I received a grape daifuku! It's delicious! When you bite into it, the grape juice spreads out instantly. Oh, who came up with this genius idea? It's so good that I can't believe I haven't tried it before. It's a seasonal item, so if you haven't tried it yet, go buy it now. This will be my go-to gift for a while.

I had strawberry daifuku [seasonal limited edition] and peach daifuku [seasonal limited edition], thank you for the meal♪ The shop is located on the 1st floor of Hakata Deitos, directly connected from JR Hakata Station. I visited around 7 p.m. on a weekday. I took out the seasonal limited edition strawberry daifuku and peach daifuku. The taste of a long-established shop. It was delicious.

I bought a dorayaki called "Kanbee-yaki" at a place called "Nanbo An" here. It was beautifully baked and fluffy, giving off a sense of automation, but the taste was good. What's more, as a fan of the "Nobunaga's Ambition" era, I get excited when I see the name of the brilliant military strategist from the Sengoku period, Kuroda Kanbei. I'm more of a fan of Takenaka Hanbei though.

I was doing some window shopping at a store selling souvenirs when I noticed a product called Hakata Yoka Imo, which is like a sweet potato made from domestically grown satsumaimo. I saw someone purchasing it, so I became curious and decided to buy some as well. The packaging was cute and individual, making it perfect for gifts.

When leaving Fukuoka and getting ready to board the Shinkansen, I wandered around the station thinking about buying something to take back home. I remembered how much I liked the Chikushi Mochi from Joshuan on my last trip, so I went to check it out. That's when I found the limited edition Strawberry Daifuku (6 pieces for ¥1,485). It's not just sweet, but it also has a nice balance of sweet and sour flavors with the strawberry's acidity complementing the white bean paste and soft mochi. The acidity of the strawberry really enhances the deliciousness of the daifuku, as advertised on their website. The overall taste is refreshing and has a nice sharpness to it, not just being overly sweet. The balance between sweetness and acidity is perfect. I really like this strawberry daifuku. I might end up buying it again next time I visit Fukuoka, maybe along with some Chikushi Mochi (I'm still not sure about the difference between Chikushi Mochi and Shingen Mochi).

I found this snack at Nyusui-an inside Daimaru at Hakata Station. On the first day of my business trip to Fukuoka, I decided to buy all the souvenirs. I thought my wife and second son would like it, so I bought it. It's a pack of 3 "Hakata Yokaimo" for 260 yen (tax included). "Hakata Yokaimo" means "Have you already taken it?" in Hakata dialect. It reminds me of a 3-year-old boy who used to live in the same apartment building when I was in Fukuoka, and he would say "Do you know?" as in "Shittoto?" It made me smile. This snack is very moist and tastes like the essence of sweet potatoes is condensed. It's sweet and delicious, almost like sweet potato pie. The sweet potatoes are of the "Takakei 14" variety from "Pokkuru Farm" in Miyazaki Prefecture, which is said to be a parent variety of Naruto Kintoki. Mascarpone cheese is also used as a hidden flavor, so it should be delicious. The design of the "to" on the individual packaging is also very interesting. It resembles the characters that appeared in the manga I used to read a lot during my student days. It reminds me of the famous nonsense manga artist, Hisaichi Ishii. It's a delicious snack with a touch of nostalgia.

In Kyushu, there is a famous traditional Japanese sweets shop. I bought individually wrapped warabi mochi as a souvenir, which is highly appreciated by recipients. Each piece is bite-sized and well-packaged, making it easy to distribute as a gift. The taste is not too sweet, and can be adjusted with the accompanying sauce. What's more, the small warabi mochi is finely cut, showing attention to detail.

I love the dondaku emaki at Josui-an, a traditional Japanese confectionery shop found all over Fukuoka. However, I couldn't resist the temptation of their suspiciously named "Kaki Daifuku" (Persimmon Daifuku)… It's a seasonal limited edition item, priced at 800 yen for a pack of 4. The seasonal Daifuku series features the Persimmon Daifuku, a confection that has been widely enjoyed as the origin of sweetness since ancient times. It is made by wrapping a generous amount of finely chopped dried persimmon from the famous "Ichida Persimmon" in a soft rice cake, allowing the natural sweetness and flavor of the fruit to shine through. It has a smooth texture with plenty of starch powder. The persimmon is mixed into a paste-like consistency in both the dough and the sweet bean paste. The white bean paste and persimmon paste are visible separately, with the chopped persimmon giving a unique texture. However, it didn't taste much like persimmon.

In June 2017, a friend who visited Yamaguchi and Fukuoka brought me a gift. It was a "Tomato Daifuku" purchased from "Joshuan" at Hakata Deitos. The Tomato Daifuku is a unique daifuku made with tomatoes, blending the refreshing sweetness and acidity of tomatoes with the sweet white bean paste. Ripe fruit tomatoes are gently wrapped in homemade white bean paste and soft mochi. It is sweet and juicy like a fruit, and the slightly acidic fruit tomato surprisingly matches well with the mochi and white bean paste, creating a completely new and healthy tomato sweet. I tried it right away. I have had Tomato Daifuku at a traditional Japanese confectionery shop in Osaka before, but this one was not too sweet, with a hint of acidity adding a nice touch, making it perfect for this season. The soft mochi dough and the balance of white bean paste were just right, making it very easy to eat. Thank you for the treat!

I returned to Hakata for the first time in six months after visiting Yamaguchi and before heading back to Osaka. I had a late breakfast of "Gobo Tempura Udon" and stopped by a spicy curry restaurant for lunch. With some time to spare, I stopped by the "Hakata Deitos" on the first floor of the station to buy some souvenirs. The second shop I visited was "Nyosuien Deitos 2nd Store," a famous traditional Japanese confectionery shop known for its "Chikushi Mochi." I bought the following items: Tomato Daifuku (4 pieces for 800 yen including tax) and Fig Daifuku (4 pieces for 712 yen including tax). The Tomato Daifuku was a gift for a friend, so I bought a cooling bag and ice pack to store it until I left for Osaka in the evening. The Fig Daifuku, made with pesticide-free figs from Fukuoka prefecture, had a special fig paste wrapped in mochi. I thought it was a fruit-filled daifuku, which is why it was cheaper than the Tomato Daifuku and did not require cooling. I should have realized this at the time, and looking back at the photos, I saw that the explanation on the product shelf clearly stated this. Nevertheless, I took a bite and enjoyed the delicious sweetness and aroma of the figs. Bon appétit!

Every time I go to Hakata, I look forward to the seasonal daifuku from Nyosui-an. Last time it was a peach daifuku, and I thought it was too early for grape daifuku so I visited again. This time, it was a iyokan (Japanese citrus) daifuku, which was my first time trying. I thought it might have fruit inside, but it turned out to be sweet bean paste. It has bits of iyokan peel in white bean paste, giving it a rich and refreshing aroma, truly a daifuku for early summer. While it may not be as juicy as fruit-filled daifuku, I found it to be beautiful and delightful in its own way. It is available for purchase from mid-May to late August.

When I ate the Shinshu mochi, I felt like trying the Chikushi mochi, so I stopped by Hou-Ten after eating spicy ramen. This time, I bought the Chikushi mochi and the seasonal limited edition Komomo daifuku. The Chikushi mochi has a fragrant kinako powder with a moderate sweetness of black honey drizzled on top. It is softer than the Shinshu mochi. Personally, I prefer this one as I am more accustomed to it. The Komomo daifuku is soft and has a refreshing sweetness spreading in the mouth from the peach syrup and white bean paste. It made me feel a little bit of the coming spring. The daifuku cut in half looks like it has peach seeds, with a beautiful color combination. The "komomo" in the center is visible. It was delicious.

I think it was probably a souvenir? I received Tsukushi mochi. I love warabi mochi, so I was happy, and it was definitely tastier than the warabi mochi you can buy around here! The mochi is soft. There is a bit more kinako on each mochi, and the amount of black syrup is just right. The taste of brown sugar is strong and very satisfying! Each mochi is individually wrapped, so it makes you want to savor it... which helped me not finish them all in one day. I really wanted to eat them all at once though! I want to eat them again.

I tried eating Tsukushi mochi. I don't like black honey, so I had it without black honey, and it felt like a mixture of warabi mochi and regular mochi. It's also eaten with kinako. The package says to store it at room temperature away from direct sunlight, but I found it tastier when chilled just before eating. I often buy tea sweets from Joshuan, so I am a member. They often send me advertisements with coupons, so I recommend becoming a member for fans.