After having lunch in Minamimori-cho, I stumbled upon "駿 surugaya," a stylish shop that turned out to be a traditional Japanese confectionery store. It seemed like they were featured on a TV program as today's recommended spot. They had beautifully displayed vibrant yokan sweets. They also had tube-shaped strawberry mousse cakes that looked delicious. I decided to buy some items that were easy to take home and had a long shelf life. However, we couldn't resist and ended up having half of them for dessert after dinner. ★Tsutsumi Chestnut (378 yen) - Chestnut, white bean paste, and pie crust were so delicious! It was small but had a great balance of flavors. ★Chestnut Dorayaki (300 yen) - It was tasty, but a bit on the smaller side. The individual packaging was a plus. They provided paper bags and plastic carrier bags for free. I paid with PayPay.

On a rainy Sunday, my wife and I went for a walk and decided to visit Surugaya in Sunamachi Morimachi for the first time. Later, I found out that this is a branch of the well-known traditional store "Sohonke Surugaya," which is famous for its refined yokan. Surugaya in Sunamachi Morimachi is a new brand by Sohonke Surugaya, and it opened on October 20, 2021. The address is 2-17 Koubai-cho, Osaka City, Kita-ku, in the 8th Tabuchi Building 1F, just a 3-minute walk from Minami-morimachi Station on the Osaka Metro and Osaka Tenmangu Station on the JR Tozai Line. We arrived at the shop around 1:00 PM. There was a modern door frame and glass exterior, with a noren curtain hanging. There was no line outside. We used the alcohol disinfectant on the right side of the store entrance to sanitize our hands, and then we were allowed to take photos inside the store. Besides the main yokan, there were also other traditional Japanese sweets like dorayaki available. Unfortunately, the seasonal yomogi kashiwa mochi was sold out by the morning. The staff mentioned that the sales can vary depending on the day. We found a collaboration product with ROUTE271, a famous bakery in the PanWEST 100 stores, which was a sandwich made with Surugaya's yokan and butter. It's only available on weekends and holidays, and we were lucky to find it! My wife ordered the RS Sandwich (Yoru no Ume, refined yokan), white kashiwa mochi, and a small assortment of yokan as a souvenir for our family visit. After paying, we thanked the staff at Surugaya in Sunamachi Morimachi and left the shop. When we got home, we unwrapped the nylon packaging and took photos of the sweets under the sunlight. We shared them as snacks and for breakfast. The white kashiwa mochi, available since April 21, had a lovely scent of oak leaves when we opened the package. The white mochi with sweet bean paste was delicious and elegant. The RS Sandwich, made with bread, yokan, and butter, was surprisingly not too sweet, with a great balance of flavors. The walnut in the hard bread added a nice texture. We wish they would remove the weekday limitations on this item. My husband: Thank you for the meal! It was delicious! We will definitely come back!

I visited a modern Japanese sweets store in Himeji, which was launched by a collaboration between the traditional "Osaka Honke Surugaya" and the popular Himeji-based "Amaneya" under the supervision of "Amaneya." The store had a modern and creative design, offering a variety of sweets including refined yokan, dorayaki, fruit daifuku, mochi, and chestnut manju. I tried their signature "Nama Tsubu Yokan Dorayaki" and the "Kogata Yokan" in matcha pistachio flavor, both of which were delicious and made with high-quality ingredients. The staff was friendly and the store had a young and appealing atmosphere. I recommend visiting with some extra time as it can get crowded on weekends due to its limited space.

Dorayaki ○: The skin is thicker and chewier than a typical dorayaki. When filled with red bean paste, it becomes even thicker and more satisfying to eat. Chestnut Pie ◎: A Western-style Japanese confection where sweetened chestnuts are wrapped in pie crust. It is high in calories but delicious. Manju ○: A simple and traditional steamed bun.

There are no photos, but the An Butter French bread was the most delicious, and I wondered where it was from. I missed out on the dorayaki, and all that was left was the monaka. The matcha filling in the monaka was not very strong, with a slightly coarse texture like powdered rice cakes.

I bought kashiwa-mochi and chimaki for the Children's Day celebration. There were many other traditional Japanese sweets that I wanted to try as well. The store has a great sense of style in its interior, products, and packaging.