This Spicy Japanese Snack Wasn’t an April Fool’s Prank After All

One Japanese snack maker took an interesting twist on April Fools this year: advertising a “joke” that turned up on store shelves the next day.

Pictures by the author

By Jay Allen

This week was April Fools. Many Japanese companies — even the Japanese postal service — used the occasion to promote their products and services with fictitious counterparts. But rice cracker (senbei) manufacturer Kameda had a fun idea: what if we announce a gag product that actually exists?

Happy Turn’s turn to spice things up

Kameda Seika is a snack manufacturer that’s been in business since after World War II in 1946. Based out of Niigata Prefecture, the company manufactures several snacks that have achieved the status of household names.

One of these is Happy Turn (ハッピーターン), a “sweet and salty” senbei cracker that gets its signature taste from the so-called “Happy Powder” that covers it. It’s basically a sugary coating that makes the cracker even more addictive than your average Japanese senbei.