I bought a set of 4 popular items because I wanted to try a variety of things in small quantities. - Sweet potato: A popular soul food in Hokkaido, sweet potato has a chewy white bean paste inside that takes away moisture from your mouth. A bit of an acquired taste for me, haha. - Delicious manju: This manju has black sugar and soy sauce kneaded into the skin, with a mildly sweet bean paste inside. True to its name, it was really delicious. Highly recommended. - Anpoteito: A Japanese-style sweet. The potato seems to be overshadowed by the bean paste. It's moist and has a good mouthfeel, but the bean paste is a bit too sweet, so even though it's small, one piece is enough to satisfy. - Anpoteito Chocolat: This is an anpoteito with chocolate in the center. The chocolate flavor is strong, but like the regular anpoteito, it's on the sweeter side. Thanks for the meal.

The New Chitose Airport terminal building is said to be amazing. I decided to do a day trip alone on a Sunday. The airport has good access, with train services to Sapporo, but this time I chose to just enjoy the airport building. I arrived before 11 am and had lunch first. Then I toured the facilities inside the airport, enjoyed watching planes take off and land from the outdoor observation deck. It felt like such a luxurious way to spend time. It may seem like a strange way to experience my first visit to Hokkaido, but that's okay (laughs). After fully enjoying my first stay at New Chitose Airport, I explored the area on the second floor with souvenir shops. There were so many different products, it was overwhelming. I quickly bought the Royce's Nama Chocolate I had decided on in advance, but had trouble choosing other souvenirs. After browsing a few stores, I bought some Butter Jagar at "Senka" (756 yen). It felt like a good Hokkaido-style souvenir. After finishing shopping, I headed back to Tokyo on the afternoon flight. It was a bit hectic, but I still had a good time. Next time, I'll try visiting a different airport (laughs).

I have been getting regular blood tests every 2-3 months on the recommendation of my primary care physician. After the first test of the new year, it was pointed out that my triglycerides were high, which may be due to a slight weight gain. So, I decided to go on a small diet, focusing on reducing calorie intake and limiting carbohydrates. I mainly eat one meal a day in the evening, avoid carbs as much as possible, and consume high-protein foods. I still drink alcohol regularly (about 3-4 days a week) and drink carbonated water to help with hunger. After just one week, I have already lost 3 kg and feel confident in reaching my goal of losing 7 kg. However, my food review content may suffer as a result of this diet. I often order takeout and let my wife taste it while I just have a small bite to sample. This allows me to avoid eating in social gatherings with my daughter's family, which is a relief. Recently, I visited the "Senka New Chitose Airport Store" for an early Sunday morning tradition at New Chitose Airport. The store offers a variety of famous Hokkaido souvenirs, and I purchased the "KUMAGORON" donut from "Shiretoko Donuts." It is a healthy donut made without frying, with a cute bear face peeking out from the hole. The donut is moderately sweet and becomes soft and fluffy when microwaved for a few seconds. Overall, the donut was delicious, but the prices for products like chocolate-covered donuts were quite high compared to mainstream chains like Mister Donut. I recommend the Hokkaido Milk donut for its unique taste and texture. Thank you for the meal.

Hit product, Shiroi Koibito, is truly delicious. From the Ishiya Seika website, the Langue de Chat cookies have a beautiful brown color on the outside. By carefully adjusting the oven temperature, they achieve that perfect color and crispy texture. The hot Langue de Chat is filled with a white chocolate blend specially made for Shiroi Koibito. The smooth and sweet chocolate complements the cookie perfectly, creating the beloved Shiroi Koibito that has been cherished for over 40 years. Langue de Chat is a French pastry known for its light, melting texture. It is made by combining softened butter with an equal amount of sugar, then adding flour and egg whites to create the dough. The dough is shaped into thin, elongated sticks and baked in the oven to achieve a crispy texture and harmony.

In the area around Lake Toya in Hokkaido, there is a dish called "wakasaimo" made from daifuku beans as the main ingredient for the filling, with finely chopped kombu seaweed resembling potato fibers, and coated with egg and soy sauce before being baked to resemble the color of sweet potatoes. Another recommended dish is "imoten," which is like tempura sweet potatoes. When I tried them, I found that imoten was moister and sweeter than wakasaimo. Personally, I preferred the imoten.

I received this as a souvenir (o^^o) I thought Jagapokkuru would be better, but this one is also good♡ It's like crunchy potato chips, and the bite-size portion is just right♪

I purchased the shrimp broth soup chicken curry from Ochiba Store. It's a retort curry, so it's easy to cook by just heating it in hot water for 5 minutes. As for the taste, the soup is sweet. The shrimp broth is strong, but the soup is just too sweet. I tried adjusting the spiciness with seasonings, but it didn't work. The ingredients are chicken, potatoes, and carrots, but they are scarce. At 790 yen, it's expensive. I felt that the cost performance was poor.

I bought the popular Sapporo Ramen Yukiakari Miso Butter flavor (2 servings for 756 yen) from Senka, a shop selling a variety of souvenirs at the 2nd floor of the domestic terminal building at New Chitose Airport. They also had the red miso flavor in the same series. Yukiakari is a popular ramen shop at the airport, and the miso butter flavor comes with corn and curly noodles typical of Sapporo. I enjoyed it at home. I also bought a pack of Yubari Melon Jelly Pure Gelée Nouveau (3 pieces for 540 yen) which I tried at the tasting corner in the shop.

Here is a souvenir shop at New Chitose Airport, which is quite small and feels a bit cramped. The cashier who opened the register was helpful, but the smell of cigarettes was strong. I bought Horii's corn chocolate, which was surprisingly delicious and has a high repeat rate for souvenirs. Today, I bought the regular corn chocolate and Hokkaido strawberry. The corn chocolate, while a bit exaggerated, made me appreciate the combination of corn and white chocolate. It reminded me of the corn ice cream I had as a child. In other words, just like how corn and the skin of a rice cake go well together, in the case of corn chocolate, the puff pastry blends well with the corn. The Hokkaido strawberry uses freeze-dried strawberries, which surprisingly also goes well with corn.

In March 2015, at New Chitose Airport, there is a new souvenir being sold called Bokka's round-shaped Creme Brulee. This round series also includes three types of pudding (vanilla, milk chocolate, salted caramel), but the most impressive as a souvenir would be this round Creme Brulee. I remember an impressive round-shaped Yokan (sweet bean jelly) from the past that left a lasting impression. It was wrapped like a balloon, and when you stick a toothpick in, magically the Yokan pops out like a balloon bursting. Similarly, with Bokka's Creme Brulee, just one poke with a toothpick reveals the Creme Brulee. The taste is decently delicious, but the way it appears is a nostalgic yet new discovery.

In November 2014, a friend who went on a trip to Hokkaido gave me a gift. They bought me Kurashima Mini Smoked Cheese 10-piece set from the souvenir shop "Senka" at New Chitose Airport. It sounds delicious just from the name! The cheese is smoked slowly with cherry wood chips. My friend said they enjoyed it at the Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery's Whisky Club with whisky, and they really liked it. I also received whisky as a souvenir this time, so I decided to try them together. The cheese itself has a smooth texture and a rich flavor. The smoky aroma pairs really well with alcohol. Thank you for the treat!

"Day 3 of the solo trip for a drinker" on November 16, 2014. I arrived at New Chitose Airport three hours early to catch the 3:00 PM JAL flight to Itami! For lunch, I had a draft beer, grilled hokke fish, and seafood bowl before shopping time~♪ Two months ago, I traveled to Hokkaido for 3 nights and 4 days, buying lots of sweets from Otaru, Furano, and Obihiro. This time, I didn't even look at sweets. Instead, I bought fried food and bento at New Chitose Airport Terminal Building, then visited the souvenir shop "Senka". There were many famous Hokkaido sweets, but I chose ◆Smoked Sweet Shrimp 40g for 648 yen (tax included) and ◆Kurashima Mini Smoked Cheese 10 pieces for 486 yen each (tax included) x2, along with a cooling bag for 108 yen. I tried the "Smoked Sweet Shrimp" at the "Kunseiya Nanborutaro Store" corner and thought it would go well with sake, so I bought it. Next to it, I found the "Kurashima Mini Smoked Cheese" which I had bought as a souvenir from the "Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery Nikka Kaikan" tasting corner, and used as a snack with the Taketsuru 25-year-old whisky at the "Whisky Club" in the Whisky Museum. It goes well with any drink! In the end, I ended up giving the souvenirs to my familiar bar and enjoyed them as snacks while drinking there! Later, I gave the souvenirs to the bar, and the owner shared them with the customers, especially loving the rich flavor of the shrimp heads which paired well with the alcohol! JAL's departure is still a while away. Let's see what else we can find at the next shop! Bon appétit (●^o^●) ===========

When stopping by at New Chitose Airport to buy the classic souvenir "Jagapokkuru," I stumbled upon a new item called "Imoko and Kobu Tarou." While Jagapokkuru is priced at 864 yen for 18g x 10 bags, Imoko and Kobu Tarou is priced at 648 yen for 15g x 6 bags. The taste is basically like Jagapokkuru but with a subtle and delicious flavor of kombu. The relationship between Jagapokkuru and Imoko and Kobu Tarou is like the relationship between Nagoya's Sakakaku's "Yukari" and "Saku Saku Nikki," but a little different (lol). Now, will Imoko and Kobu Tarou become a hit product like Jagapokkuru?

I received a souvenir from an acquaintance♡ Hokkaido specialty - Shiroi Koibito. The crispy texture of the cookie is just right, not too hard, and the sweetness is perfect. Inside, there is a white chocolate cream that is irresistible. Shiroi Koibito cookies!! My favorite way to eat them is to chill them in the freezer for a crispy texture!! Whenever I see them at various department stores' Hokkaido product fairs, I always want to get them! The packaging is always the same - a snowflake design on a navy wrapping paper, making it unmistakably Shiroi Koibito♡ I am very happy with this souvenir❤️ I enjoyed it with a cup of coffee - thank you for the feastヾ(๑╹◡╹)ﾉ"

You can even buy the morning flights, which is convenient (surprisingly, the store is not open). *This day, it was open before 7 a.m. on Sunday.