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The story
On a 5ch thread titled “Snacks that have already been discontinued but I want brought back,” users poured in with requests for the revival of nostalgic treats like Morinaga’s Choco Flake, Hachibun no Go-chip, and coffee-flavored gum.
But as the thread went on, a wave of corrections rolled in: “that one’s not actually discontinued.” It turned out Miyako Kombu and Bourbon’s Pikkara are both still on sale today. Calbee’s Karl, meanwhile, was never discontinued nationwide — due to poor sales in Eastern Japan, Calbee only ended sales there, and it’s still available in Western Japan. The thread’s central theme became this disconnect: snacks people thought were gone for good turned out to still be obtainable after all.
What people said
You could substitute it with the original Toblerone, though
The seaweed and curry flavors
That one hasn't been discontinued
It had animal patterns on it
A firmer, homemade-style cookie
Nissin's version is still around, though
I think it's probably still sold somewhere, but it's hard to find
The nougat used to be harder than the current version
And it turns out that one hasn't even been discontinued
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BmoQb4cIIAEjy8d.jpg
Totally get it
There's a tasty filling inside
Can't find it anywhere anymore…
The one with Maetel on the package
Like the oiled paper they used for medicated patches when you got hurt
And that cream-colored ointment, too
so why did they stop making the real Karl?
That was popular, wasn't it
It's still around?
Yeah, it is
Sales were only halted in Eastern Japan
Because sales weren't good there
That was popular, wasn't it
Ah, true
It was two rows, wasn't it
It opened on both sides
Each piece individually wrapped in foil, right?
Heh heh heh (a jingle from an old taffy-candy commercial)
A biscuit with chocolate on it
With cute pictures printed on it
Background and Talking Points on This Topic
The classic twist in these Showa- and Heisei-era candy nostalgia threads on 5ch is the “I thought it was discontinued, but it’s actually still on sale” moment. This time, too, comments were quick to correct the record on Miyako Kombu (#26) and Bourbon’s Pikkara (#19), pointing out that neither had actually been discontinued. Karl (#66) wasn’t discontinued outright either — around 2017, Calbee ended sales to Eastern Japan and switched to selling it exclusively in Western Japan. In other words, “discontinued” can mean anything from a full nationwide end of production, to a regional cutback, to simply having become hard to find — distinctions that are easy to blur when relying on memory alone. The disagreement in the thread centered on sorting out these facts, while opinions on the snacks themselves were largely in agreement. Many long-running penny candies and snacks haven’t actually vanished — they’ve simply been regionalized or swapped for successor products, and items reported as “discontinued” often turn out to still be available if you look closely.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Snacks that have already been discontinued but I want brought back.”
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