I first tried "Saga Nishiki" 27 years ago and was amazed by its deliciousness. A junior from university brought it as a souvenir, and I have been enjoying it whenever I have the chance. This time, my dad and my little one brought it back as a gift during summer vacation in Fukuoka. The castella cake with red beans and chestnuts is sweet and soft, made with yam. It is sandwiched between moist and fine-textured Baumkuchen. The chocolate used to connect the two layers is specially formulated for Saga Nishiki. The harmony is amazing! When I checked their website, I learned that craftsmen's handwork is still essential to maintain high quality. The fine-textured Baumkuchen is carefully layered one by one in a unique way, like weaving fabric. Two craftsmen breathe together to swiftly connect the castella cake and Baumkuchen, creating the elegant pattern of "Saga Nishiki." Delicate handwork is repeated daily to deliver beautiful and delicious "Saga Nishiki." I hope everyone can try it out! You can also buy it at Fukuoka Airport. 5 pieces for 700 yen.

I found a special treat that is limited to one per person at the storefront. When I picked it up, it had a heavy weight to it. It is made from collecting scraps of Saga Nishiki fabric. A creative confectionery that expresses the traditional textile "Saga Nishiki". It is a confectionery made by sandwiching a floating island dough made from wheat flour, yam, eggs, sugar, and red bean paste with chocolate and Baumkuchen.

Saganishiki is a specialty sweet from Murayokay, celebrating its 51st year from Saganishiki sales. A new version, Caramel Saganishiki, has been introduced in a cute orange package with caramel illustrations. Unlike the original Saganishiki with red beans and chestnuts, Caramel Saganishiki contains walnuts. Caramel and walnuts go well together, but if I were to be picky, I would prefer a bit less sugar to make these ingredients stand out more. It would be nice if the rum flavor was a bit stronger too. This treat pairs well with warm hojicha or coffee. Thank you for the meal.

I was walking around Hakata Station's Minami-guchi due to the extreme heat and made some interesting discoveries. I found an interesting snack called "Saganishi End Kire" which I thought was just a leftover piece, but it turned out to be a pound cake made by crushing Saganishi. Honestly, the taste was not that great as it just tasted like a regular pound cake with bits of Saganishi mixed in, so it didn't seem delicious. Also, I felt that turning a flagship product into this kind of shape, although using leftovers is fine, has damaged the prestigious brand of Saganishi. It's a shame. I won't be coming back.

There is a famous confectionery shop from Saga Prefecture called Saga Nishiki, which also has a store in Hakata Station. While you can find Saga Nishiki products in other department stores and supermarkets, it's nice to be able to buy all their items when visiting their store. This time, I was looking for seasonal sweets and purchased the limited-time "Honoka Sweets" using strawberries from Saga Prefecture called "Saga Honoka". Among them, I bought the "Honoka Fruit Love" (129 yen for 5 pieces, 645 yen for 25 pieces). It is a moist and thick cookie sandwiched with plenty of strawberry cream. The sweetness was milder than expected, and the cream was light with a spread of strawberry aroma, making it delicious. In addition to "Honoka Fruit Love", there are two other types of Honoka Sweets: "Honoka Floating Clouds" which is a soft cookie with strawberry cream and almond slices, and "Honoka Busse". There is also a set available for comparison tasting. Other sweets are also delicious, so I recommend trying them. It's worth noting that even though the store is located in Hakata Station's Maimu, unlike other stores, transportation IC cards such as nimoca cannot be used.

I entered the Maing Hakata store at Hakata Station and purchased the "Nabeshima-sama" Senbei that has been sold for over 50 years. There are two types available, "roasted" and "white". Each costs 64 yen. The "roasted" one is a traditional senbei with red bean paste filling, while the "white" one has matcha filling, which is quite interesting. Both are small and easy to eat. The price is affordable and they are quite good.

I was exploring for souvenirs at Hakata Ming, planning to buy some Hakata souvenirs, but ended up buying this as well. It's a specialty of Saga called "Saga Nishiki". The outer layer is like a baumkuchen, while the inside is a two-layered combination of red bean flavored dough. It is light yet has a strong taste of the ingredients, making it perfect for giving as a gift!

I purchased Saga's traditional sweets at Hakata Mainingu. It was the Nabeshima-sama. It is a simple monaka with delicious red bean paste. Thank you for the meal.

I just learned that Murayokaya and Murayokaya Sohonpo are separate, I bought some mini gyunyu from Murayokaya Sohonpo to try out, and I found out that the sugary coating on the surface is formed during the process of making gyunyu. I'm curious about how this happens.

I tried a snack called "Tonbai-hei" that I found, and it was delicious. It is a square-patterned pastry with red beans inside, not too sweet, and goes well with tea. I looked up what "Tonbai-hei" means, and it turns out to be a type of fence made from fire-resistant bricks used in climbing kilns in Arita, a pottery town. It resembles a fence, hence the name. The local snack shop seems to have a strong affection for the town. I also bought a green tea-flavored senbei, which had a crispy waffle cookie texture with green tea cream inside, perfect with coffee or tea. I revisited the shop and bought "Yawaraka Marubouro," a soft round cake that is recommended to be slightly toasted in a toaster oven for a crunchy outside and soft inside. I also purchased the classic "Saga Nishiki," a refined confection with red beans, chestnuts, and yam baked in a sponge cake. I bought a cocoa and plain leaf pie as well, both crispy and perfect with tea. I also tried "Karenn" with raisins soaked in liqueur and white chocolate cream sandwiched in cookies, and "Machikado Ebisu" with refreshing lemon-flavored white cream sandwiched in a biscuit. Finally, I bought "La Chance," a Baumkuchen wrapped in chocolate, and "Nabeshima Honmaru," a chestnut paste wrapped in steamed bun skin. Both were delicious and perfect with tea.

Cuisine and content: Saga specialty confectionery from Murayama-ya, expressing the traditional textile of Saga, "Saga Nishiki," in the packaging. The elegant and glamorous packaging catches the eye. The castella-shaped confection, when opened, reveals slices. This small detail of being pre-sliced is quite pleasing, as cutting can be a hassle and the slices may not turn out well, causing the edges to crumble. Therefore, the fact that it is pre-sliced is quite delightful. The center of the confection is a fluffy, moist Japanese-style cake. The color of the dough is azuki bean, with a rich azuki bean flavor and small pieces of chestnut scattered throughout, adding a change in taste and texture. The top and bottom of the cake are sandwiched with a thin Baumkuchen, with chocolate used in the filling. I thought the chocolate made it more Western, but the chocolate flavor is not very prominent. It blends in well without interfering with the main taste. The comforting sweetness makes it ideal for a quick snack during work breaks or when feeling a bit tired. The appearance and taste are elegant, making it perfect for gifts. "Saga Nishiki" is a special type of Japanese paper made by meticulously weaving thin strips of gold, silver, and lacquer-coated paper as warp threads, and dyed silk threads as weft threads. The intricate patterns include traditional designs such as mesh, diagonal lattice, and diamond shapes. It is a painstaking handcraft that requires precise skills, allowing only a small amount to be woven in a day. As a result, practical items like bags are common, but larger works like obi belts are also produced. As an art piece, it exudes a rustic and warm charm with the warmth of Japanese paper, while also showcasing a luxurious and elegant beauty, earning it the title of the pinnacle of Japanese art and crafts. Thank you, Murayama-ya Hakata Station store!

When I have errands in Fukuoka and need to buy souvenirs, there are many well-known stores to choose from, but it's hard to find something unique that fits the souvenir criteria of being exclusive to Fukuoka, having a long shelf life. That's where "Saga Nishiki" comes in. As the name suggests, it's not a Fukuoka sweet, but a confectionery shop from Saga City, Saga Prefecture. This confectionery is a creative blend of Japanese and Western ingredients. It starts with a sponge cake mixture combined with sweet red bean paste to create a Japanese-style sponge cake called "ukishima." This ukishima includes yam for a chewy texture, as well as boiled red beans and chopped chestnuts for extra flavor. The ukishima, about 4 cm thick, is sandwiched between thin Baumkuchen layers, with chocolate cream to hold it together. The layers consist of Baumkuchen, chocolate cream, ukishima (red beans and chestnuts), chocolate cream, and Baumkuchen. This unique combination of flavors and textures is exclusive to this confectionery, making it a perfect souvenir. The taste is a balance of sweetness, with the ukishima dominating in flavor and texture, while the Baumkuchen and chocolate have a subtle presence. The ukishima's volume is overwhelming, overshadowing the Baumkuchen and chocolate layers. It's a shame that the Baumkuchen is treated like the skin of a manju or a monaka. The packaging and presentation could be improved to highlight the creativity of this confectionery. Overall, Saga Nishiki is a unique and delicious treat that I always buy when in Fukuoka.