I visited Wacodo around 12 o'clock in June 2023. There were no customers before or after me. When I used to take the bus, I often saw their ads. That's the image I had of Wacodo. I tried their medium-sized flower manju and madeleine. The flower manju had a thin skin filled with red bean paste, which I really liked. It was a simple but delicious treat. I regretted not getting the larger size for 1000 yen. They also had a miso-flavored flower manju, which had miso mixed into the dough. They were selling 30cm castella cake ends for 400 yen, but I resisted temptation due to my diet. The madeleine was moist and had a nice balance of butter and sugar. It reminded me of the treats my grandma used to have. The staff were very friendly and made my experience enjoyable.

I was looking for a souvenir while driving, so I searched for a shop. I found a place called "Castle of Sweets" and thought maybe they have cakes. I couldn't find the shop at first, but then I saw a sign on the sidewalk right in front of me. I entered the shop hesitantly, and there was no one there (laughs). But the shop had a wonderful smell! I ended up buying a bunch of flower-shaped steamed buns. The staff at the shop were very happy with my purchase. The steamed buns were simple and tasted just as I expected, delicious.

What is this?? It's like a manju, or something... In the past, they used to call it "funeral manju," but was that just a phenomenon in Abashiri??? I don't want to catch a cold, so I always wear a mask even at work. But when I went to the hospital to get medicine, for some reason I went without a mask and ended up catching a cold... what a mess. Still, I can't sit still, so now I'm alone in Kushiro. I really want to go to Obihiro or Asahikawa, but "don't tell Ken and the people of Kushiro." I'm going to conquer all the ramen shops in Kushiro, after all. I'm following a list and the second stop is "Wacodo," a cake shop. I just came out of the cake shop, but the navigation said I arrived, but I didn't. Did I pass it? I had to resort to Google Maps. "Go back!" my wife said, in a cheeky tone. So I went back... and the navigation said "you have arrived" but... is this it? Is this the place? It looks like a store? It's scary... are they serious? I went in, but the floor is super slanted. That's why the showcase looked slanted from the outside. It's not just the appearance, it's actually slanted. The sign said "Okashi no Shiro" (Castle of Sweets). A slanted castle is no good. "Do as you please," I thought. I ordered "Chinese manju - regular and miso." I had to wait a while, but the old man was very kind. I've actually hated manju since I was a kid, especially Chinese manju. I also hated dorayaki. It's strange that I can eat them now. I cut the two manju in half, gave half to the wife and sister team, and kept the other half for us... or so I thought. Since I didn't like it, I didn't touch it. Eventually, my wife picked it up and handed it to me. I shook my head, but my wife started eating it herself. I was drinking beer, then switched to shochu, and completely forgot about the Chinese manju. Probably absentmindedly watching it. By the time I realized it, one was gone... My wife was frantically asking, "What two flavors??" I absentmindedly answered, "Regular and miso." "Miso??" I remembered my wife's crazy voice about 30 minutes after hearing it. By that time, the Chinese manju had completely lost its energy, with the shape of my wife's fingers imprinted on its body, barely breathing. I hesitated whether helping would actually be good for the manju... I pondered while sipping my shochu and worrying about the outcome of the TV drama. But such worries were pointless... my wife's finger imprints went from five to three, and now they are no longer visible. It was a sudden end... an ending like Terminator 2's Arnold... Arnoldo... Uploading this before reading it back, but... it seems completely incomprehensible... no intention of fixing it... sorry!!

In Kushiro, a famous treat is the Nakahana manju featured on the popular TV show "Himitsu no Kenmin SHOW."