3 Japanese Snacks You Can Actually Buy at Walmart or Target (No Importing Required)
If you’ve been told the only way to try Japanese snacks is to order from an import shop or sign up for a monthly snack box, that’s not quite true anymore. Calbee Pizza Potato, Hi-Chew, and Pocky are all stocked in mainstream US stores — Walmart, Target, Kroger-family grocery chains, and Amazon carry at least one of the three, and many locations carry all three, though selection varies by store. Availability varies by location and store size, but none of these three require an import order to get your hands on.
Here’s where each one actually shows up, and what they’re like if you’ve never tried them.
Calbee Pizza Potato
Calbee’s Pizza Potato is a thick-cut potato chip dusted with a tangy, cheesy “pizza” seasoning — it’s noticeably more intensely flavored than a standard US potato chip, closer to a bold seasoned kettle chip. It pairs well with a beer for the same reason a loaded pizza does. If you like junk food or pizza in general, it’s a safe bet.
Where to buy: Pizza Potato turns up at Walmart, Kroger and its affiliated grocery banners (including Ralphs), Asian grocery chains like H Mart, and on Amazon. Stock varies by store — a large-format Walmart or an H Mart is a safer bet than a small-town grocery aisle — but it is not an import-only item.
Hi-Chew
Hi-Chew is a soft, chewy candy — texture-wise it lands somewhere between taffy and a gummy, with enough chew to feel substantial but without sticking to your teeth the way taffy does. Grape and strawberry are the classic flavors and both hit a well-balanced sweet-tart note.
Where to buy: Hi-Chew is genuinely easy to find in the US — Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, and Amazon all carry it. Part of the reason it’s so widely stocked: most Hi-Chew sold in the US isn’t imported at all. Morinaga, the company behind Hi-Chew, has been manufacturing it domestically at a plant in Mebane, North Carolina since 2015, and celebrated the opening of a second Mebane facility in April 2026 to keep up with demand. So picking up Hi-Chew at a US store isn’t really “buying an import” — it’s buying a US-made product from a Japanese brand.
Hi-Chew also has a well-documented following in Major League Baseball clubhouses. Boston Red Sox pitcher Junichi Tazawa reportedly brought it into the team’s candy stash back in 2008 as a rookie, teammates got hooked, and by 2012 Morinaga’s US arm had signed a formal sponsorship deal with the team. From there it spread to other clubhouses — Morinaga later had pitcher Hiroki Kuroda introduce it to New York Yankees teammates, a habit that got its own ESPN writeup in 2014.
Pocky
Pocky is about as simple as snacks get — a thin pretzel stick dipped partway in chocolate — but the appeal is in the texture: a clean, satisfying snap when you bite it, and an uncoated handle at the base so your fingers don’t end up covered in chocolate. Beyond the original chocolate flavor, matcha and strawberry are both worth trying if you come across them.
Where to buy: Pocky is carried by Walmart, Target, Kroger-family stores, Costco, Amazon, and Asian grocery stores, with more mainstream chains adding it over time. Unlike Hi-Chew, Pocky sold in the US really is imported — it’s made by Glico in Japan, and Glico’s US arm handles distribution rather than local manufacturing. The upside for readers is the same either way: you don’t need to place a special import order yourself, since regular retailers already do that importing for you.
Prefer a Subscription Box Instead?
Pocky and Hi-Chew have both turned up in TokyoTreat’s monthly snack box in past months, per unboxing reviews like The Art Kit’s TokyoTreat review — though box contents rotate, so neither is a guaranteed inclusion every month. If a curated subscription sounds appealing, our comparison of Sakuraco, TokyoTreat, and Bokksu breaks down what each one is actually like. Calbee Pizza Potato, by contrast, isn’t something we could confirm inside any of the three boxes — it’s sold separately through each company’s standalone snack shop instead.
FAQ
Do I need to order from a Japanese import site to try these?
No. All three of these snacks are stocked by mainstream US retailers. A specialty import shop or a subscription snack box can still be worth it if you want a wider variety of harder-to-find snacks, but none of these three require it.
Is Hi-Chew actually from Japan?
The brand is Japanese, but most Hi-Chew sold in the US today is manufactured in the US, at Morinaga’s facilities in Mebane, North Carolina. Hi-Chew sold in Japan is a separate product run.
Is Pocky imported?
Yes — Pocky sold in the US is made by Glico in Japan and imported, but it’s imported in bulk by retailers, not something you need to order yourself from overseas.
Will every store carry all three?
Not necessarily. Availability depends on store size and location — a large Walmart, Target, or an Asian grocery store like H Mart is a safer bet than a small local grocery store. Checking the store’s website or app before a special trip can save you a wasted stop.
Tasting notes above are based on the author’s own experience eating these snacks. Retailer availability was checked in August 2026 and can change — check a specific store’s website or app before making a special trip.