Japanese Festival Food: Candy (Toffee) Apples

Over the last few months I have been introducing the various food you can get at a Japanese festival. I started in the summer when there are a lot of festivals on. But in Japan there are festivals all year round. At the moment, in January 2025, you can find food stalls at various New Year events. In Japan, New Year is not only celebrated on January 1st, but for the first few weeks of the year. Thus, you can even try / pick up festival food even in the coldest months of the year. 

Have you ever wondered if there are candy (toffee) apples in Japan? The good news for those that are a fan; yes there are! And if you've never tried a candy apple before, now is your chance! It is a whole apple dipped in a syrupy, sugar, sweet sauce. They are on a stick which can be used as a handle so they don't get sticky. In my experience, they get a bit sticky anyway because the coating can often drip. Candy or Toffee Apples are called ringo ame in Japanese. Ringo means apple and ame means sweet or candy. Most large festivals have at least one stall selling candy apples.

The price varies by location / festival. The candy apples in the photo in this post cost 400 yen for a regular size and 600 yen for a large size. This is pretty standard in the Kanto plain. But what I liked about the candy apples that we got here is that they were completely wrapped in plastic. Often, they aren't covered at all. Also, the coating on these ones were dry so they didn't drip. 

Have you tried candy apples before? Do you have them in your home country?