I've passed by Aji Ichiban many times but I always ignored it, thinking it to be a high-class candy store for kids, though I took note of the word "ichiban" from my basic Japanese language elective in school. "Ichiban" means best or number one, so I suppose they are claiming to be the best - in candy, perhaps.
My ignorance of Aji Ichiban would end when my friend shared with me her stash of chocolate-coated sunflower seeds, bought from Aji Ichiban. I've tasted sunflower seeds before but I never knew they could be this good, once coated in chocolate. I quickly became addicted to it, and would buy some as soon as I got a craving (at first, it was quite often). They are a quite pricey in the world of candy - more along the lines of M&Ms (or even more expensive) than along the lines of Nips.
Of course Aji Ichiban has a lot of other offerings too - it's nice to see the rainbow of candy and other snacks when you enter the store. I was just too fixated on the chocolate-coated sunflower seeds to buy anything else. But they actually do sell snacks like dried squid too, as well as candy I would expect more to be associated with other countries than with Japan, like spicy tamarind candies. read more