When I looked at the "Tokachi Dafuku Honpo" and found out it was in Ebetsu City, I was surprised. But the main store is actually in Makubetsu! If you see a daifuku, especially a bean daifuku, you'll want to pick it up and try it. But nowadays, it's not so easy to just pick it up. Do I have to look through all the meat section at the supermarket? I'm not good at that, I prefer to be ready to buy when I pick it up. I'll buy bean daifuku, and also grass daifuku. When you look at the ingredients, it says "mochi flour", so it's not really mochi. It's soft and crumbly. It tastes like mugwort, but it's not suitable for those who want to eat mochi. For others, it's not a problem. Bean daifuku is similar, but the mochi melts easily. There aren't many beans, but a bit of saltiness is nice. It's delicious, but I still want to eat mochi.

This is a product from a company that often sells traditional Japanese sweets at the co-op, but at this Co-op Ebetsu store, there is a small booth where a girl is selling them alone. I was curious about what she was selling, so I took a look, and the girl greeted me with "Welcome~". Even though the prices are not that cheap and the selection is limited, I ended up buying something. This is a cherry blossom mochi from the Kanto region, right? But I heard that in Tokyo, the popular style is the Kansai-style with the little nubs? Anyway, this mochi has a nice chewy texture that definitely tastes like cherry blossom mochi. It's delicious, and the amount of red bean paste inside is quite good too. But selling two for 120 yen feels like an outlet deal, right? They should at least make it three for 120 yen. Sure, at a proper traditional Japanese sweets shop, one piece might cost 120 yen, but this is mass-produced, like Nisshin or Yamazaki, right?

Hmm? I was looking for that nightingale mochi I bought the other day, but couldn't find it. Then, I made eye contact with the staff at the stall. Oh well, I guess I'll buy something on my way home. Let's try the sweet potato daifuku and the spicy isobe mochi. The sweet potato daifuku has sweet potato paste mixed into the mochi, with sweet soy sauce inside. When you take a bite, it tastes like sweet potato daifuku. It's quite delicious. As for the spicy isobe mochi, it's supposed to be spicy with sansho pepper, but I didn't really feel the spiciness. The sauce was salty and the daifuku was sweet, but the aggressive saltiness might not be suitable for everyone. Overall, I can't say it's amazing, and I probably wouldn't buy it again. Also, they always sell dorayaki at this outlet. It looks delicious, but dorayaki contains wheat flour. I'll just pretend I didn't see the dorayaki. I'll check it out next time I come shopping. Maybe they'll have some interesting new products.

Huh? What's this? They sell 6 uguisu mochi for 150 yen? Wow, I'll definitely buy this! What a great shop. Let me see, this is the outlet store of Tokachi Daifuku Honpo, right? I looked it up, and they have a factory in Nishinooro. I see, that's why they only have an outlet store in Ebetsu in the Hokkaido region, because the factory is in Ebetsu. So basically, you can buy discounted products that were rejected at the factory. It's probably just a matter of appearance that it's considered an outlet. The taste itself is not a problem. Wow, this uguisu mochi is amazing. Normally, mochi hardens in 30 minutes after being pounded, but this mochi doesn't harden for over 6 days. That's an impressive technology. They also had ohagi and daifuku mochi, but I only bought the uguisu mochi. Yes, I'll definitely come back and buy more cheap mochi when I feel like it. ♫

After visiting a hot spring in Ebetsu, I stopped by a store called "Outlet" in Ebe's Co-op and found that they were selling Japanese sweets at a discounted price. I remembered reading a review by Gutan-san a couple of years ago and decided to check out this Japanese sweets shop. I was impressed by the prices, which were 30-50% off the regular price. I bought red and white manju, grilled skin sakuramochi, and mini sakuramochi & kusamochi. The total cost was only 370 yen, so cheap! The red bean paste made with Tokachi red beans was delicious. I didn't specifically look for it, but all the products had "koshi-an" (smooth red bean paste). Next time, I'll try the products with "tsubu-an" (chunky red bean paste). Thank you, Tokachi Daifuku Honpo!

I had been wanting to visit this place for a while, but couldn't because it's closed on weekends. Finally, I had the chance to visit on a weekday. The store is located inside Coop Sapporo Ebetsu and it feels like an event booth. They had a selection of discounted traditional Japanese sweets in a small space. The price for the sakura mochi was listed as 213 yen, but the outlet price was 120 yen. It's quite cheap. In addition to the sakura mochi and small sakura and grass daifuku that I bought, they also had other items like "beko mochi," "kashiwa mochi," and "kusa mochi." The products are small, but affordable, so it's a good idea to buy a variety and compare the flavors. I wonder if they are open on holidays? According to the information on Tabelog, it seems like they are. I'll try going on a holiday next time. The sakura mochi (120 yen) was small but you get 3 pieces for 120 yen, which is a good deal. It was a delicious sakura mochi made with chunky sweet bean paste. The small sakura and grass daifuku (120 yen) were as the name suggests, small daifuku. The grass daifuku also had chunky sweet bean paste, which made me happy as I prefer it over smooth bean paste.

Takeout: Established in 1956, the main office of Tokachi Daifuku Honpo is located in Makubetsu Town. They sell traditional Japanese sweets made at their factory in Ebetsu City. This particular shop is a tenant at the Co-op Sapporo Ebetsu store in Moto-Ebetsu, a residential area in Ebetsu City. The Co-op Ebetsu is located along Gocho-dori, near Homac and Co-op. I visited this shop for the first time on May 1, 2018, at 2:00 PM. I had been to this Co-op a few days ago, but I didn't notice the shop selling Daifuku at that time. However, when I checked this time, I found it located next to the North Pacific Bank's cash corner in a temporary space. The female staff at the shop were very friendly and welcoming. What I bought: Sakura Mochi - A sweet and strong-flavored sakura mochi with red bean paste filling. Although I initially detected a flavor that I didn't particularly like, overall, it was delicious.

This is truly Japanese sweets! Soft, sweet, and delicious♪ However, it's no longer a good deal... They started selling them individually and the price per piece went up... Where is that 50 yen mochi with beans that you can find at the supermarket...? This place has such good quality that you might wonder, "Is this really an outlet??" I want to share these with the elderly at the facility♪ My recommendation is the "bean daifuku" with three large, heavy pieces for 90 yen! The beans are firm, the mochi is melt-in-your-mouth soft, and the sweet bean paste is incredibly delicious! However, there are 30-50% cheaper options at the disappearing traditional Japanese confectionery shops or supermarkets. Sometimes they even go on sale for half price, which makes me feel guilty for buying them at full price (tears of joy) The staff are also very friendly. When I visited in mid-August, there was a dining area available, but there wasn't a single customer... If they keep changing the way they sell their products, I won't buy from them anymore...

After dinner, I had a dorayaki with sweet red bean filling as dessert. The perfectly round shape of the dorayaki with its beautifully browned skin looked delicious. When I opened the packaging and took a bite, the softness of the skin and the sweet flavor stood out and tasted very delicious. The red bean filling had a nice texture and a refined sweetness that wasn't overpowering. The harmony between the dorayaki skin and the red bean filling enhanced the deliciousness. The good taste lingered on even after finishing it. It was a very satisfying dorayaki with red bean filling.

When I wander around the co-op, sometimes I come across items from Todoque. I wonder if they are asking me to make Todoque's products. The other day, it was Todoque's traditional Japanese sweets from Nichiro. This time, it's dorayaki from Tokachi Daifuku Honpo. Just seeing Todoque's logo makes me want to buy it.