In mid-August 2016, on the way to Ohara, I stopped by HELP in Ichijoji, a place I had visited before. I had natural soy milk ice cream in matcha flavor, apple juice, and a few other snacks to enjoy as I cycled to my destination. I rented a bike from a shop on Gojo Street and headed north towards Ohara. Since HELP was on the way, I decided to drop by. It was crowded as usual, so it took some time to place my order. I bought some snacks for cooling down and hydrating, and enjoyed them at a nearby park. The natural soy milk ice cream in matcha flavor from Natural Factory was sweet with a deep taste. The apple juice from Sokeisha was refreshing with a strong apple flavor. I also purchased acai juice and omega milk for extra refreshment and hydration. It was a much-needed break to prevent heatstroke. Thank you for the delicious treats.

I went to Daigo and Kibune areas and made the most of the Eizan Electric Railway's one-day pass, so I got off again at Ichijoji to the west to revisit HELP. There weren't many people in the morning, so I was able to take my time choosing, but some items were sold out. Most of the tofu was sold out in the morning, so I bought what was left. In addition to white miso and natto, I also bought plum cider to enjoy while waiting for the bus or on the train. I thought it was a good idea to split the trip into two because I thought it might get heavy on the way there. As planned, I moved to Kyoto Station and enjoyed the plum cider while waiting for the bus. Unfortunately, it spilled out when I opened it due to the movement, but the refreshing plum flavor was nice. When I got back home, I ate the natto. It was made by Yu and Me, whom I had seen when traveling in northern Kyoto, and it brought back nostalgic feelings. The beans were a little firmer than other natto, but I think it's just right. It may have lost some moisture during the trip. The white miso is made in the neighboring town of Kameoka, and just like when I bought it at HEXHIVE in Nara, it's amazing that you can make sweet miso with just koji, salt, and soybeans. It's delicious on its own, and it also seems like it could be used as an ingredient in sweets. There were almost no disappointing products. Thank you for the meal. Store information: HELP Ichijoji Store Tel: 075-781-3150 Hours: 10:00-19:00 Closed on Wednesdays Address: 6 Takatsuki-cho, Ichijoji, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto

On my trip to Kyoto, I visited the Ohara and Kibune areas. I used the city bus day pass to make a few transfers and got off at Takano, then walked a bit on Higashioji Street to find HELP. I've been here a few times before, and it's quite a large organic food store. It can be a bit tricky to navigate with cars and bicycles parked outside, but the store itself always has interesting items. However, it was unusually crowded today, with some people stocking up on items like butter. I ended up getting a slice of cheddar cheese, apple juice, tofu, and steamed bread as snacks for the journey. It turned out to be a members-only sale that day. I enjoyed the cheddar cheese, which was a normal color unlike foreign ones, and the apple juice from Nagano Tomato was sweet with a hint of sourness. The steamed bread had a nice texture with walnuts, and the tofu was square-shaped and tasty with a hint of saltiness. These snacks gave me the energy I needed for my travels. Thank you for the meal.

A typhoon seems to be coming!! I have plenty of food in the refrigerator, but just in case, I bought some eggs, vegetables, and sasami okutanba's Kuromine shamo. This is shamo with shiso and umeboshi wrapped in tempura, the meat is firm and very delicious. The fried tofu is cut and stored in the freezer, so it can be used while frozen, which is convenient. The pack of bamboo shoots is always ready to use, so it is a staple. Checking what I want here and there, it's a small shop but the stay time is long. *\(^o^)/*

I caught a cold from the yellow sand wind, with a scratchy throat and cough. I said I would go to the home doctor, but it's very far away - an hour's drive over two mountain passes. Oh no, the gas light came on, indicating low fuel! I can usually go about 60 kilometers with this, but there are areas in the mountains where there is no signal. Maybe I should have taken a longer route, as there is a gas station nearby. I've run out of gas before, so it's scary, but I made it. I had just four liters left after the doctor's visit. On the way back, I stopped for some shopping - tea and snacks to help me feel better. I bought date tea and dates, both organic. Dates are for my mid-morning snack after doing the morning cleaning. I only have vegetable juice and date tea for breakfast, no solid food. Instead, I eat plenty at lunch and dinner. I have yogurt, dates, and bananas for my snack. Dates are not too sweet and very delicious. They are from Majorca, Italy maybe? They are like the gentle food at Alisan, a red barn by the river where ingredients from around the world are delivered with love. Date tea is mild in flavor but easy to drink. I bought it to help recover from allergies and fatigue caused by pollen and yellow sand. I also bought black tea to mix with dried ginger powder and black sugar. I buy vegetables, meat, fish, seasonings, and even detergent here. It's an essential store for me.

When I go out to the street, I always stop by this place for shopping. They have a variety of fresh and delicious seafood, vegetables, tofu, seasonings, snacks, and daily necessities. I especially love their yogurt. I don't eat much breakfast, but I always have ginger tea and yogurt in the morning. The Okoppe yogurt from Nemuro is a must-buy for me. It's bigger in Nemuro, but I'm glad I can still buy it here. It's been over a year since I last visited Nemuro, but I'm happy to find their products here. This year, Nemuro had drift ice land, and I bought some fresh natural red snapper from Nagasaki. I made a simple steamed dish with sake, kombu, fish, and tofu, seasoned with Asahi Ponzu. I also bought some vegetables like yam and cabbage. They are a great help for me. I enjoyed my meal with a bottle of Hanatomoe sake, a birthday present from Wakayama. It was a delightful meal, and I always appreciate it.

I don't have anything specific to buy, but I end up buying various things when I go. On this day, I bought brown mushrooms, a food ingredient I've been into recently. I like to put them in soup, stir-fry them, or add a lot to pasta. After having steak, I enjoy pasta as the finishing touch. I also received pesticide-free kale leaves from a friend, which I placed on the table and enjoyed eating them with grilled oysters or shirako. I mix Chiba-grown strawberry yogurt and eat it. Everything was so delicious that I might have eaten too much! ❤️

When it started to get cold about a month ago, I had a solo hot pot day. Sundubu hot pot base is so convenient - just throw in leftover vegetables and tofu with no seasoning needed, it's simple. I harvested some myoga and made honey vinegar for yakisoba, which I drink first thing in the morning. Yogurt and sauce are also delicious. When I go out to Kyoto, I always stop by this supermarket on the famous ramen street in the middle of the city. The parking lot is spacious and the security guard is familiar - I love this supermarket.

I finished various errands and arrived at my final destination❣️ I buy dinner and various ingredients. There are a few parking spaces in front of the store, which is convenient. The security guard is always cheerful and supports the parking lot management, which I love❣️ I always buy spring roll wrappers, seasonings, and fresh and cheap sashimi such as Yokowa, squid, sand lance, and salmon roe for only 498 yen, which is unbelievable. The pork is also delicious, perfect for spring roll fillings along with vegetables for a delicious eight treasure dish. I can't eat ten spring rolls, so I freeze half of them. At home, my spring rolls are always filled with pork, bamboo shoots, glass noodles, and cabbage, sometimes with shrimp or oysters. It's my homemade dish 💖

My busy son-in-law finally had a break and stayed overnight at our house. My daughter has been here for a few days now. I went to Kyoto Station to pick up my son-in-law, had lunch at Sanjo Kawaramachi, visited my daughter's friend's art exhibition at ARTS & near Nijo, and then stopped by a friend's antique shop nearby. We also went to a newly opened shop for cake and tea. After that, we went to a store to buy ingredients. We were all tired from moving around in the heat, so we decided to have a simple tempura dinner. It took some time to prepare, but the fresh fish we got was delicious. We also bought sasami, shiso leaves, and umeboshi for the tempura. We fried some vegetables as well. We ate heartily, but since we used white sesame oil for the tempura, we didn't get heartburn. The next day, the two of them went to the river to swim while I stayed on the riverbank taking photos. The water in the river was warm due to the heat. The two of them had a great time for about two hours.

The busy obento shop is still going strong, this is already the 5th time ^_^ so I went to buy ingredients for making croquettes, such as flour, fresh hijiki, chikuwa, and thin aburaage. The hijiki here is really delicious! Since the end of May, my daughter has been busy with work and keeps sending out SOS messages \(//∇//)\ Lately, I've been making simple dishes at home, like an izakaya, but even though I complain about it being a hassle, no one is asking for anything (-.-;)y-~~~ If someone asks, I'll be full of energy *\(^o^)/* So, I made various dishes this day, including potato croquettes, hijiki mixed with beans rice, shredded dried bonito with sansho pepper, rice cooked with real sansho pepper, simmered sea bream scraps, and kelp-marinated sea bream. I made a lot for 5 servings! I'll just return the refrigeration fee for the delivery service, so please take the rest~(｀_´)ゞ I made a lot, but I'll eat a little bit of the leftovers. It's convenient to have side dishes in the fridge. I pack the leftovers in a bento box. It's a bento box that Yu-chan gave me for my birthday. I found some good things like hatomugi (Job's tears) which is good for the skin. I also bought houji hatomugi for cooking and snacking. Houji hatomugi is delicious and crunchy. I also bought yogurt from Mokugi Dairy, which is delicious. I also bought potatoes, carrots, and ground beef. I cut the aburaage from I Love Kitchen into one serving sizes and freeze them, which is convenient. The delicious aburaage is great for frying. Tofu is also delicious. Before I knew it, I spent over 5,000 yen, as usual. The sashimi is also delicious. Squid is cheap and tasty this season. They also sell detergent and cosmetics, which is convenient.

Whenever I go out in the city of Kyoto and on my way back, I almost always stop by this shop! It's located on the famous ramen street in Kyoto. When I asked if there were any safe and reliable natural food shops in Kyoto after moving there, I was told about this place and it has been my favorite ever since. In Osaka, my top recommendation is Crayon House in Esaka. The best part is the fresh fish section! They sell fresh and delicious fish there. On this day, they had fish roe! If they are selling it, I always buy it. And if it's on sale, I definitely buy it. Other things I always buy when I see them are fish roe, octopus, red snapper scraps, and items with a 50% discount label. I like to cook the fish roe by adding some alcohol for a strong flavor, then finish it off by thickening it with egg – it's incredibly delicious! They also sell nostalgic yogurt from Hokkaido called Okoppe Yogurt, which is smooth and very tasty. Whenever I visit my daughter's house in Nemuro, I always buy this and eat it every day. The Okoppe milk is a bit pricey, but it's also very delicious! They also sell laundry soap, shampoo, seasonings, rice, tofu, and more, so I always end up with a lot of shopping. There are plenty of parking spaces available, making it very convenient. The staff directing the parking is lively and funny, making the whole experience enjoyable. I plan to go shopping there again at the end of the year!