Calbee Kappa Ebisen Shrimp Chips Sakura Shrimp

Sakura shrimp — known in Japanese as sakura ebi — are a small, translucent freshwater shrimp harvested almost exclusively from Suruga Bay in Shizuoka Prefecture, one of the few places in the world where the species is found in commercial quantities.

They are named for their pink color, which deepens when dried, and for the season in which the spring harvest arrives — the same weeks that cherry blossoms bloom across Japan.

Dried sakura shrimp are one of the most delicate and aromatic seafood ingredients in Japanese cuisine, prized for a flavor that is lighter, sweeter, and more fragrant than standard shrimp.

The Kappa Ebisen Sakura Shrimp uses 100% sakura shrimp — both fresh and dried — ground into the dough using the same whole-ingredient technique as the standard Kappa Ebisen, but reformulated significantly for the 2026 release after a five-year gap.

The manufacturing process and ingredient ratios were adjusted to produce a texture that is notably lighter and more melt-in-the-mouth than both the standard version and previous editions of the sakura shrimp variety: what Calbee describes as “fuwatto hodokeru kuchidoke” — a soft, dissolving quality that opens immediately on the tongue.

The dough is tinted a gentle pink from red koji pigment, reflecting the color of the sakura shrimp themselves.

The flavor is quieter than standard Kappa Ebisen in every dimension — less salt, less intensity, more fragrance.

Hotate (scallop) extract powder adds a faint oceanic sweetness that supports the sakura shrimp’s natural character without competing with it.

Reviewers consistently describe it as more delicate and refined than the regular version, and recommend eating it slowly rather than by the handful — advice that is, predictably, difficult to follow.

Manufactured at Calbee’s Setouchi Hiroshima Factory, which opened in January 2025.

The first Kappa Ebisen product to come out of that facility. A spring-season limited release, available while supplies last.

About this item
Item Name : Kappa Ebisen Sakura Shrimp
Brand : Calbee
Item Form : Snacks
Number of Items : 50g (Pack of 1)