I visited "Aokiya Tama New Town Suwa Store" located in the Suwaname shopping street, a 12-minute walk from Keio Line Keio Nagayama Station. The Suwaname shopping street is located within the Suwa housing complex, one of the pioneering housing complexes in Tama New Town built in the late 1960s during the high economic growth period. Although many shops in the Suwaname shopping street have closed down, some are still working hard. This shop is a franchise of Aokiya Co., Ltd., which was established in 1893 in Fuchu City and operates 12 stores in the Tama region. Aokiya started as a confectionery shop in the precincts of the O-Kunitama Shrine in Fuchu City in 1893 and has been dedicated to making sweets for over 120 years. I visited the shop around 12 o'clock, and it had a calm atmosphere with a lady attending to customers. I tried the "Hibi Kore Kurodora" (190 yen) and "Choco Daifuku Dora" (300 yen), both of which were delicious and unique sweets. The "Hibi Kore Kurodora" is a dorayaki with a black sugar-flavored dough and a homemade sweet red bean paste made from large beans from Hokkaido. The black sugar aroma and fluffy texture of the dorayaki were delightful. The "Choco Daifuku Dora" is a unique confectionery where a ganache made from Belgian chocolate is wrapped in mochi and sandwiched between dorayaki. The rich chocolate sweetness melts in your mouth along with the fluffy dorayaki. Both sweets were impressive and would make great gifts.

I stopped by for some Japanese sweets on my way back from a morning activity. I got my usual favorite, Musashino Nisshi White, along with the limited edition Macadamia Nut and Hachijo Fruit Lemon, as well as the limited edition Wakamomo Daifuku available only on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I had never seen Wakamomo Daifuku before. Inside, there is white bean paste and young peach fruit simmered in sweet syrup. Even though it's a young peach, it has a gentle and sweet fragrance of peach. It seems like the young peach was simmered in honey with some liquor. I never knew you could enjoy peaches like this. The chewy texture is followed by the gentle fruity sweetness of the peach, which complements the white bean paste perfectly. It was a delicious Daifuku. The Macadamia Nut from Musashino Nisshi has crushed macadamia nuts inside the cream. The crunchy texture of the nuts and the nutty aroma make it delicious. The Hachijo Fruit Lemon has Hachijo Island's specialty lemon peel in the cream. The refreshing acidity and invigorating aroma of the lemon made me like it as well, as it is perfect for summer. I think I'll come back around the time of the moon-viewing festival next. Thank you for the delicious treats.

On a scorching hot day, I came seeking some cool sweets. I ordered water yokan, water manju with yuzu and coffee flavors, and a limited edition Shine Muscat daifuku. I brought my own bag with ice packs to keep them cool on the way home. That evening, I enjoyed them with some cold green tea. The water yokan had a gentle sweetness with a hint of salt, perfect for cooling down. The yuzu water manju had a subtle yuzu fragrance and a refreshing aftertaste. The coffee water manju had a rich coffee flavor blended well with the white bean paste. The Shine Muscat daifuku, made with grapes from Katsunuma, had a fresh fruity aroma. The mochi was chewy and the grape inside was juicy and flavorful. The balance of sweetness was just right. I will definitely go back for more in the fall season. Thank you for the delicious treats.

I happened to pass by Suwa shopping street during the summer festival. It's usually a quiet shopping street, but there was a lively atmosphere with local bands playing and hula dancing. On this day, you could buy red rice at a special price, so I got some along with the summer limited edition "cream warabi mochi." I had the red rice with my partner for lunch, sprinkled with sesame salt. It was simply delicious, no need for any words. Red rice is just so tasty. I had been eyeing the cream warabi mochi for a while. It comes in a plastic white container that looks like pudding at first glance. When you open it, you'll find whipped cream with a light sweetness and kinako powder on top. Scooping with a spoon, you'll uncover the warabi mochi coated in black honey from underneath. It was like a western-style sweet and a new, enjoyable warabi mochi. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

I love "Musashino Nikki" and saw a flyer in the newspaper announcing the new release of Uji matcha cream flavor, so I came to buy it. I got the set of Uji matcha, white, and chocolate flavors. I chilled them in the fridge and enjoyed them during my evening coffee time. I had tried the "matcha" flavor from Musashino Nikki before, but the Uji matcha cream had a slightly darker color and a strong green aroma when I tasted it. It was clear that there are differences in the ingredients, and I really liked it. The classic white and chocolate flavors were delicious as always, showcasing the unique taste of Aokiya. I will definitely go back to buy more. Thank you for the delicious treat.

I went to buy the new flavor of my favorite "Musashino Nisshi" sweets. I bought a set of 6 pieces with the familiar "White" and "Chocolate" flavors, as well as the new "Praline Chocolat" flavor. I also bought pumpkin manju, chestnut manju, and chestnut dorayaki. The Praline Chocolat from Musashino Nisshi has a cocoa dough with a Belgian chocolate cream filling flavored with hazelnuts, which tasted even richer than their usual chocolates. The moist dough was delicious as always. The pumpkin manju had a generous amount of pumpkin paste mixed with sweet red bean paste, while the chestnut manju had white bean paste and chestnut paste mixed together, both with a glossy and moist skin. The chestnut dorayaki had a paste made from chestnuts, cream, and white bean paste, giving it a taste similar to a Mont Blanc cake. It was delicious, but it seems to be a seasonal limited edition only available until November. Every time I visit Aokiya, I find enjoyable seasonal sweets. I look forward to going back for more tea sweets. Thank you for the meal.

The other day, I went to Aokiya Goto no Mori Factory Store by bicycle and felt like having "Musashino Nisshi" again, so I also stopped by Donguri Pan next door to buy bread. This place is also run by Aokiya, like the one in Fuchu, but it is a franchise store. Each day has its own little pleasures, and on this day they were selling red rice. I always thought red rice was only for celebrations, but when I saw the freshly made red rice, I suddenly felt like eating it. I bought a pack of red rice, "Musashino Nisshi" with 6 pieces, and Kachigarasu Mantou. I have a memory of eating red rice from a traditional Japanese sweets shop in my old neighborhood when I was a child. Memories of the taste from childhood often form the basis of who we are now. However, those memories from when we were young are just that, memories of being a child, and it might be worth revisiting them as adults if the opportunity arises. Sticky rice is really delicious. Whether it's okowa or ohagi, the cooked rice is delicious. It's like a feast. And this time, it was cooked with sasage instead of azuki beans. Japanese ceremonial food is wonderful. I sprinkled sesame salt on top and ate it. It was chewy, and with each bite, I enjoyed the combination of the sesame salt and the sweetness of the sticky rice. Even though there was no special occasion, I was happy to enjoy the deliciousness of the red rice after a long time. The "Musashino Nisshi" this time had 2 pieces each of 3 flavors: white, chocolate, and matcha. They were all delicious - my partner and I have become fans. The Kachigarasu Mantou is a black steamed bun with black sesame bean paste kneaded into charcoal-infused dough. It seems to be inspired by the crows depicted in the protective charms given out at the Ookunitama Shrine during the plum festival. I've never been chased by crows or anything like that, and I often see them flying near my house, so I talk to them. Crows are said to remember faces. As for the taste, the sesame flavor is strong and aromatic. The skin is made with charcoal, but it didn't bother me at all. I felt like it would purify my body and soul when I ate it. The lady at the store is always cheerful and it puts me at ease. I got a loyalty card that is valid at all their stores. I'll definitely come back to buy more. Thank you for the meal.

I sometimes visit Tama City, a precious Japanese sweets shop located in the Suwa shopping street. It's a small shop with a traditional Japanese sweets shop feel, which I like. The main store is in Fuchu. They have various sweets and red bean rice cakes. This time, I tried their signature product, "kuro dorayaki," and seasonal Japanese sweets, "yuzu manju." I got a great deal this time, buying 2 kuro dorayaki for 150 yen (usually 154 yen each). The kuro dorayaki is made with black sugar, fluffy with just the right sweetness of the red bean paste inside, very delicious. The size is just right for me. The yuzu manju surprised me with yuzu inside the skin. The yuzu aroma was so strong and delightful, which was unexpected. I also tried their "mame maki dafuku," a mochi wrapped around a bean dafuku. It was chewy and delicious. The leftover one I had the next day was slightly harder, but it gave a fresh taste. Next time, I want to try their skewered dango, which is made to order!

Tool・To・Gourmet (Find and eat by bicycle), this time I visited the Tama New Town Suwa Shopping Street (shopping street in the housing complex) which I had difficulty visiting before. I have passed by here before on a walk, but the shutters were closed, perhaps it was a regular holiday. This is a branch of the long-established confectionery shop "Aokiya" in Fuchu. Even though this place has been around for a long time, it's surprising that there are no reviews despite having the store registered. It's my first time visiting here again... The Suwa Shopping Street is quiet and peaceful, but there are quite a few locals coming to buy from the shops. There are many elderly customers here. I have received some sweets from Aokiya from my partner's mother before, so I am familiar with this shop. On a certain weekday around 11 o'clock, they are open today, finally my first visit. It seems like there are artisans making sweets in the back. I was undecided on what to buy, but after looking around, I decided on rice cakes! Oh, and also sweet bean paste rice cakes! Since it's a confectionery shop in Tama, I'll also buy the sweetfish sweets. You can order the rice cakes and they will make it on a stick for you. "Please wait a moment," they said, so I went to pay in the meantime. While waiting for the rice cakes to be ready, an old man who came later asked, "Do you have red rice today?" The response from the back was, "It's not ready yet." The old man said, "I'll come back later," and left. I wonder if he always buys them here? After about 2-3 minutes, they brought the rice cakes. The rice cakes and sweet bean paste rice cakes need to be consumed today, the shop owner mentioned. The total was a little over 600 yen. They also gave me a new release, "Musashino Diary Matcha Premium," as a service. That night, I had the rice cakes and sweet bean paste rice cakes. The rice cakes were firm. The soy sauce flavor was not too thick and was sweet, while the sweet bean paste rice cakes had soft rice cakes. They were not too sweet either. The sweetfish sweets were filled with sweet bean paste wrapped in mochi. I encounter sweetfish sweets at various shops, but this one had a small face, a plump belly, and a well-defined tail. The Musashino Diary Matcha Premium seems to be a limited-time item. It has plenty of matcha cream in a Baumkuchen-like Japanese-style cake. The green of the matcha stands out, and the cream was refreshing with a mild sweetness. I would like to try the seasonal wagashi (Japanese confectionery) next time. Thank you for the meal.