Banpeiyu is one of the largest citrus fruits in the world, and a cultivar of the pomelo that originated in Southeast Asia. The banpeiyu was first cultivated in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, which still produces the vast majority of the banpeiyu in Japan. This UHA Puccho Banpeiyu celebrates this Kumamoto fruit by collaborating with the prefecture’s mascot, Kumamon.

The set contained five sticks of candy with the outer packaging of each featuring five different designs depicting Kumamon and Puccho-kun doing various popular activities within different regions of Kumamoto Prefecture.

This packaging is for central Kumamoto with the front featuring Kumamoto Castle and the back featuring the castle town area, Sakuranobaba Josaien; karashirenkon, a speciality consisting of mustard filled lotus root; and Suizenji Jojuen (a traditional Japanese garden reproducing the 53 post stations of the Tokaido).

Amakusa is a series of islands off the coast of Kumamoto, well known for its remote and rural location and its natural scenery. The front of the packaging featured the wild dolphins that can been seen around the islands as well as Oe Catholic Church, while the back featured Amakusa Tarajima Line (a sightseeing cruise that connects Kumamoto to the islands), the Ushibuka Haiya Odori (a festival of singing and dancing relating to sailors and the women at home) and the beautiful view of Myokenura Coast from Jusanbutsu Park.

This packaging celebrates southern Kumamoto with the front featuring its abundance of fish and cultivation of banpeiyu. The back featured Kumamon recommending Yatsushiro Onsen (also known as Banpeiyu Onsen) which featured banpeiyu and other citrus floating in the onsen, the beauty of Kuma River, as well as Aoi Aso Shrine (which has structures listed as National Treasures of Japan).

For northern Kumamoto, the front of the packaging featured the many onsens in the area, while the back of the packaging featured the Great Brahma Bell inside Renge-in Tanjōji in the Tamana district; ikinari dango from the town of Yamaga; and the award-winning rice farms in the Kikuchi district.

Finally, celebrating the Aso area on the front of the packaging is Kumamon on a helicopter and Puccho-kun in a parachute flying over Mt Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan and amongst the largest in the world. On the back of the packaging are Kusasenri Plateau (a prairie with a view of Mt Naka and grazing cows and horses), Nabegataki Falls in Oguni (a curtain-like waterfall), and Kurokawa Onsen (an attractive onsen town).

Each stick consisted of 10 individually wrapped pieces of candy, which are an opaque and pastel yellow colour with small opaque balls of yellow coloured gummy hidden within. Upon tasting, the candy is very chewy with considerable resistance to the teeth that softens to give way to a bright banpeiyu flavour that is slightly creamy — but without any dairy notes — and much like the fruit itself with a gentle, clear sweetness and just a hint of acidity to remind that it’s a citrus fruit. The bits embedded inside the gummy deliver a firmer texture along with a more pronounced pop of banpeiyu flavour to finish each chew.

This UHA Puccho Banpeiyu contained 5 packages each containing 10 pieces or 50 g. It was produced in Japan and purchased in Kumamoto, Japan in 2019.