Marukawa Fusen - melon

Marukawa Fusen Melon: Background & Overview

Marukawa Fusen Melon is part of the Marble Fusen Gum lineup from Marukawa Confectionery Co., Ltd. in Nagoya, Japan. Same format as always: a tiny cardboard box, four marble-sized pieces with a thin sugar coating, and a flavor that’s been made the same way since 1959.

If you want the full story on Marukawa (the company history going back to 1888, the dagashi culture, the lottery slip inside each box, why the orange is the OG), it’s all in our Marukawa Orange review. This one is just about the melon.

The melon flavor is a Japanese melon taste, which is worth flagging: Japanese melon candy doesn’t taste like a honeydew or a cantaloupe. It tastes like Japanese melon candy. Bright, slightly floral, distinctly its own thing. You either know it or you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

Our Marukawa Fusen Melon Review

Our Bubble Bunch testers tried this one and split right down the middle: one 5/5 on taste, one 3/5. The 5/5 vote came from someone who clearly got what the flavor was going for. The 3/5 came with “Flavor is good. Okay at bubbles.”

Both testers agreed the texture was Just Right. That’s the Marukawa signature: those little marble pieces chew down to a perfect consistency, soft enough to work with, firm enough to hold a bubble. It’s the same across every flavor in the lineup.

Bubbles ran ping pong to tennis ball sized, which is about what you’d expect from four tiny pieces. Duration was 7 to 8 minutes, which isn’t terrible but not that great either.

If you liked the Marukawa Orange, the melon is worth trying. Different enough to be interesting, familiar enough to feel right. Check our best bubble gum rankings to see how the full Marukawa lineup stacks up.