Kyoto Sandalwood Incense Sticks - Japanese Temple Aroma, Ideal for Relaxation & Meditation, Approx. 60 Sticks (0.044 Pounds) - Premium Quality Incense for Spiritual & Home Use Nagomikobo

Clean packaging, great smell.

So strong the box smells like sandalwood, very good scent burns well, easy clean up. Sticks are smaller than all my others, but there's a lot more of them and that's what is important to me

Initially, when I smelled the box, it had a sour odor. I was skeptical that i would like it. However the scent while burning was quite pleasant. Since the information said it was handcrafted in Japan, I would think that this is good quality. I gifted a box and kept one for myself. I’d buy again.

Love the scent

several problems with this product. (This is from someone who travels frequently to Kyoto) 1 - they sticks are quite short, and have no wood stem tip 2 - as a result, there is a very short burn time 3 - you need to burn about 4 at a time to get ANY sort of scent 4 - hinoki scent (when you can smell it) feels synthetic. it's not that it is subtle, it's simply non-existent unfortunately not a value for the money.

If you want an Aesop dupe these are the ones for you! I have the real and these are a great dupe for it

This smells like you in a field of green tea.

No. It didn’t smell sandlewood. Not very good.

Beautiful earthy, fragrant scent. There’s no perfume so it’s not overpowering at all and no charcoal smell either. A pure burn and a clean scent.

All was good

The aromas even prior to lighting were pleasant. When burned, the smell is not overwhelming and the scent of sandalwood is still present. The price is quite steep, but I use this as a special treat as opposed to an every day incense.

Incense is a very personal thing so I find it difficult to review and even harder to choose one based on reviews. The more objective parts: Burns evenly and completely with a low amount of clean, white smoke. Ash is light grey and it takes a long time to drop (positioned vertically it doesn't drop until you're about 2/3rds of the way down the stick). And onto the more subjective parts Both my partner and like Japanese incense, though we have slightly different tastes (he prefers sweeter scents, I lean towards fresher scents), and curiously we can find different ones overpowering. We both love the scent of this while it's burning, though for him it's quite strong and one he prefers it in a different room, while I find it one I can't get enough of and have no problem with it in the same room (this is unusual, as I'm usually the more sensitive of the two). I'm awful at describing scents, my best attempt is a slightly spicy earthy scent, with undertones of wet grass and a hint of warmth. I find it very fresh and there's a subtle sweetness if you look for it (but it's very light). I was going to give it 4* because I struggle with the unburnt scent - to the point I've had to put the box into a sealed plastic box because I find it strong enough to overpower a room on it's own and I don't particularly like it - very earthy and damp smelling, however this seems to be a difference in our tastes as he finds it barely noticeable and not particularly bothersome, so rather than mark the product down I'm going to chalk that up to a quirk of my own sense of smell (which may well be a bit attuned to damp smells based on some of my prior living conditions), especially as it's easy to work around with the plastic box and the important part of incense is burning it. Once it's burning I find the smell divine and deeply relaxing.

I enjoy trying different incense and was immediately drawn to these because of the understated, minimalist packaging, which feels very refined and fits the Japanese aesthetic well. The box contains a generous number of sticks, and although they’re shorter than many others, each one burns for just under half an hour, which makes them reasonably good value. The osmanthus scent itself is soft, calming and well suited to quiet moments like meditation or winding down in the evening. It isn’t overpowering or heavy, which I really appreciate, and it creates a gentle atmosphere rather than filling the room with thick smoke. That said, the fragrance doesn’t hang in the air for very long once the stick has finished burning, so the effect is more short-lived than some other incense I’ve used. When standing very close, there can also be a slightly woody, smoky note that isn’t quite as pleasant. One thing to be aware of is how delicate the sticks are. They need careful handling as they snap easily, and because they don’t have a bamboo core, they won’t fit all standard incense holders. You may need a suitable burner or a bit of improvisation to use them comfortably. Overall, these incense sticks offer a lovely, refined scent and a clean burn, but they do come with a few usability downsides. If you’re after a gentle, calming aroma for shorter sessions and don’t mind handling them carefully, they’re a nice option.