Lunch after returning from going out. A standard bento box and a small sweet treat, which is a common combination. The red tea yokan from Toraya is delicious. I bought it at Yasuda Michi-no-Eki. It's been a while since I had a regular bento and yokan. The red tea yokan is made using high-quality domestically produced red tea from Ishitobi in Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture. Ground tea leaves are mixed with white bean paste and refined. You can enjoy the naturally sweet and fragrant aroma and rich flavor of red tea. The standard combination of a bento box and a small sweet treat is a part of everyday life. Toraya Izutsuya Kokura Store 093-522-2056 1-1 Funamachi, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture Izutsuya Kokura Store B1F.

At Toraya in the basement of Idemitsu, I purchased honey, fresh greenery, and Omokage. There are several types available, but the night plum is a small Kuronuki yokan. The texture is just right, not too hard or too soft. It has a perfect balance of sweetness, not too sweet, and is delicious yokan. The honey yokan is orange in color and looks beautiful. Just one bite and the delicious taste of honey spreads in your mouth. The Omokage yokan has black sugar in it. All of them are delicious with no misses. They are sure to be a hit as a souvenir♪

There is a sales location of the famous Tokyo store "Toraya" at the Idemitsu Department Store. It is said that if you bring something from "Toraya" as an apology, it is a sure way to be forgiven. I once received a gift from there and it was so delicious that I went to buy it myself, but I was surprised by how expensive it was and ended up not buying it. This time, I bought a mini yokan for 291 yen to eat by myself. It is small in size, but it is still delicious. This could definitely help calm down someone's anger, depending on the situation.

Matcha water yokan (jelly) for 324 yen [Energy: 138kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g]. I left it in the refrigerator for 2 months, actually I forgot about it. I realized it yesterday and decided to try it. It was surprisingly delicious. The sweetness was quite mild and the matcha flavor was not overpowering, a perfect combination. It was also nice and cold, which added to the enjoyment. I enjoyed it very much.

I visited the third department store basement roller, Toraya, and purchased a box of 6 pieces of manju. The box contained 2 pieces of Miyoshi's spring red (white bean paste), 2 pieces of Miyoshi's spring white (smooth bean paste), and 2 pieces of Yasaka (sweet bean paste). Miyoshi's spring manju are shaped like flowers, while Yasaka manju are round with flower patterns. I tried the Yasaka manju first. The sweet bean paste was not overly sweet, and the manju was delicious. However, it does stick to the roof of the mouth (laughs). I still have more department store basement rollers to visit, but for today, this is it. There are still quite a few specialty stores in the department store basement that I have yet to visit, so I will post about them when I do. I will also post about other items I have tried at various stores.

Toraya's yokan. It's a high-end product. My family brought home various flavors, so there's a battle going on. I managed to get the black tea flavor. I had only ever tried the regular flavors before, so I was surprised by the black tea flavor yokan! It is made using domestically produced black tea "Ten no Kocha" from Ito in the mountainous area of Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture. Ground tea leaves are mixed with white bean paste and carefully kneaded. Enjoy the rich aroma of black tea and the sweetness that spreads in your mouth. No artificial coloring is used, allowing the natural color of black tea to shine through. You can see the attention to detail. The texture is chewy and rich, like yokan that has been further condensed. The familiar red bean yokan is complemented by a subtle black tea flavor. Sometimes, having a traditional Japanese sweet with tea time is nice.