At the Ion Mall Yawata Higashi, there is a shop called Kofukudo. It is a brand of traditional Japanese sweets from Kakiya. They have a variety of sweets such as strawberry daifuku, mitarashi dango, kinako dango, ohagi, and dorayaki lined up. It's so cute to see the strawberry daifuku lined up in large quantities. I have tried the strawberry daifuku before, so this time I bought the classic mitarashi dango and dorayaki. The mitarashi dango has a crispy texture and is coated with a sweet and savory sauce. It's my favorite type of dango.

In Kansai, there is a famous confectionery called "Kakiyasu," and its traditional Japanese sweets department is called "Koufukudou." Recently, a friend of mine started working at "Kakiyasu," and my boss at the time (an elderly Kansai person) was very surprised, saying, "Eh!? That Kakiyasu?! You were lucky to get hired there!" It used to be well-known for its traditional Japanese cuisine, but it seems that their deli dishes have become popular recently. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the sweets at "Koufukudou," but the water yokan (I can't remember the exact name, haha) I tried this time had a refreshing taste of early summer and was delicious.

When I tried the mitarashi dango and kogashi shoyu dango at Koufukudo, which I had completely overlooked, at Aeon Mall Yawata Roller, it was a long time ago and I probably didn't have enough mental capacity back then. Both dango lacked the chewiness and even had a slightly rough texture. Well, they were still delicious, but I wish they had a bit more mochi-like texture. Suica is accepted.

Higashi-Tanaka, Yahata Higashi-ku, Kitakyushu City. A shop located inside Aeon Mall Yahata Higashi, operated by Kabushiki Kaisha Kakian Honten, a traditional Japanese confectionery store. The headquarters is in Mie Prefecture. Kakian includes a ryotei "Kakian," a buffet restaurant "Sanshaku Sansun Hashi," and a food court concept "Grill Kakikiyasu." Products include ohagi (with tsubu, kinako, and koshi), indulgent dango, black sugar manju, and ryotei warabimochi, among others. This time, I purchased a small size (270 yen) of ryotei warabimochi. Ryotei warabimochi. It is also offered at the long-established ryotei "Kakian" and is popular. The warabimochi is soft but has a good elasticity, with a sweetness that is not too heavy, and the kinako powder adds a nice touch. It is recommended to eat it chilled. The warabimochi is incredibly delicious. 20% more volume. It was interesting to find out that the shop, which I thought was a traditional Japanese confectionery store, actually started as a ryotei. Thank you for the meal.