I learned to like these when I lived in Japan and they are a little hard to come by in the US. The price and shipping was not bad considering it came from Japan and tasted just like I remembered. Nice nostalgia and great taste. (And a great addition to salads, sandwich spreads and just plain noshing).
Love these, in the British world less like Shallotts and more like pickled leeks, but don't let this put you off, they are semi-sweet lightly pickled and wonderfully crunchy.