When I go on business trips to Ogura, I always buy a mountain of souvenirs here. It's common now, but they started accepting credit cards relatively early on and they have a good selection of ekiben, with "kashiwameshi" being the most popular. This time, I visited just for word of mouth (lol). I bought one milk custard pie. It's not as crispy as a typical pie, and the custard is decent, but the milk flavor is rich and delicious.

I was drawn to the salted caramel flavor and purchased the Hakata Balm Stick Salted Caramel at this shop. After buying it, I realized that this Balm Stick series had other varieties as well. The light pastry was not too sweet and had a subtle salted caramel flavor. Thank you for the meal.

Mentaiko snacks are very popular, especially "menbei." I decided to try something different this time, so I bought some "gomentai" and "senpei." These are souvenirs from Niwaka Senpei Honpo Tokunodo, known for their unique senbei. Unlike the flat menbei, these senbei have a square shape. The texture is dry and crispy, unlike menbei. The mentaiko flavor is mild and not very spicy, making it suitable for children.

The other day, on my way back from Kyushu, I took the Shinkansen from Kokura. Just before boarding the Shinkansen, I decided to buy some souvenirs at the "Omigage Michi Kogura-ten" shop inside the Shinkansen ticket gate. I didn't have much time as the departure time was approaching, so I quickly looked around and ended up buying spicy cod roe. The staff at the register asked me if I wanted the extra spicy one, but I was in a hurry and didn't quite understand, so I ended up with the extra spicy version. When I tried it, it was indeed quite spicy on its own, but when mixed with other ingredients, it turned out to be a delicious spicy cod roe with a good balance of heat and flavor.

I'm currently in Kokura. Hakata-Kokura is quite far away. This time, I got off at Fukuoka Airport, took the subway to Hakata, and then entered Kokura by JR, but there was a big problem. Suitcases. Nowadays, I tend to bring quite large suitcases wherever I go, but I have trouble finding a place to put them on local trains. It's fine if there are side seats where you can sit and place the suitcase in front of you, but on local trains with box seats, it becomes very inconvenient for other passengers. I forgot about this from the last time. So, the solution is to use a limousine bus. You can now book and pay online, so you can confidently plan to board from places where you can't buy tickets at the bus center like Kokura Station. Therefore, on the way back, I will not stop at Hakata! I secretly planned to go to Hakata Station early and eat ramen at Ippudo. But that's not going to happen. When I went to buy a station lunch box at the Shinkansen platform at Kokura Station, I took a look at the souvenir street. I was surprised to find Ippudo bag noodles being sold there. You can probably buy them at the airport too, but if you buy them here, they can be put in the suitcase. Even bag noodles are delicious. The simmered pork and seasoned egg were also properly prepared, so now there's no problem at all with the limousine. There are rankings written there, and I like each of them, but I found it a bit strange that Ippudo was not in the top 5. It's available at Fukuoka's antenna shop, the Tenjin Bus Terminal, so I can go there directly if I miss it. (#5606)

I visited the restaurant in May 2017 to buy souvenirs. I came by train from Moji Port to Kokura Station, and used the Shinkansen to head to Hakata Station, stopping at Kokura Station. They were still selling blowfish at Kokura Station. I thought they wouldn't have it at Hakata Station, so I bought blowfish rice porridge for 540 yen. They also sold blowfish fish cakes. They had Kokura's specialty udon as well. They also sold light meals that you can eat on the Shinkansen. I went home and ate the blowfish rice porridge right away. It was unexpectedly light and delicious. It doesn't take up much space, so I recommend it.

In Fukuoka, Kyushu, when you mention Fukuoka, most people would say mentaiko! I bought some mentaiko-flavored senbei in Kokura. It's a senbei with mentaiko powder inside. It's a bit spicy but delicious! The packaging used to have more red in it when I bought it before, but this time it was more white. I wonder if there's a difference in taste? It feels like the taste is slightly different. It's perfect as a souvenir.

I also stopped by the souvenir street at Kokura Station. I wanted to buy some souvenirs early. However, there weren't many impressive options. The Jagariko mentaiko flavor seemed outdated, and there were a lot of strawberry products due to the season, but nothing stood out. In the end, I bought strawberry-flavored items, but I got hungry (it's now 2 am) and ended up eating the strawberry snacks. Hmm, they weren't delicious. Maybe it's better that I tried them myself before giving them as souvenirs.

I was sucked in like a vacuum from the local train to the Shinkansen transfer, and ended up trying both Gaba Ta's mentaiko and Fukusaya's mentaiko. The first thing that caught my eye was the "Kokura Horori" (6 pieces for 395 yen), which is a paste-filled treat. The sweet bean paste was just right in sweetness and tasted delicious without disappointment! While personal preference may vary for mentaiko, Fukusaya's spicy mentaiko costs 1,080 yen for 90g, while Gaba Ta's kelp-pickled mentaiko costs 1,296 yen for 130g. Is Gaba Ta's kelp-pickled mentaiko a bit more cost-effective? I prepared some rice at home and dug in! The taste of both was equally delicious. I love spicy mentaiko, so with rice, I could eat as much as I want! Thank you for the meal!

When you pass through the JR Kokura Station and the Shinkansen ticket gate, you will see a large souvenir shop on your left called Omiyage Kaido Kokura Store. They have a wide variety of souvenirs, including specialties from Kokura and of course, Hakata. In the Kokura specialty section, I bought a box of 7 Gion Taiko sweets from Kokutetsudo for 1,080 yen (tax included). Gion Taiko contains 4 pieces of red bean paste and 3 pieces of coarse red bean paste. The perfect sweetness of the filling goes well with the pie crust, it's really good! It tastes more like a Western-style dessert than a traditional Japanese one. It was delicious.

I used the waiting time for the Shinkansen. I tried various souvenirs in Hakata, but Kitakyushu has a slightly different taste. This time, I bought yuzu pepper because it was delicious for lunch. I want to try it in various dishes. It's nice and Kyushu-like. In Okayama, there isn't much of a custom to eat, but whenever I go to Kyushu, I always feel like eating influenced. And the sweets are the super hard bread that I've been into lately! This is seriously hard!! There is something called "kawasenbei" in Shikoku, but I think this surpasses that. It's seriously hard, but the taste is good! Everyone in my family was able to eat it, but please be careful not to break your teeth... Please take responsibility for yourself (laughs)

On my way back from my parents' house in Kyushu, I stopped by my daughter's place in Hiroshima. I brought a Kyushu Shinkansen bento box as a souvenir for my grandkids, and bought Orio Station's specialty kashiwa-meshi for my daughter and myself for lunch. The Kyushu Shinkansen bento box comes in a container shaped like the front car of the "Sakura" train, filled with hamburger, fried chicken, potatoes, sausages, and chicken rice resembling omurice, perfect for kids. The kashiwa-meshi is a traditional bento from Orio Station in Kitakyushu, consisting of rice cooked in dashi broth and topped with chicken, shredded egg, and finely chopped seaweed. It was a delightful lunch with my daughter and two grandchildren at the station. Thank you for the delicious meal!

NEJICHOCO (5 pieces) Thank you for the meal! Located in the Shinkansen concourse of small stations such as Kokura Station. I visited around 9 am on a weekday. I purchased NEJICHOCO inspired by World Heritage sites. You can play with bolts and nuts. It's a unique souvenir that I recommend.

I received some Kurogane hard bread as a souvenir from Mr. M's Kyushu trip. It was as tough as they say, great for strengthening the jaw and seems good for health. It has a long shelf life, so it looks like it would be good for emergency food.

At Kokura Station, I did some last-minute souvenir shopping. When it comes to Fukuoka, "Hakata Torimon" and "Hakata no Onna" are must-haves. For sweet potato lovers, the moist "Hakata Poteto" is irresistible. There are plenty of snacks made with mentaiko, and this time I bought 2 items from "Yamaya." They were all delicious. I definitely want to come back next year! (๑>◡<๑)

Amo strawberry jam 90g @550 each, very delicious. It has chunks of strawberries in it, more like a fruit preserve than a jam. The high price of 550 yen for a small 90g jar is the only downside.

After spending 11 days in Kitakyushu City, I bought a station bento at Kokura Station. Normally, I would travel by plane, but at the end and beginning of the fiscal year, taking the Shinkansen is more cost-effective. Inside the Shinkansen concourse, there are various shops, but for some reason, my eyes were fixed on this shumai bento. I purchased it and opened it on the Shinkansen. Wow! I made the right choice! It includes Kagoshima black pork shumai, Saga squid shumai, Hakata mentaiko, chicken soboro and kinshi egg kashiwa rice (imitation), and chopped takana. Quite a selection of Kyushu specialties, isn't it? As for the taste, the black pork shumai was good but when it cools down, it falls short compared to Sakurashokudo's shumai. The squid shumai had a good flavor. The mentaiko was just regular spicy cod roe. The kashiwa rice was not bad, but as someone familiar with Tochikuken, I would rate it a bit lower. The takana could have had more quantity. Overall, despite the relatively strict evaluation, the bento is very well-made in terms of balance. At a price of 1,080 yen, I think it's worth it. It's a great companion for your journey. Thank you for the meal!

I enjoyed a delicious cooked rice dish made with Hagi Inoue's "fugu rice seasoning" that I purchased at Kokura Station. The flavor was gentle and the fugu meat was plentiful. Although it was labeled as serving 3 people, it contained 300g of rice, equivalent to 2 cups. The sturdy box included soup and a bag of dried ingredients. The dried ingredients included carrots, shiitake mushrooms, burdock, and bamboo shoots. This is probably what commercial cooked rice seasoning looks like. Thank you for the meal!