Updated on 13 October 2026. The original 2007 post is kept below.
Wasps, but make it crunchy
The crackers are called jibachi senbei, “digger wasp rice crackers”, and they come from Omachi in Nagano prefecture, in the mountains of central Japan. They were created with a local wasp fans’ club, and Reuters covered them in 2007. Boiled and dried wasps are mixed into a classic rice-cracker dough, so each cracker comes studded with whole wasps.
It’s less random than it sounds. In rural central Japan, eating wasps and wasp larvae has a long history. Hachinoko (wasp larvae simmered in soy sauce and sugar) is a traditional speciality of Nagano, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization lists wasps among the insects eaten in Japan.
No stings were reported. The scariest part is the look.
More bug snacks: canned silkworm pupae and chocolate covered ants.
From the 2007 original
Time for all insect cracker lovers to head for Japan! A factory in in the Japanese city of Omachi has began the production on wasp crackers.
Here’s what they say at the Reuters:
“Jibachi senbei, or a digger wasp rice cracker, is held at a factory in Omachi town 200 km (124 miles) northwest of Tokyo September 4, 2007. A Japanese fan club for wasps has added the insects to rice crackers, saying the result adds a waspish scent to the traditional fare.”
