When I go shopping at Seiyu, I always pass by the store front, so besides buying tea leaves, I also make detours. On this day, there was a small tea snack mix on sale, so I bought a bag of "Shinshu Mix," which includes nostalgic jelly sweets made from agar, bite-sized Momoyama and chestnut manju, pumpkin shigure, and a sandwiched red bean paste in a sweet bun, among 7 different types of snacks. The name "Shinshu" comes from the fact that the manufacturer is located in Nagano Prefecture. They all have a simple taste. I really like these tea snacks. When I was a child, there were snacks like these in a wooden snack bowl with a lid. My grandmother and mother liked these kinds of snacks. They used to serve them with hot Japanese tea. Although the Amabie figure is not a food item, it's nice to see such cute items being sold. It comes with a red string attached, and oh, there's a fortune slip inside! When you gently pull it out, the fortune slip rolls up like a scroll. I won't mention the result, but it was not bad. Since my mother liked cute things, I put it next to the family altar. I'm sure it will protect us. I hope for a return to a peaceful daily life this year. Thank you for the meal.

I stopped by to buy tea leaves. There were cute Kyoto-style half-sweets lined up. If you buy them together, they will put them in a special paper box, but I bought 4 separately. These are products of Katsuriki Co., Ltd. in Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, which sells Kyoto confectionery. Each one is individually wrapped and has a name. I chose Enzan (Autumn) and Yakiimo Matsutake Yumemomo Usagi Kanten Jelly, which has a gentle sweetness that goes well with Japanese tea. Another tea snack is the can of cookies from the famous "Red Hat," Cookiea Matcha Chocolate. It is a waffle on the outside and a thin baked cookie on the inside, with whipped chocolate mixed with Gyokuro and matcha sandwiched in between. It doesn't taste too much like chocolate, more like matcha cream. A crispy individually wrapped baked snack that is enjoyable to eat. This time, the tea leaves are "Usubone Sencha," made from tea leaves harvested during the production of matcha. "Usubone" refers to the veins of the leaves, which are usually reborn as matcha. It is interesting to be able to enjoy it as tea, so I picked it up. It has a refreshing green color and a delicious taste with more sweetness than bitterness. The price is 756 yen for 90g. There are many affordable and delicious teas available, so it's always a pleasure to go shopping there.

Yes, on this day, I visited Nagayama while slightly tipsy, in search of WD snacks. You might wonder why Kinshicho? Well, I had my eye on a certain item there. It's these bite-sized sheep jelly candies for 100 yen each, with probably a total of 21 flavors: black sesame, Japanese black tea, blueberry, salt, yabukita tea, aoi daidai, black bamboo, red plum, white bamboo, strawberry, coffee, green chestnut, melon, sweet potato, cherry blossom, koyama tea, azuki bean, brown chestnut, black soybean, yuzu, and roasted green tea. Phew, just writing them all out made me tired! I bought all of them and got a complimentary tea when I paid. I took a sip and paid. Oh, these are enough for three people, so I shared them with my friends later. They sent their thanks and feedback later. They particularly liked the red plum, yuzu, and roasted green tea flavors. I'm curious about the strawberry flavor, so I'll try it next time. Thank you, WD, as always!

At Kinzono, in addition to tea leaves and coffee, they also sell pickled plums, rice crackers, bean snacks, simmered dishes, and delicacies. They have seasonal and limited quantity sweets, so it's always worth checking out when passing by the shop. On this day, I discovered the "Hokkaido Camembert Cheese Sandwich" displayed on the shelves. I love cheese, so I had to try it. I've had various cheese sandwiches before, but this one is really delicious. It's made by Olson Co., Ltd. in Eniwa City, Hokkaido, using natural cheese, processed cheese, and butter, so it's not too salty. The mild cheese flavor is irresistible. The cod surimi patties are moist and have a sweetness and umami flavor. So, you don't get tired of eating it. Before I knew it, I had eaten almost half of it! I actually bought it three times from the shop since it was first displayed. It's a limited edition product, and there are currently no plans to restock at the shop. According to Olson's website, it can be ordered online, but I hope they restock it at the shop. Thank you for the delicious meal.

This is a chain store located in the food floor of Granard Nagayama that sells tea and seaweed. I first met Mr. Kaneko in my hometown of Koenji. When I was little, my mother and I used to visit the shop near the north exit when we went shopping. Mr. Kaneko's main store is in Koenji. Nowadays, I see Mr. Kaneko's shops everywhere. I have been a regular customer at this local store for a long time. I have visited many times to buy tea leaves, but I have never reviewed it until now. In addition to tea leaves and seaweed, they also sell coffee beans, tea sweets, pickled plums, and pickles for tea. On this day, I bought the popular bite-sized yokan and instant coffee "Craftsman's Coffee." The bite-sized yokan is a small square shape and there are various types neatly arranged on a special small shelf labeled "Yokan Buffet." This yokan is produced by the famous Mochizuki Tea Amazake Honpo in Shizuoka, and even though it is small, it is a great product. The company is known as the originator of tea amazake production and also makes yokan. This time, I bought chestnut and yuzu yokan. The chestnut yokan contains chopped chestnuts. The yuzu yokan has a refreshing sweetness with white kidney bean paste. They are delicious and only cost 108 yen each. I also recommend the tea yokan. Craftsman's Coffee is a familiar instant coffee that you can always buy at a great price. When you buy products and go to pay, they always serve you warm tea as a courtesy. I will continue to rely on them in the future.

I stopped by on a weekday evening in January 2017. This Kinshoen is located inside the shopping center "Greenard Nagayama" right in front of Odakyu Tama Line Nagayama Station. Kinshoen is known for its Japanese tea specialty, but I, a commoner, was there for instant coffee. At that time, UCC's "Craftsman's Coffee" was being sold for 277 yen excluding tax. I bought it because I was running out of instant coffee at home and opened it the next morning.