazy excited for. So on that note, I thought I'd share some things I'm grateful for today. Some are 'deep,' some aren't. There's no order of importance here. 

1. I'm grateful that when I jammed my toes down to the bone a few days ago I didn't break anything.

In the latest edition of "I'm A Walking FML," I jammed three of the toes on my left foot down to the bone running from a rodent and my foot erupted in pain. For awhile I was worried I'd broken something in there, but thankfully I just jammed the shit out of them. lol I can finally walk a bit on it again but the swelling and bruising are keeping me from putting too much weight on it or overdoing it. As a result, a pair of crutches have become my new best friends. But nothing's broken, so I'll gladly deal with the pain in my armpits and the inconvenience of having to limp everywhere. Plus, now I get to exercise my weak ass arm muscles so there's a silver lining in this somewhere. LOL

2. I'm grateful that I'm finally gaining the "DGAF" factor enough to just be myself. 

Not that I've never not been myself, but I've always been apologetic about who I was. How stupid does that sound, right? I'm not the type of person who is or does things that I should be apologizing for, but I often feel like I should be apologizing to everyone all the time for not being 'enough.' It's nice to gain the ability with age to just say "Eff it," and be myself. So I'm not necessarily charismatic. I'm never going to be the life of the party. I ramble and have a bad tendency to repeat myself when I'm telling a story. I'm always going to have anxiety and that's going to cause multiple obstacles for me, which may become inconvenient for others in my life. I prefer my own company to the company of others. But I'm me, and I'm happy with me. And as self-conscious, self-doubting and scared as I am on a daily basis, the growing seed of DGAF will be a welcomed addition to my life. 

3. I'm grateful that as I write this, my favorite QB of all time is back in Lambeau to get his jersey retired. 

I've been a proud Cheesehead for nearly a decade now, and a healthy amount of that reason is named Brett Favre. It's funny, I've been a fan for more of the Rodgers years than the Favre ones, but it was Favre who opened my eyes to them in the first place. After the acrimonious split between Favre and the Packers and especially after he signed to the Vikings (and played against the Packers in Lambeau before retiring....as a Viking), I really didn't think I'd ever see Favre back in Lambeau Field again. But it's a great night to be a Packer fan....despite the fact that they played some really shit ball tonight. LOL We've got two of the GOATS in the house, Bart Starr (who went through hell and high water to be in Green Bay tonight) and Brett Favre, with a soon-to-be great in Rodgers. I don't know how many times this will happen again, and I'm beyond thankful that I got to see it. 

4. I'm thankful that as of the time of this posting, there were no terror attacks or attempts in the country. 

I'd originally explained my reasoning behind this one, but then I thought, do I really have to elaborate on why I'm grateful for that? 

5. I'm grateful that my family, despite being separated this year, is all alive and healthy and had food to eat. 

There have been many years where we weren't sure how we were going to eat on Thanksgiving and even on the years where we at least have some of the food guaranteed, it's always a bit of a concern. For low-income families like mine, the fun that should come with the holiday season is usually overwhelmed with financial worries. This year, everyone had food to eat. We usually come together for the holidays, but today we were a bit separated. My brother is at home with his family, but they had food. My uncle's family is all over the place, but none of them went hungry today. We had more than enough and were able to give our turkey away. That doesn't happen to us very often, but I'm extremely thankful that it happened this year. 

6. I'm grateful that I have somewhere to express myself. 

I don't know what I'd do without the Internet and the power of self-expression. These blogs, despite being crazy disorganized and sometimes neglected, have really seen me through some tough times and helped me figure out what I wanted out of my life. I know being a blogger doesn't seem like much and at one time I would have agreed, but at one time I also used to think that I was just going to do one thing, have one industry as a career, for the rest of my life. Blogging and vlogging showed me that you can have a multi-faceted career, you can have stages of your career, and it doesn't have to be a 'traditional' job in order to be as valid as those in traditional industries. Blogging gave me a voice and allowed me to see that others can do this for a living. Review blogging is something I think I can be really good at, and I never would have considered it for a career detour had the Internet not been around to help me understand and see the benefit of 'non-traditional' paths. There are many things that blogging has given me, but one of the most important things is my voice. Where I couldn't get past my social anxiety in real life to be myself, I was able to come online and speak my mind, indulge in my interests (obsessively hunting down movie scores and reading smut are two of those interests....I know. Real classy, right?) and find new ones. I can't see being a blogger for the rest of my life, but for the time that this is what I want to do, I have a platform to do it on. And I'm really grateful for that.

7. I'm grateful for you!!

Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever brought you here, if you're reading this, I'm grateful to you. It's harder for smaller blogs like RRNT to get the visibility that major blogs get, and it's even harder for us to gain a loyal following. I'm finally getting somewhere with ATV, but RRNT hasn't seen the same results just yet. So if you've stumbled on my random little smorgasbord somehow, please know that you have my gratitude and appreciation for sticking around to read even one post.

Those are some of the things that I'm thankful for this year. Again, this was just a partial list; I didn't feel the need to go through every single thing that I felt grateful for. What are some things you're thankful for this year?

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