Mikado. It looks like a fake Pocky impersonator, doesn’t it? But on closer inspection I can see that it is actually made by Glico, as is Pocky (in fact, Pocky’s Wiki page actually says “In Europe, Pocky was renamed Mikado“). [Edit: I have been corrected. Mikado is not actually made by Glico, it is manufactured under license from Ezaki Glico Co. LTD JAPAN for Europe to Kraft Foods.] Mikado’s website seems to just be a Facebook page (mikado.com redirects UK customers to Facebook), but it’s quite informative. It says that Mikado was inspired by the game more commonly known as “pick up sticks“, which I actually used to love playing when I was a child!
So, how does Mikado compare to Pocky? It’s pretty much the same actually! I bought the new “Totally (hazel) Nuts” version, which is milk chocolate with nuts. It’s really yummy, and just as moreish as Pocky. My only complaint is that the sticks come in one huge pack inside, whereas Pocky usually comes in a few smaller packs (making it slightly less likely that I will eat them all in one go).
Haikugirl's Japan 
That squirrel reminded me of Ice Age, the cartoon. 😉
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Haha – yeah, I can see that! Thanks for stopping by, London Caller. Your site looks really interesting.
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You haven’t seen the slightly dodgy photocopier ad for them then?
I was also curious how they could use the name Mikado, as there was a biscuit going back to at least the late sixties with this name. (Although the pick-up-sticks reference makes more sense for a reason to name a biscuit Mikado) Then I saw on Wikipedia that Kraft acquired the company that made that biscuit.
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Haha – no, I haven’t seen that ad!
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Haha omg I love the squirrel on the package! This is so cute!
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Oh yeah I know Mikado! Both the game Mikado (which I used to play as a kid) and the snack (which I used to eat as a kid). Never realized that it was in fact Pocky!
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Haha – had you never seen them in the Uk before? When I first saw one of your blog posts about Pocky I thought..hmmm, that looks like Mikado! Makes sense that they wouldn´t use the original name here – it sounds as if it´s some kind of rare illness!
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Yeah, I did see them at xmas, but they didn’t exist (I think) before I left England. Haha – I supposed Pocky does sounds a bit funny! 😉
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Ooh, I want Hazelnut Pocky now!
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There is an inaccuracy in your statement which I’ll quote:
“made by Glico”
In actual fact Mikado is not made by Gilco but in fact is manufactured under license from Ezaki Glico Co. LTD JAPAN for Europe to none other than Kraft Foods (every Mikado box has there logo on the back lower right.)
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Thanks so much for correcting me, James! I guess I saw the Glico logo on the back and assumed it was made by Glico. Sorry about that! 🙂
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