Recently, I have started to dislike sweet snacks, so I have been enjoying senbei and okaki instead. On a weekday before 4 pm in April 2021, I needed individually wrapped snacks that I could bring to my workplace, so I stopped by a store. In the back left corner of Big Kame, I found a section with individually wrapped senbei and okaki. I remembered the shrimp senbei I purchased at another store last month and my love for cheese, so I found a flavor that perfectly matched my preferences and bought it. (Price including 8% consumption tax) The items I ordered were as follows: Izaki Shoten ┣ Shrimp and Cheese $315 ┗ Eel Kabayaki Arare $300 Izaki Shoten is a store that manufactures and sells arare and okaki. Although a store in Osaka is registered on Tabelog, the genre is specified as "other," and I couldn't find out if the company sells snacks, so I will share my thoughts on Izaki Shoten's products at Nikino Kashi. In addition to Big Kame, some of Izaki Shoten's products were also sold at Kinokuniya Antre inside Ueno Station. Shrimp and Cheese: A cylindrical rice cracker with cheese stuffed in the center. You can taste the shrimp flavor from the dough, followed by the cheese spreading throughout your mouth. This is a snack that you won't get tired of eating. Eel Kabayaki Arare: A thin rectangular rice cracker with a hint of eel kabayaki flavor. The bitterness of eel is also recreated in this snack.

In Ameyoko, I mainly buy discounted items such as snacks, curry, and dried noodles because they have a wide variety at a low price. Especially, there are many types of dried goods and beans, and you can find many products that are not easy to come across, so it's fun just to look around. They kept mentioning their 70th anniversary on the in-store announcements. I bought some discounted rice crackers and curry. I also like to buy snacks that look like they could be served as appetizers at a bar.

I visited Nigiki Kashiya in Ameyoko to buy return gifts for Valentine's Day chocolates. I know my daughter's preferences well since she was a child, so I bought a lot of unique delicacies that I think she will like. I also purchased the Ebi Arare that was featured on Karisome Tengoku and was sold out last time I visited. I asked the staff at the store to send it by home delivery, so White Day will be ten times better! ( ๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)b

December 7, 2019. Saturday. Day 3 of the Tokyo day trip with the Adult Holiday Club. We started the day in Ueno with a delicious bowl of traditional miso ramen followed by a Vienna coffee at a retro coffee shop. After that, we wandered around Ameyoko to walk off our meal. Next, we made a stop at a large store filled with Asian snacks where many foreign visitors were busy shopping. Feeling overwhelmed by the variety, I decided to try the shrimp rice crackers for 210 yen, which had been featured on a TV show. However, they turned out to be just okay and didn't quite meet my high expectations. I still prefer the classic Kappa Ebisen shrimp snacks.

I moved from Asakusabashi to Ameya-Yokocho and visited the famous candy shop Niki Niki Niki Niki Niki Niki, which was introduced on the TV show "Matsuko & Ariyoshi's Karisome Tengoku". The shop has a nostalgic feel like an adult's dagashiya (traditional Japanese candy store), which got me excited. However, the shop is quite spacious and it was a bit difficult to find what I was looking for. When I asked the staff, they told me that their most popular item, Ebi Arare (shrimp rice crackers), often sells out quickly because it is a small factory and they can't keep up with production. I also purchased the Komo Mochi with crab eggs, Sansei Isomatsuba, and Ebi Homare, which were highly praised by Matsuko. Thanks to the popularity boost from professional golfer Hinako Shibuno, the Taratara Shitenja Nee snacks were also sold out. I enjoyed these snacks at home while watching TV.

In June 2019, we headed to Ameya Yokocho after walking from Matsuzakaya Ueno store. Chibitsunu: "Ameyoko~" Our destination was the famous store "Nikinokashi Bikkukan." This shop is well-known in Ameyoko and has been featured on TV and the internet. The store was bustling with tourists. We had been searching for Shanshan's furikake, and finally found out that it was sold here thanks to a helpful person online. Chibitsunu: "I found it~" Ta-da! We finally got our hands on Tanaka no Ueno Panda-kun furikake. This furikake is supervised by the Ueno Sightseeing Association. Chibitsunu: "Shan-chan's packaging is so cute~" The back features Ueno's official character, Ueno Panda-kun. This character was created to commemorate the arrival of giant pandas Li Li and Shin Shin at Ueno Zoo in the spring of 2011. Chibitsunu: "Shanshan joined in 2017~" What's amazing about this furikake is that each small packet features different photos of Shanshan's growth record. There is also a sticker included. Chibitsunu: "It's like a photo album of Shanshan~" Let's take a closer look at the photos. 1 month old, 2 months old, 3 months old, 4 months old, 5 months old. The furikake comes in five flavors: bamboo shoot, egg, cod roe, bonito, and salmon. The bamboo shoot flavor is quite refreshing and has a nice aroma. It contains bear bamboo and young barley leaves, so it seems good for the body. The classic cod roe flavor is next. With this furikake, we can enjoy a fulfilling furikake life for a while. So, let's enjoy our furikake rice! The bamboo shoot flavor is refreshing with a good aroma. It contains bear bamboo. The young barley leaves are also included, so it seems good for the body. Here is the classic cod roe flavor. With this, we can enjoy a fulfilling furikake life for a while. Now, let's head back to Ueno Zoo for the afternoon visit. ...To be continued.【Note】Business hours and closures may be subject to change due to the impact of COVID-19. ************************ Nikinokashi Bikkukan Ueno 4-6-10, Taito-ku, Tokyo 03-3833-4051 Business hours: 10:00-20:00 Closed: None Located a short walk from JR Okachimachi Station

The nearest station is Ueno-Okachimachi Station, but the route explanation is from Ueno Station. Get off at Ueno Station. Pass through the Furusato exit and go outside, then head towards the left side of Yodobashi Camera. At the fork between Uenonaka and Ameyoko, go left (towards Ameyoko) and continue towards Okachimachi while looking for the curved road. You can hear the CM jingle "Nikinikinikinikini Nikiniki no Kashi" from somewhere. It is an entertaining store like a confectionery department store with a wide variety of sweets. Although it is a confectionery specialty store, it also sells retort food and other non-perishable food items. There seem to be more foreign customers than Japanese, as you can often see foreigners. When I visited on a weekday around 7 pm in September 2018, I purchased the following items (excluding tax): Nekko Wafer Roll Candy ¥200, Kinder Happy Hippo (1 piece) ¥140. Nekko: Purchased at Nikiniki no Kashi, but the imported distributor is "Yoshinoya," a confectionery store near Nikiniki no Kashi Big Hall. You can reach it from a narrow path next to the duck and green onion ramen shop in the green area of Ameyoko Welcome Mall. I went to see the store, but I didn't buy anything because I didn't like the atmosphere of the mall. The colorful tablet-like sweets have unique flavors. They look beautiful in color. Happy Hippo: Kinder is a brand that sells Nutella and Macadamia nut chocolate wrapped in golden aluminum foil. The company also sells sweets for kids. It sandwiches two-color chocolate cream that melts in your mouth between thin wafers and seals it with a crispy snack. I thought it looked more like a crocodile than a hippo as I ate it. Wow, what's this! The chocolate melts so smoothly! It's a chocolate snack with a taste that seems unlikely in Japan. The melting texture and flavor of the chocolate are reminiscent of Nutella. Nine days later, I revisited because the Happy Hippo was so delicious, but I couldn't find the hippo. Instead, adult-oriented Nutella sweets were placed in the space where the hippo would have been, so I bought them (including tax): Nutella Bread Tea-6 ¥786. It sandwiches Nutella chocolate between wafers. There are two depressions on the surface, so is it correct to break it and eat it? I felt like the wafer powder would fly around and make a mess, so I ate it without breaking it. The chocolate is one of Nutella's brown varieties, and it has a stronger chocolate flavor than Happy Hippo. I wonder if people from overseas can finish this one in one go... it's strong. On a weekday around 2 pm in January 2019, I purchased the following items (excluding tax): Kinder Happy Hippo Milk & Cocoa (5 pieces) ¥654, Coconut Crunch Biscuit ¥90. Happy Hippo: A rematch from last time. It contains hazelnut cocoa cream and milk cream inside the wafer. The gooey chocolate is delicious, and it has a taste that makes you feel the foreignness of the sweets. The milk cream offsets the richness of the cocoa cream, and because it's a small size for kids, you finish it before the chocolate becomes too much. By the way, the same product is sold for ¥594 (tax included) at the store and online store of "PLAZA," a store that sells women's goods and imported sweets. Coconut Crunch Biscuit: A brand from Singapore called Misty. It seems to have won a gold medal at an international food exhibition. It comes in a box of 24 pieces and is not individually wrapped. It's crispy and light, making you want to eat it all at once. There is a biscuit in Japan that tastes very similar to this one.

On this day, I went on an expedition to Ueno to see the Vermeer exhibition. I decided to visit this confectionery shop in Ameyoko. The shop is always bustling with customers, with over 5000 items available. Since becoming a tax-free shop about three years ago, there are also many inbound customers. My main purpose was to get "Iso Sanshoku Matsuba," a product from the food company SAWA in Akasaka, which is made with sea urchin, sansho pepper, and curry-flavored surimi instead of cheese. I used to use "Natori" but it was discontinued over 20 years ago, and this product seems to be the only similar one available. The only other similar product I found was from Kunbu no Iwasaki in Azumabashi. This shop may be like a special protection area for endangered species. After securing that, I bought various chocolates, including Meiji's nostalgic strawberry chocolate, Fujiya's new product LOOK3, and Lotte's Strawberry Liqueur from the Western Liquor series. When I got home, I first tried the Iso Sanshoku Matsuba. The different flavors of sea urchin, sansho pepper, and curry are not very distinct like Natori, but if you eat it while thinking about them, the flavors start to become apparent. The strawberry chocolate is just like it used to be, with strawberry bits inside. It reminds me of the old commercials with Chiyo Okumura dressed as a Daibara woman. LOOK3 consists of 70%, 77%, and 85% high cocoa selections. The 85% one apparently goes well with whiskey, but it was so delicious that I ended up eating all of them before trying with whiskey. I have seen LOOK4 at a nearby supermarket, but I haven't seen LOOK3. I need to look for it and buy it again. Lotte's Strawberry Liqueur seems to have replaced Calvados from last season. Lamy is still the best in this series. If it's a similar major product, Ok Store is cheaper, and MACHI OKA and Taishido nearby are also convenient. However, from nostalgic to the latest products, from well-known majors to unknown small companies, I once again realized that Nikko has the best selection of products.

I bought it after seeing it on Matsuko-san's show, which I couldn't buy when it was popular.

I entered the store in the evening on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. The store is located in Ameyoko, so it's crowded with tourists. Today, I came to buy "candies" for my workplace to give to visitors in March and April. We will distribute them to customers as part of a quiz event for Easter. This store offers a selection of products from retail confectionery shops across the country, so there are also unique local items available. It's fun to see. It's a bit difficult to move around the store due to the large number of people, but it makes me want to shop. Today, I bought "Senjaku Juice" with 5 types of candies, "Ame Ribbon" candy with sticks (50 pieces), Almond Scotch, Geisha Chocolate, and Panda Chocolate. It cost around 5000 yen. It's a fun space for girls with a variety of classic brand candies and boxed chocolates. Personally, I love Almond Scotch. I can't stop eating it once I start because I love nuts. The sticky feeling on my teeth is also nice. Additional note... "Senjaku Ame" juice-flavored candies are delicious. They come in apple, Kyoho grape, peach, cherry, and setoka flavors, and they are all tasty. They are small in size and easy to eat. They are even used as candies for ANA flights. I'm curious about Senjaku Ame Honpo. They seem to be available at "Okashi no Machi O". Give them a try. Written on March 14, 2019.

The shrimp senbei is delicious!

On August 3, I went to Ueno to buy my usual mixed nuts. Unfortunately, the shops in Ameyoko were unexpectedly closed for a three-day summer holiday. Disappointed, I looked for alternatives at a nearby store, but the prices were more than double. Just when I thought it was impossible, I stumbled upon Niki no Kashi at the entrance. Niki no Kashi, a familiar name from the old days of radio, was a place I had never visited before. Inside, it was even more crowded with foreign customers than the streets of Ameyoko. I quickly found the nuts section and bought a 500g pack for 702 yen. When I tried them at home, the taste was good but there were too many peanuts and giant corn with no walnuts, making it seem a bit overpriced. Overall, it was a variety of mixed nuts. Bon appétit!

I visited "Nikiniki Bigkan" in Ameyoko by chance, and it was registered on Tabelog with 4 reviews. The store is spacious and offers a wide range of products beyond sweets. I ended up buying more than I intended because of the tempting discounts. I also found a corner dedicated to "Futatsuki," an original brand of Nikiniki offering various baked goods. I bought strawberry and mango financiers, as well as a lemon tart. The desserts were moist and slightly too sweet for my taste. I also got a large Meiji milk chocolate bar, which is my husband's favorite. Overall, it was a pleasant experience, and I recommend checking out "Futatsuki" if you're in the area.

There is a super famous shop in Ameyoko in Ueno-Okachimachi. It's a unique space that can't be simply described as a "shop". Dry goods seem to be popular among foreign tourists (especially Asians). They have a lot of products displayed outside the store. There are many items cheaper than at Takoya along Showa Street. This time, I bought S&B "Business Select Black Whole Pepper" x1 and Pokka Sapporo "Luxurious Bisque of Shrimp" x5, which I had been looking for for a long time. Especially the former, made from black pepper from Sarawak, Malaysia, is amazing!

On this day, I visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum to see modern art and decided to take a stroll around Ueno and Okachimachi. While I was there, I stopped by this confectionery shop in Ameyoko and bought the Sanjyu Matsuba (around 380 yen per bag). Instead of cheese like in the Chitara, it has a filling of sea urchin, sansho pepper, and curry-flavored surimi. I really love this unusual snack. I think it's the ultimate weird snack. The original was commercialized by "Natori" as a snack in 1957. I've been eating it since I was a child, but unfortunately it was discontinued over 20 years ago. Since then, I've been searching for similar products, but I haven't found any other shops in Tokyo where I can buy them regularly except for here. When I got home, I opened the bag right away. Compared to the Natori version, the sea urchin, sansho pepper, and curry flavors are weak, and if I closed my eyes while eating, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the three. But it's much better to have it than not. I hope this doesn't get discontinued. Actually, even before that, I wonder if Natori could start production again.

I love sweets, especially candy! It's a must-have for me even while I'm working. I stumbled upon a shop in Ameyoko where I found all sorts of candies I had never seen before. They had classic options as well as unique, niche products. This time, I bought three candies: apricot candy, which had a rich flavor, salted plum candy, with a strong salted plum taste, and matcha milk candy, which was the best - a rich matcha flavor with a hint of milk. I will definitely visit again to try out more of their interesting products!

I went alone on a weekday morning. (March 2016) [Delicious Mixed Beans] Okuya beans from Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture. A mix of ten types of beans: green tea soybeans, miso peanuts, salted beans, pumpkin seeds, black milk beans, roasted green beans, sugar-coated peanuts, wasabi edamame, black coffee black beans, and roasted black beans. All ten types are delicious. The beans themselves are tasty, and the gentle seasoning is excellent. If you visit Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki Nikiniki

I came to Ueno to buy golf equipment! I went shopping at Futaki Golf (╹◡╹) There is a Futaki sweets shop in front of the store, and there are plenty of snacks for tonight's drink! I bought various items and paid with PayPay. Looking forward to tonight's drink ( ◠‿◠ )