When it comes to traditional Japanese sweets, Suzukake is the best choice. It is always well-received as a gift. This time, I bought strawberry daifuku. The large, firm strawberry paired perfectly with the mildly sweet red bean paste. The strawberry had a good balance of tartness and sweetness, making it very delicious. It truly lived up to its reputation.

There is a famous shop known for its Hakata Suzukake Ichigo Daifuku. In Fukuoka, when it comes to strawberries, Hakata Dorakingu Nama is well-known with commercials airing daily. However, Hakata Suzukake is also popular. With its main store in Hakata and three other stores in Tokyo, including the Hakata Daimaru store in Tenjin, it competes with Hakata Dorakingu Nama. The Hakata Daimaru store is located in the bustling district of Tenjin, which is the largest in Kyushu. The strawberry Daifuku from Hakata Suzukake is made with a small amount of anko wrapped in mochi with Hakata Amaou strawberries. Despite being called strawberry Daifuku, it consists of 98% strawberry, 1% anko, and 1% mochi. When you bite into it, the sweet juice of the strawberry bursts in your mouth. It is the juiciest and sweetest strawberry I have ever tasted. The anko enhances the sweetness of the strawberry, while the mochi complements the flavor of the strawberry. I never knew there could be something so delicious in Fukuoka. I can proudly bring it back home to share with my family.

Fukuoka is in Tenjin. In the basement of Fukuoka Daimaru, there was a shop here. Looking for Fukuoka souvenirs, we entered the basement and immediately found a crowd at this shop! We had to wait a bit, but the showcase was full of delicious sweets. It was hard to see in detail because of the crowd, but we moved to the back of the line where people were waiting. After a while, we were at the front of the line and we purchased a Mont Blanc in a soba cup-like container, chestnut sweets, chestnut steamed yokan, and, although it was a bit early for the season, we also bought camellia mochi. The camellia mochi, with shiny camellia leaves sandwiching domyoji with elegant sweet bean paste, was irresistibly delicious. The Mont Blanc had a clear and delicious chestnut flavor, and the chestnut sweets were even more chestnut-flavored, truly chestnut lovers' delight. The chestnut steamed yokan also had delicious chestnuts, and the chestnut jam included was also very tasty. We bought a variety of items for souvenirs, but we hesitated a bit about giving them to others. I wish they would open branches not only in Tokyo but also in Osaka and Kyoto.

The most popular dorayaki and seasonal sweets have a short shelf life of 2 days, but there are also some half-baked sweets that can last for 2 weeks. It's so convenient! Plus, the black basket that you have to pay for can be replaced with a free paper box, which still looks good. Today, I bought a set of half-moon dorayaki and a white sweet jelly-like treat for gifts, and some dorayaki for myself. The dorayaki has a chewy skin and a salty sweet bean paste filling that makes you want to keep eating more! By the way, the wrapping paper is simple and stylish. Even my elderly tea ceremony teacher said, "It's really stylish." Suzukake is convenient!

The food was delicious and the service was great. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Takeout:========== Takeout:

I love the wagashi (Japanese sweets) from Suzukake-san, and I always buy them as souvenirs. Among them, I like the year-round sold Daifuku and Kintsuba. The seasonal limited edition Ichigo Daifuku and Sakura Leaf Mochi are also delicious. The Waguri no Mont Blanc (659 yen) is limited to this season. It is a Japanese-style Mont Blanc made with plenty of chestnuts, with a rich chestnut flavor that is delicious. The year-round sold Suzu (249 yen) is in a cute bell shape. It wraps a modestly sweet red bean paste in a thin skin gently. This one has a good shelf life (14 days at room temperature) so it is perfect as a souvenir.

When I'm unsure about which wagashi (Japanese sweets) to choose, I usually go for Suzukake-san or Matsuya-san. I was looking for a different kind of sweet for the O-higan offering and decided to get this item priced at 216 yen. It's made with sweet potato and wasanbon sugar, with an elegant sweetness. The packaging, true to Suzukake-san's style, exudes sophistication. While Daimaru's store may seem a bit plain, this shop provides excellent customer service, making shopping here a reassuring experience. This time, I bought it for the offering, but I also enjoy stopping by after work for myself.

This is also a recommendation from the information center's lady! They are having a showdown right next to the nationally famous confectionery shop Kaneshoju-an with traditional Japanese sweets! The visual of the shop is undeniably dominated by the voluptuous Kan sisters. The showcase here doesn't quite match up to a department store, even a supermarket would look a bit better! The contrast is as good as a freckled braided girl against the Kan sisters! ...But, that's what makes it good. Sorry, Kan Shokujyuan. Even though I am a supporter of the Kan sisters, this time I will support Suzukake-san here. Now, it's my first time at this shop. The best way to learn about the shop is to ask the staff. Although it may not have the same stylish feel as Kan Shokujyuan, the mature female staff here, who are not inferior to the Kan sisters in terms of fullness, recommended the popular items: "Salted Bean Daifuku for 151 yen," "Gold Hilt for 151 yen," and "Yabure Manju for 129 yen." However, the Salted Bean Daifuku has an expiration date of today, and the Yabure Manju is until tomorrow, but it can also be stored in the freezer. So, I bought two Daifuku and four Manju. When I got home, I immediately tried the Daifuku with today's expiration date. This is delicious! Kan Shokujyuan's bean Daifuku felt more like a soft and melting mochi, but this one is firm with a chewy and soft texture, a completely different deliciousness. The white bean paste inside also has a delicious saltiness. It's not a refined bean paste that hides the saltiness, but a delicious bean paste that firmly expresses the saltiness with a rustic charm. However, it seems that white bean paste is the main focus here because it's in the western region. Perhaps it's a cultural difference... But, it doesn't end there, that's the charm of Fukuoka Tenjin! There seems to be a hint of something in the bean paste... Is it the flavor of sakura mochi? It seems to be kneaded into the bean paste. It's subtly elaborate. Considering that Kan Shokujyuan's Daifuku costs 216 yen each, the cost performance is quite excellent. The next morning, I tried the Yabure Manju. Can I consider this as a thin-skinned Manju that is common in Yamagata? This is also delicious! The sweetness is quite restrained. Moreover, the bean paste is a coarse grain paste that leaves some adzuki bean skins, which is irresistible to me, a fan of coarse grain paste. I could eat as many as I want, but I first shared two with my wife, and followed the staff's advice to freeze the remaining two. Thank you for the meal.

I couldn't resist the temptation of sweets despite trying to avoid limited-time diets due to feeling tired. So I decided to treat myself with traditional Japanese sweets! I visited the main store and bought the seasonal limited edition strawberry daifuku and yellow powder white balls from Suzukake, which are usually sold from around November. I also bought some hojicha tea to enjoy with them at home. The strawberry daifuku contains a whole fresh Amaou strawberry from Fukuoka prefecture wrapped in soft mochi, with sweet red bean paste that complements the strawberry's sweetness perfectly. As for the yellow powder white balls, they have a fragrant aroma of yellow powder when opened. Drizzling them with black sugar syrup made from Okinawan black sugar enhances the flavor with a rich sweetness. The combination of chewy white balls and the syrup is truly delightful. Now, let's keep going for another two weeks! Thank you for the meal!

Yesterday was Setsubun, and today is the beginning of spring. In our household of just two adults, we don't usually celebrate many events apart from Obon and New Year's. However, we happened to come across some cute traditional Japanese sweets at the department store, so we decided to buy them. We got some demon and bean-shaped sweets, as well as some cherry blossom mochi. Just for a change, we made some matcha tea and enjoyed them together. The sweets were from a trendy Japanese confectionery called Suzukake, and although the shop looked a bit intimidating, the funny faces of the demons caught our attention. The demon horns were made of kelp, and the sweets had a nice flavor that complemented the beans. The price was reasonable, so we will definitely be going back for more.

In celebration of Valentine's Day, I tried the Suzunari Chocolat for 1050 yen. It came in three flavors: hojicha, matcha, and genmai. The matcha had a rich and delicious taste. The hojicha had a smooth melt-in-your-mouth texture with a subtle hojicha aroma, making it very tasty. The genmai also melted easily in the mouth and was easy to eat. It's a limited-time chocolate from a Japanese sweets shop, and it's so exciting to only be able to enjoy it during this special period.

After traveling on the subway, I felt a little hungry so I headed to the food market in Daimaru. It's great that it's directly connected to the subway station, and as a sweets lover, I was happy to see the dessert section. Even when I don't plan to buy anything, just looking at the sweet treats is a feast for the eyes. This time, I was looking for something sweet to eat at the hotel. After browsing around, I found two options that caught my eye. One of them was the manju from "Suzukake." I've had sweets at their main store before, and they seemed like a regular sweet shop. This time, I bought the "Sho Kaki" (262 yen) and "Yabure Manju" (126 yen) from their display case. I heard that the Sho Kaki is a dried persimmon filled with strained sweet bean paste, but when I tried it, I couldn't really taste the sweetness of the dried persimmon. It tasted more like a regular manju. The Yabure Manju was just a thin-skinned manju as expected. But I love thin-skinned manju, so it was okay. Well, the taste is more traditional than it looks, but generally, manju is always delicious, right?

When strawberry season comes around, I always crave Suzukake's strawberry daifuku. It's a bit pricey at 252 yen, but the softness of the mochi, the sweetness of the strawberries (which are big and very sweet!), and the deliciousness of the red bean paste... it's a heavenly taste. The elegance of the red bean paste doesn't overpower the sweetness of the strawberries. Suzuno Mochi is also amazing at 105 yen. The chewy skin was a pleasant surprise, and the Hokkaido red bean paste inside is a perfect match. I'm not a big fan of red bean paste, but I can enjoy Suzukake's version. Pairing these sweets with a cup of tea makes for a blissful moment. They are delicious, come in a stylish bamboo basket, and make for a great gift.

I purchased some treats at a shop located on the B2 floor of Daimaru in Fukuoka Tenjin, which has its main store in Nakasu Kawabata. I bought kinako shiratama, dorayaki, and chestnut yokan. The kinako shiratama was a perfect combination of chewy shiratama with plenty of kinako and a rich, thick sauce on the side. The dorayaki was small, almost bite-sized, with a chewy outer layer and a generous amount of mildly sweet red bean paste inside. The chestnut yokan used locally sourced chestnuts from Kumamoto, and had a great chestnut flavor with just the right amount of sweetness.

In winter, there is a seasonal limited edition "strawberry daifuku" that I love so much that I find myself checking the shops frequently! It has a sweet red bean paste that is not too sweet, a mochi that is not too thick or thin, and a perfectly sized strawberry! Once I have tried this strawberry daifuku, I can't eat it anywhere else! It's a bit pricey, but I can't help but buy it ♥ Of course, I also love mochi, kinako, and shiratama. When I go, I can't help but hesitate because I want to try everything. The outer packaging is also very stylish, and when I bring it as a gift, it is very well received~

Suzukake. Located on the 2nd floor underground of Tenjin Daimaru. It is before you go towards Elgara, past the bakery (before the point of sale machine). This is a Japanese sweets shop. They have a variety of sweets such as Yabure Manju, Ichigo Daifuku, and unique vegetable sweets. There are many types available, but they tend to sell out by the evening, so it is recommended to purchase in the morning or by noon. One highly recommended item is the Kinako Shiratama. It is very delicious! Priced at 420 yen, it is worth the taste. It comes with about 5 small white rice cakes covered in plenty of kinako powder and topped with rich syrup. For those who love Japanese sweets or kinako, please try it at least once. Other Japanese sweets are also delicious but smaller and a bit pricier. They make great souvenirs, gifts, or gifts for elderly people. Of course, they accept Daimaru point cards.

This is a souvenir that my husband bought for me on his business trip to Fukuoka. The combination of the container and the contents is very stylish and perfect for giving to others. Inside a cute basket, there are 10 adorable bell-shaped sweets lined up. The red bean paste inside the sweets is just the right amount of sweetness and very delicious. My family loved it and it was a big hit. The "Suzukago" basket, which is not available for shipping outside the region, was a delightful surprise as it can be used even after eating the sweets.