ShoyeidoPlum Blossoms Incense, 150 Sticks - Baika-ju

These are my very favorite incense! I researched extensively before choosing Japanese incense, because I was craving a nice new fragrance in my home, not quite as sweet as candles or wax, but still something pleasant. From working in a shop, I already know I'm not as big a fan of most common scents of Indian incense, which are sometimes cloying, smoky, make my nose itch, or feel like they stick in the back of my throat, depending on the variety. I learned from similar reviews that Japanese incense are coreless, having no wooden stick in the center, so they burn much cleaner with less smoke, and the fragrance is much lighter as a result. Being coreless also means that these sticks are very thin. They are thicker than uncooked spaghetti noodles but a little bit thinner than a match stick, so it may also be important for you to search for the right kind of burner that supports incense of this size if you don't already have one. I burn them all throughout my house with a variety of burners I've purchased from Amazon that all hold the incense upright. That has given me the best results. It is no problem if the incense slant a little. These sticks are short enough that I never have an issue with ash falling out of smaller bowls. I also believe Shoyeido makes a burner specifically for their own incense. Just note that they do burn all the way down to the bottom, so depending on the burner, there may be times when you have difficulty removing the stub. I can usually pinch it out with my fingers or tweezers or tap it out over the trash can, or if they're really stuck, rinse with warm water.When I tried these, I was very impressed. I'm not sure what a plum blossom is supposed to smell like, but these incense have the most pleasantly sweet fragrance, not overly sweet. The operative word is sweet though, so if you don't like sweet incense, try something else. These are like the dessert of incense, so yummy. It's not perfumey or even flowery. It's difficult to describe smells, but I'll just say I haven't had anyone in my home who didn't request the product information so they could order themselves a box. This incense is 100% worth a try! If you don't like it, give it to a friend. It will make their day. These come in a beautiful box with a large supply of sticks. I gather from reviews that they are a bit shorter than other types of incense or even other varieties of Shoyeido (I did notice my Autumn Leaves are a lot longer), but they burn really slowly anyway, lasting you a long time. If you're looking for an incense that is sweet and light, please try these.

These are lovely. Clean burning. Pleasant scent. Great packaging, all sticks in good condition. Will definitely buy again. They fit perfectly in my small incense box/burner which measures about 5 ⅝".

Shoyeido's Plum Blossoms was the first Shoyeido incense I purchased. As a rookie, I at first found it sweet and fairly similar to a cheaper, but decent, Amber incense I had recently purchased. Even though I could tell it was better from the start, I was a little disappointed since the Shoyeido was more expensive.After a few sticks I realized that the Shoyeido was far more complex with many different layers to explore. Its complexity triggered something -- thoughts, emotions perhaps -- but more like approximating experiences. In other words, I was contemplating things because of what I was smelling -- I wasn't just smelling something nice. As a result, I've been buying Shoyeido ever since. I now take incense as seriously as I take music and other arts.But I'm also not rich. And incense can quickly get extremely expensive. So I've stuck with Shoyeido and their affordable line -- and I haven't been disappointed yet. I think they call it their "Daily" line. I'm not sure if Plum Blossoms falls in that line, but it's great value for the money.The scent is very pleasant. Warm. Sweet. Cinnamon-like. More of a baked roll with notes of warm vanilla and sugar -- or a donut's glazed icing. But it's all very natural. It's not like a strong candle that one-notes you with a perfumed club. What I'm describing is subtle layers that you get to decide about. You get to unwrap these layers as the scent sinks in.Over the years of burning this and the other Shoyeido products, I've learned to give them time. I do not expect to get the same experience every time. The scents don't change, but something in me does. One's that I've found pleasant (they're all basically pleasant) -- would one day became amazing. They seem to cycle around.Plum Blossoms is great. It's very agreeable and pleasant. As it was with me, it's likely a great place to start with this brand. A good place to start with good incense in general. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it.

I bought this brand after reading multiple reviews recommending it, and after I got sick of the cheap quality incense that I bought from Walmart. After trying few varities/smells of this brand I agree with the reviewer's recommendations. It is very thin and short in compared to the ones I bought from Walmart, but they smell very nice, and the smoke from them is not overwhelming. They come as described, and burn for the period of time described. The varietes I got smell very similar to each other. It is almost unoticable to the untrained nose the very suttle differences in smell. I can barely notice it the difference sometimes. It smells nothing like the package says. I tried the Frankincense variety, and it smells nothing like it. I was disappointed in it as I love the smell of Fransincense, but it smells nice nevertheless. If you buy this product from the seller's website, they will send you few samplers to try out the different varites whithin each set. Also, it is a bit cheaper on their website, but shipping is very expensive. I bought the Frankincense, Autumn Leaves, Amethyst, Mystic Jade, and Blue Topaz directly from the seller, and received an additional two variety sets of samplers. I will reitterate that they almost all smell the same, and they're expensive, so I was hesistant to try out the more expensive, and supposedly premium varieties. I bought these ones on Amason because they are selling cheaper, and I get 150 sticks (I got 152 in the box) for a good deal of a price, and like I expected, it smelled similar (or the same) to the other ones.