あてるい
It has been about 2 months since my last errand in Tachikawa. Last time, I brought back Western-style sweets as a souvenir, so this time I decided to go with baked goods. On my way there, as I was wandering around the south side of Tachikawa Station's central concourse after exiting the east ticket gate of JR Tachikawa Station, I stumbled upon a shop I had never seen before at the corner near the main entrance of Granduo. From the concourse, the small shop only had a counter facing outside towards the main entrance side, and it was constantly visited by young women and high school girls. Looking at the signboard next to the shop, it was a specialty store for Press Butter Sand, and they were selling a limited edition Press Butter Sand Chestnut until the end of that week. I immediately decided to buy it on my way back. After finishing my errand with the Tama Monorail round trip, I headed towards JR Tachikawa Station South Exit, which had become dimly lit due to the evening setting in. When I was young, I was often brought to the north side where department stores like Nakabu, Isetan, and Takashimaya were lined up. At that time, the south side was deserted and I had no memory of ever going there. However, looking at it from Tama Monorail Tachikawa Minami Station side that day, I saw Ecute and Hotel Mets on the left, and Granduo's station building on the right, a glamorous scenery that had completely transformed from the past. I felt like I was in a different world. When I went to the shop, there were no other customers, and I was able to quickly purchase the item I was looking for. It was convenient that they accepted various electronic money and credit cards in addition to cash. The polite service of the young female staff was also very pleasing. That weekend, I ate the Press Butter Sand with my family. I was told that the shop is part of the same group as BAKE in Jiyugaoka, which our family has been using for a long time, and it became a hot topic about 1-2 years ago. When I actually tasted it, it was completely different from the Marusei Butter Sand from Rokkatei in Obihiro that I immediately thought of. The hardness and aroma of the cookie dough on both sides, and the faint chestnut-like flavor of the cream sandwiched in the middle left a strong impression. I am weak when it comes to limited edition items, so I ended up buying the chestnut flavor because of the store advertisement, but my family said, "We wanted to try the regular one first." Next time I go to Tachikawa, I would like to buy the regular Butter Sand.