Every time I come to Fukuchiyama Castle Festival, I always make sure to buy taiyaki. It's so delicious that I even bought some to take back to Tokyo last time. I love this shop so much. I bought some again this time, both the day before the festival and on the day of. I even brought some as a gift for Ko-ta, the mascot! I hope I can come back to buy more next year!

This is a taiyaki shop located in Fukuchiyama City. It's a shop known for its delicious taiyaki. I couldn't find a parking lot. This time, the taiyaki had a lovely appearance and it was clearly baked by hand. The dough was thin, and it was filled with plenty of sweet red bean paste. The red bean paste had a strong flavor of azuki beans, and the sweetness was quite mild, with a stronger taste of saltiness. It was a taiyaki to enjoy the taste of azuki beans themselves, not a sweet taiyaki.

I went to the "Japan's Best Taiyaki" about 5 kilometers away at 3 o'clock, but the parking lot was full so I came here instead. It was also crowded with cars here, but I managed to buy one. I bought a croissant taiyaki with "cream", but I was a little disappointed because there was no cream in the tail. As I ate towards the head, I found deliciously sweet cream! The honey spread on it was also delicious. My hands got sticky (lol).

The place is located across from the northeast corner of Goryo Shrine, diagonally in front of the Welfare Hall. It's a small shop. The parking lot is located behind the Welfare Hall, with half of it seemingly for the shop's use. As mentioned in other reviews, it's best to avoid parking on the street. I received a croissant taiyaki from a colleague, so I visited to try a regular taiyaki. The croissant taiyaki was a bit lacking in crispiness, and the filling was a bit thick. The filling was sweet potato. Other fillings were sold out. It goes well with milk rather than tea. It's quite sweet with syrup on the outside. It costs ¥220, which seems a bit pricey. Later on, I went to buy one myself. I wanted a regular taiyaki with both sweet bean paste and custard, but they said custard is not available for regular taiyaki. I ended up getting a regular sweet bean paste taiyaki. I warmed it up in the microwave at home. It was filled to the brim with sweet bean paste. The paste seemed to have a strong saltiness to it. This one costs ¥170. It felt smaller than the ones I had as a child, perhaps my childhood memories are idealizing it. It's a nostalgic taste. 2016/04 revisited: I heard they started making takoyaki, so I visited again. They warned that it would take some time, but I really wanted to try it. I ordered Osaka-style takoyaki and green onion Osaka-style takoyaki. It did take a while. While waiting, I saw other customers ordering taiyaki. Someone ordered custard filling. Wait, they have it? Oh well. I took it to go and enjoyed it at Fukuchiyama Castle. It was a bit cold, but the inside was gooey. The octopus was small, the filling was sparse, and there was not much sauce. It seemed like they were still getting the hang of it. The owner was experimenting and trying different things.

I arrived at around 3 o'clock. I happened to see a flag for croissant taiyaki near the Fukuchiyama City Health and Welfare Hall where I went for an event, so I decided to stop by. Although you can eat inside the store, it was full, so I decided to take out and eat in the park in front of the store. They said that there were many orders ahead of mine, so I had to wait for about 15 minutes, but since it seemed popular, I decided to wait. I ordered the Croissant Apple Pie (250 yen) and the Croissant Naruto Kintoki (230 yen). The wait was worth it because they were served hot. Even before eating, the scent of apples and cinnamon was delightful. The crust was crispy and the apple pie was in the shape of a taiyaki. I felt that it would be even better if there was a little more custard or sweet, gooey apples inside. The Naruto Kintoki had a crispy crust and the creamy sweet potato paste was amazing! There was plenty of Naruto Kintoki paste inside, and it was delicious. It seems to be available only from October to March. I would like to try the basic sweet red bean paste as well.

Today's snack during break time (lol). I had a convenience store bento for lunch, so I was still a bit hungry. I found a croissant taiyaki shop nearby called Asakusa-ya. This shop opened a few years ago across from Goryo Park, but I couldn't go because they didn't have a parking lot. Oh, I didn't know that there was a parking lot behind the Welfare Hall. This shop specializes in taiyaki, where they bake each one individually. You can also eat inside the shop, but I was in work clothes, so I got it to go. I got the red bean and cream croissant taiyaki this time. It was ready when I got there, so I didn't have to wait. It was slightly warm, but still delicious. I think it would be amazing if you take it to go and warm it up in a toaster oven. I would like to try the taiyaki set next time.

The taiyaki was delicious!

I think in these times, there was no eat-in space, only takeout. When I went in the afternoon, I had to wait for over 30 minutes for taiyaki because a reservation was required. So, I got a croissant taiyaki instead. They only had one left with red bean filling, so I also bought an apple pie. It seems like they are really busy with all the reservations. The croissant taiyaki was more like a pie crust than a croissant, but it was crispy and delicious. Maybe younger people would prefer more filling, but considering the price, I think this amount is reasonable.