🍫 Discover Popular Japanese Snacks Through a Fun Guessing Quiz!

Can you guess a Japanese snack from clues about its color, shape, and appearance?

Japanese Snacks (にほんのおかし) is a Level 2 Japanese Reader that introduces learners to popular Japanese snacks through an engaging question-and-answer quiz.

Instead of simply memorizing snack names, students use Japanese reading, observation, and prediction to solve each quiz.

The book begins with a cheerful invitation:

みて。にほんの おかし。 Look! Japanese snacks!

おかしの クイズ しよう！ Let’s do a snack quiz!

The opening photograph also offers a wonderful opportunity for pre-reading activities. Before beginning the quiz, students can look at the different snacks together and describe their colors, shapes, sizes, and appearance using familiar Japanese vocabulary.

Teachers can write useful descriptive words on the board or encourage students to record them in their notebooks. As the quiz progresses, learners use these words and their observations to read the clues, recall what they have seen, and predict each answer.

Japanese expressions from the book:

この おかしは なに？ What’s this snack?

ぴんくと ちゃいろ。さんかく。 Pink and brown. Triangle.

アポロ！ Apollo!

Students continue discovering popular Japanese snacks, including Choco Baby, Kinoko no Yama, Choco Pie, Caplico, Pocky, Collon, Yukimi Daifuku, and Koala’s March.

Each quiz introduces different descriptive clues, helping learners recognize colors, shapes, sizes, ingredients, and expressions such as ～みたい.

The repeated この おかしは なに？ question provides a familiar reading pattern, while the changing clues encourage students to read carefully and think about meaning.

Hiragana, Katakana with reading support, and selected Kanji with furigana help learners recognize new vocabulary and develop confidence.

At the end of the book, students are invited to share their preferences:

どれが すき？ Which one do you like?

What makes this reader special?

The guessing format encourages students to use Japanese for a real purpose: reading clues and discovering an answer.

Beginning with a shared photograph allows learners to activate familiar vocabulary before reading, while each new quiz gives them another opportunity to apply what they know.

The book also introduces the creativity of Japanese snack makers through real products with playful shapes and designs.

By combining pre-reading discussion, predictable Japanese, authentic photographs, and interactive guessing activities, this reader helps beginners experience the satisfaction of understanding Japanese independently.

Which Japanese snack would you like to try?

🎯 Language Features in This Level 2 Japanese Reader

📖 Students will practise:

• Pre-reading observation – Looking at the opening photograph and identifying familiar colors, shapes, and snack-related vocabulary before reading
• Activating prior knowledge – Recalling previously learned Japanese words to prepare for the guessing quiz
• Reading simple questions – Understanding the repeated question この おかしは なに？
• Question-and-answer reading – Reading clues and recognizing the snack name revealed on the following page
• Color vocabulary – Recognizing ぴんく、ちゃいろ、しろい
• Shape vocabulary – Understanding さんかく and まるい
• Describing size and appearance – Reading ちいさい、ほそい、かわいい、つぶつぶ
• The particle と – Connecting colors and ingredients, such as ぴんくと ちゃいろ and チョコレートと クリーム
• Position words – Recognizing 上、下、中 when describing different parts of a snack
• Describing similarities – Understanding ～みたい, as in おもち みたい
• Hiragana reading – Reading short, accessible clues using familiar Japanese words
• Katakana recognition – Reading snack names and borrowed words with Hiragana support
• Selected Kanji – Recognizing 上、下、山、中 with furigana
• Japanese food vocabulary – Learning words related to chocolate, cream, mochi, and other snacks
• Reading for meaning – Using written descriptions rather than relying only on individual word recognition
• Making predictions – Combining clues and observations to identify each snack
• Expressing preferences – Understanding どれが すき？
• Independent reading – Building confidence through short, predictable, meaningful Japanese descriptions

🌟 Additional Reading Challenge:

Although the book uses a familiar question throughout, some clues introduce language that goes beyond basic color and shape vocabulary.

Students who are ready for more challenging activities can explore:

• Comparing appearance – Understanding ～みたい, such as しろい。おもち みたい。
• Describing position – Reading 上は チョコ。下は コーン。
• Recognizing Kanji – Using furigana to understand 上、下、中、山
• Reading Katakana product names – Recognizing チョコパイ、カプリコ、ポッキー
• Combining several clues – Understanding how multiple descriptive words refer to the same snack
• Building a vocabulary bank – Organizing familiar words for colors, shapes, sizes, and ingredients
• Creating an original guessing quiz – Writing short Japanese clues about another snack using patterns from the reader
• Explaining predictions – Identifying which Japanese words helped them guess correctly

For an extension activity, students can choose a snack and write two or three simple Japanese clues without revealing its name.

Classmates then read the descriptions and try to identify the snack.

This encourages learners to move from understanding descriptive Japanese to using familiar language to communicate their own ideas.

💡 Why This Matters for Beginners:

Japanese Snacks (にほんのおかし) helps students progress from recognizing individual Japanese words to using several pieces of written information to understand meaning.

The opening photograph provides a useful starting point. Students can observe the snacks, recall familiar vocabulary, and prepare for reading before encountering the written clues.

This pre-reading preparation helps learners approach the text with confidence because they already recognize some of the words and ideas they will need.

The repeated この おかしは なに？ question then provides a predictable structure, allowing students to concentrate on the changing descriptions.

To solve each quiz, learners must connect information about color, shape, size, and appearance rather than guess from a single word.

Authentic photographs help confirm their understanding, while Hiragana reading support and furigana make unfamiliar scripts more accessible.

Each successful prediction gives students a clear sense of achievement.

Through observation, vocabulary recall, reading comprehension, and prediction, students begin to discover that they can understand Japanese independently.

📖 Level 2 Japanese Reader Details

Japanese Reader Level: Level 2
Recommended for: Beginner Japanese learners developing confidence with short descriptive texts
Language Focus: この おかしは なに？, colors, shapes, sizes, descriptive expressions, と, 上・下・中, ～みたい, and short responses
Vocabulary Theme: Popular Japanese snacks, colors, shapes, sizes, ingredients, and appearance
Cultural Theme: Popular Japanese snacks and everyday food culture
Script: Hiragana, Katakana, and selected Kanji with furigana
Character Count: 325
Pages: 20
Text Type: Factual Description / Guessing Quiz
Product Type: A5 saddle-stitched booklet
ISBN: 978-1-925808-02-5

✅ Perfect For

• Beginner Japanese learners
• Primary and elementary school Japanese programs
• Beginning secondary school Japanese students
• Students progressing from simple questions to short descriptive texts
• Pre-reading picture discussions and vocabulary-building activities
• Japanese colors, shapes, and sizes vocabulary units
• Developing reading comprehension through prediction
• Introducing Katakana snack and food vocabulary
• Recognizing selected Kanji with furigana
• Learning descriptive expressions such as ～みたい
• Japanese food and snack culture lessons
• Interactive guessing quizzes and classroom discussions
• Students creating their own Japanese quizzes
• Guided and independent Japanese reading
• Extensive Reading (Tadoku)
• Classroom libraries and home reading

🎧 Teaching & Learning Resources

Explore our free Resource Library for Levels 1–3.

Teaching and learning resources:

• 🎧 Audio recordings – Narrated by Mariko Sensei; check the Resource Library for availability
• 📖 English translation – Support understanding of the Japanese snack quiz
• 💻 Quizlet vocabulary activities – Practise and review Japanese snack vocabulary

🏫 Teaching a Class? Explore the Japanese Snacks Class Set

Turn Japanese reading into an interactive classroom guessing activity with printed readers and a matching password-protected Online Flipbook.

Teachers can begin by displaying the opening photograph on an interactive whiteboard and inviting students to identify familiar colors, shapes, and snack vocabulary.

A simple word bank on the classroom board can help students recall useful Japanese before beginning the quiz.

As students read, teachers can display each clue, encourage predictions, and reveal the answers while students follow along in their own books.

After reading, students can create their own snack quizzes using vocabulary and sentence patterns from the reader.

The Class Set is available with 10, 15, 20, or 25 printed readers, together with access to the matching Online Flipbook.

🍫 Explore the Japanese Snacks Class Set & Online Flipbook

💜 A Note from Mariko Sensei

Japanese snacks are much more than something to eat.

One of the things I wanted to share through this book is the creativity that goes into making snacks for children in Japan.

Japanese snack makers produce an amazing variety of treats in different shapes, colors, sizes, and designs.

Some look like little mushrooms, some resemble ice cream cones, and others feature familiar animals or characters.

I wanted learners to discover this playful side of Japanese food culture while developing their reading skills.

That is why I created Japanese Snacks (にほんのおかし) as a guessing quiz.

Rather than simply introducing the names of popular snacks, I wanted students to look carefully, read simple Japanese descriptions, think about the clues, and discover each answer for themselves.

The repeated question provides familiarity, while the changing clues encourage students to apply vocabulary they already know.

I am especially grateful to Ezaki Glico, Lotte, and Meiji for allowing their wonderful snack products to be featured in this book.

Their cooperation has helped me introduce real Japanese snacks to learners who may not yet have had the opportunity to visit Japan.

I hope students enjoy discovering these snacks, learning new Japanese words, and perhaps creating their own guessing quizzes.

Most importantly, I hope they experience the satisfaction of reading the clues and discovering the answers for themselves.

“I did it! I read it myself!”

Happy reading!

— Mariko Sensei

📖 Your Next Japanese Reader

Continue developing Japanese reading confidence with these carefully graded readers.

🌸 What Is It? (これ なに？) – Level 1 — Reinforce simple question-and-answer reading while discovering the shapes of traditional Japanese wagashi.
🎨 What Color Are the Body Parts? (からだは なにいろ？) – Level 2 — Apply familiar color and shape vocabulary to descriptions of Japanese characters and mascots.
🛍️ How Much Is It? (いくらですか？) – Level 3 — Progress to practical shopping dialogues, prices, and quantities in Japanese stores.
🍰 Sweets (スイーツ) – Level 4 — Explore longer descriptive Japanese through a real cake shop in Utsunomiya, with authentic photographs and Katakana food vocabulary.

📚 Explore More Japanese Reader Packs

🌱 Beginner Hiragana Readers Starter Pack — Build reading confidence from simple Hiragana words to short Japanese sentences and stories.
🏫 Primary & Elementary School Japanese Readers Pack — Support young learners with engaging stories, descriptive texts, and Japanese cultural topics.
🎓 Junior High School Japanese Readers Pack — Support Years 7–10 Japanese programs with progressively leveled readers.
📚 All Japanese Readers Pack — Explore our complete collection of graded Japanese readers, from beginner to advanced levels.
🖥️ Japanese Reader Class Sets & Online Flipbooks — Discover classroom reading sets with printed readers and password-protected online flipbook access.

📌 Important Information

This Japanese Reader is designed for individual reading and Japanese Extensive Reading (Tadoku).

For classroom teaching, schools can purchase the Japanese Snacks Class Set & Online Flipbook.

Copyright © Mariko Earle. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, distributed, or shared without prior permission from the copyright holder.