or "delicious stick" is a small cylindrical puffed corn snack from Japan. It is produced by Riska and sold by Yaokin. There are many flavors of Umaibō available, including savory flavors, such as salad,

mentaiko Pollock roe, also pollack roe (also known as ''tarako'' in Japanese and ''myeongnan'' in Korean), is the roe of Alaska pollock (''Gadus chalcogrammus'') which, despite its name, is a species of cod. Salted pollock roe is a popular culinary in ...

takoyaki Takoyaki ( or ) is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter (cooking), batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus as food, octopus (''tako''), tempura scraps (''tenkasu' ...

and cheese; and sweet flavors, such as cocoa, caramel, and chocolate. New and unusual flavors are routinely introduced and rotated out as limited time items to keep up interest and create trends. The mascot is a round-headed earless cat, similar to the appearance of

Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...

. This character is considered to be an alien, born on September 13, 1978, on a certain star in a distant universe. With an undecided name, the mascot is sometimes nicknamed Umaemon, a pun on Doraemon, along with other nicknames such as Doyaemon, and Umai Boy. Umaibō is known for its extremely cheap

suggested retail price The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...

of 10

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...

(about 9 US cents in 2022), and this is part of the product's appeal. After staying stably at that price point since the product's launch in 1979, it was announced in January 2022 that the price would increase to 12 yen, the first increase in over forty years. In September of 2024 it was announced that prices would be increased further from 12 to 15 yen.

History

Umaibō is a redesigned version of an earlier corn puff snack "Umaimai Bar". The product launched in July 1979 at its famous 10 yen per piece price point, originally aiming at children and young people on a strict budget, and generally being sold in candy stores. It grew in popularity beyond just candy stores, and was soon sold everywhere, including ubiquitous Japanese convenience stores (konbini) and supermarkets. Bag and bulk versions were soon made for sale as well. The revolving flavors gimmick was an early addition, with over 60 different flavors released over the life of the product. The most popular three flavors have remained corn potage, cheese, and mentai. In 2007, most umaibō were subtly changed to be smaller and lighter, with 1 gram shaved off the product. In the face of supply chain issues exacerbated by the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and continued inflation (10 JPY in 1979 is worth around 15 JPY in 2022, a substantial relative decline in value), Yaokin raised the price to 12 yen in January 2022. In 2024, Yaokin announced that beginning in October of that year, the manufacturer's suggested retail price of umaibō would be increased from 12 to 15 yen, marking the second price increase since 2022. The company cited the increasing costs of ingredients and transportation as the major reasons behind this change. Due to its popularity, Yaokin also sells non-snack spin-offs based on the product, often branded with the cute alien mascot. These include lip balms and bath salts, stationery, and a themed pachislot game. In 2017, Yaokin announced that Umaemon would be given a little sister, , who was briefly promoted during 2017.

In Popular Culture

Umaibō are used as a plot device in the anime and manga series

Dagashi Kashi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by . It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from June 2014 to April 2018 and has been collected in 11 volumes. A light novel adaptation titled ''Dag ...

, and are featured in merchandise and promotional material for the franchise.

Flavors

Presently circulating

* Mentai * Corn Potage *

Nattō is a traditional Japanese cuisine, Japanese food made from whole soybeans that have been Fermentation in food processing, fermented with Bacillus subtilis, ''Bacillus subtilis'' var. ''natto''. It is often served as a breakfast food with rice. ...

* Cheese *

Teriyaki ''Teriyaki'' is a cooking technique in which foods are grilling#Overhead grilling, broiled or Grilling, grilled with a Glaze (cooking technique), glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Although commonly associated with Japanese cuisine, Fish ...

Burger *

Salami Salami ( ; : ''salame'') is a ''salume'' consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature fo ...

* Vegetable Salad * Chicken Curry *

Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, Deep frying, deep-fried pork cutlet. It involves coating slices of pork with Bread crumbs#Panko, panko (bread crumbs), and then frying them in oil. The two main types are fillet and loin. Tonkatsu ...

Sauce * Shrimp and Mayonnaise *

Takoyaki Takoyaki ( or ) is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter (cooking), batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus as food, octopus (''tako''), tempura scraps (''tenkasu' ...

* Chocolate *

Nori Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, usually made from species of the red algae genus ''Pyropia'', including ''P. yezoensis'' and ''Pyropia tenera, P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is generally made in ...

Beef Tongue Beef tongue (also known as neat's tongue or ox tongue) is a cut of beef made of the tongue of a cow. It can be boiled, pickled, roasted or braised in sauce. It is found in many national cuisines, and is used for taco fillings in Mexico and for o ...

* Sugar

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the ...

* Rice Dumplings

Zongzi ''Zongzi'' () or simply ''zong'' () is a traditional Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with a range of fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves. Fillings can be either sweet, such as red bean paste, or savory, such as pork belly or ...

Yakitori is a Japanese type of skewered chicken. Its preparation involves attaching the meat to a skewer, typically made of steel, bamboo, or similar materials, after which it is grilled over a charcoal fire. During or after cooking, the meat is ty ...

Only in specific areas

* Monja,

Apple Pie An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the ...

(

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

) * Honey ( Shizuoka) * ''

Mentaiko Pollock roe, also pollack roe (also known as ''tarako'' in Japanese and ''myeongnan'' in Korean), is the roe of Alaska pollock (''Gadus chalcogrammus'') which, despite its name, is a species of cod. Salted pollock roe is a popular culinary in ...

'' (

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

) *

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese ''teppanyaki'' savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients (mixed, or as toppings) cooked on a '' teppan'' (flat griddle). Common additions include cabbage, meat, and seafood, and toppings include ...

(

Kansai The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...

) *

Kiritanpo is a Japanese dish particularly in Akita Prefecture. Freshly cooked rice is pounded until somewhat mashed, then formed into cylinders around Japanese cedar skewers, and toasted over an open hearth. It can then be served with sweet miso or cook ...

( Akita)

Discontinued

* Caramel Candy * Cocoa *

Kabayaki is a preparation of fish, especially '' unagi'' eel,, vol. 7,"kabayaki" by describes it as being used principally or almost always for ''unagi'' (「もっぱら鰻」) where the fish is split down the back the Japanese dictionary says ''kab ...

* ''Saki-ika'' * ''Choikara Panchi'' * Crab ''Chanko'' * ''Omuraisu'' *

Gyoza ''Jiaozi'' or Gyoza (; ) are a type of Chinese dumpling. ''Jiaozi'' typically consist of a ground meat or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together. ''Jiaozi'' can be ...

* Chocolate Peanut * Crab Dumpling * ''Mame-rikan'' (Bean-American) * Umeboshi Riceball * Red Lobster * American

Hot Dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

* Marine Beef * Curry * Pizza

References

External links

Umaibou Catalog Site

Yaokin Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umaibo Japanese snack food Products introduced in 1979