niki no kashi

stumbled upon Niki no Kashi on social media

several huge buildings selling all sorts of snacks, candies

Kinda similar to Takeya 

Marishiten Tokudaiji Shrine is surrounded by the various Niki buildings, you can see this shrine from the JR Okachimachi station platform

I am pretty sure they have products repeating in each building but it was still something to see

Since I was with Satoshi, I want to go back so that I can take my time and look at each aisle...I'll be back

Niki no Kashi

4-1-8 Ueno

Taito, Tokyo

Open daily: 10:00-20:00

cool

noticed something cool (to me) with this potato chip bag
 

there are two spots to tear the bag open (arrows on the side)

one arrow up top, when you first start eating

the second one is mid-way, so that you don't need to cut it with a scissors to reach the chips near the bottom of the bag

and the bag stands on its own

do you eat your chips with chopsticks?

I do, so this is perfect, fingers don’t get dirty & no need to hold the bag

ojigi n style

Learned about Ojigi n Style from a television show.

The FIL of the owner actually makes mamegashi which translates literally to bean treats 

Not only are dried beans used but peas, nuts and peanuts too.

The original shop was called Shofukudo, a shop that was in business since 1933 

The owner then took over Shofukudo and changed the name to Ojigi n Style in 2021.

One of his latest creations is Takoyaki Nuts...instead of tako, peanuts are covered with a crunchy outside and topped with takoyaki sauce and aonori just like takoyaki

Love the packaging too!

Turcarri Kaajoo is apparently Hindi for the “highest flavor cashew”

The cashews are coated with a crunchy curry flavored coating.

Temari are balls that are covered with embroidery, they are colorful and take time to make

These are also called temari and are all sorts of colors and flavors

These use katsuo dashi, konbu dashi, usukuchi shoyu and koikuchi shoyu, they are also coated with different nori, and flavors

Fun to eat, some look like they would taste the same but each are different

Hatsusugata, literally the first appearance/shape is the original product that Shofukudo used to sell.

The owner of Ojigi n Style continues to make these and hasn't changed the way it is made or the flavor

I'm glad we got to try all of these, all except the cashews remind me of iso peanuts, which I grew up eating in Hawaii.

If I see these the next time I’m in Osaka, I’ll definitely pick some up

yamaya

When I went to pick up some coffee at Yamaya the other day

the shop had a facelift so it was interesting trying to find things in their new layout

One thing I noticed was their Korean foods area got larger

In the snack area, they were having a 2 for 500 yen (plus tax) sale for nori ten (fried nori) 

108 yen plus tax for the Doritos (avocado flavor) and 188 yen (plus tax) for the Mi-re biscuits (honey butter flavor)

The price of coffee has gone up, up, up!  

1680 yen (plus tax) for 1 kilo

I notice the beans are more like broken pieces too

There aren't many new (to me) beers to try these days though.

What are you enjoying these days? 

10548

first time seeing this metasequoia, most times I'm coming down the street toward JR Asakusabashi station so I think the building camoflagued it and I've never noticed it, it was huge!

Went to Ambika, the last time was back in 2019.

Picked up some snacks to try...halwa, black pepper banana chips, golden mix and coconut soan papdi

Shinonome Seipansho...they open at 12, which to me is super late.

I usually like getting out early, get my errands done then get back home before all the crowds start.

I was first in line...tried their kouign amann, so buttery and flaky! love..350 yen (tax included)

cheese, edamame, mushroom and bacon...the bread was a little hard, but the burnt cheese so ono! 400 yen (tax included)

croquante...flaky, with lots of nuts and caramel, loved this too...400 yen (tax included)

They also have a scone and cookie shop nearby but they weren't open on this day.

I'll plan better to be able to get to both next time.

Shinonome Seipansho

4-35-2 Kuramae

Taito, Tokyo

Closed Sunday

Hours: 12:00-18:00 

snackage

Yesterday at the market I saw some raw peanuts, so I picked some up.

They were grown in Kagoshima Prefecture and was about 3/4 pound..398 yen (plus tax)

I used the easy recipe to make boiled peanuts.

It was tasty and had the "crunch" that I like.

I also liked the fact that I could sit near the air conditioner while these simmered on the stove.

snackage

Found some new (to me) chocolates from Oh wow! a German maker.

Loved the design and package...these were a little sweeter than I like but I'm glad we got to try these.

Irish maker, East Coast Bakehouse's Granola cookies...so crunchy!

What kind of snacks have you been enjoying?
 

this and that

Found this assorted peanut snack, some peanuts are covered with a rice cracker shell, there are also some peas in there too, love it. 

Supermarket wood oven style pizza...loved the crust! and that this quattro formaggi (4 cheese) came with a little container of honey to drizzle on the pizza after heating up.

I do think they need to note that there is that container of honey included AND they need to put instructions on how to warm up the pizza...

The fence at nearby Kumano shrine is metal! it looks like a woven cloth, yeah?!

Bummed that I had to throw out 1 blood orange...

saw this interesting objet...the title of the piece is "toraboruta"

if you look carefully at it...it is a tora (tiger) that is bolted (chained up).

"toraboruta" is also the pronunciation of travolta, as in John Travolta...ha! 
 

The sunrises have been pretty spectacular...

I found taiyaki filled with sakura filling...stashed a couple in the freezer.

There are 2 more weeks for the State of emergency, but it seems that Tokyo has plateaued at 300 cases a day...hopefully we can get our number down even lower.

Japan has finally started to vaccinate but at the pace they are going the experts say it will take a couple of years?! 

Hopefully they will be able to get things moving...

Hope you are doing well, have a safe weekend.

snack mix

So this is my snack mix...which was a spin off from the Dalgona Ramen idea.

A package with an assortment of arare, nut and sesame crackers, a package of honey butter mixed nuts, a tube of Marble chocolate (like plain M & Ms), a handful of pumpkin seeds and a package of baby star ramen.

They sell the baby star ramen like this, in snack size packages.

Just mix everything together and eat.

I nixed making the caramel, because I am not good at it & didn’t want to waste anymore butter & sugar.. 

Satoshi approved of this mix and I have several more packages of the baby star ramen so I'll make more of this again if I can find the same ingredients.

ramen weekend

The weekend was forecast for rain, maybe some snow.

I made sure we didn’t have to venture out for food.

One thing I tried making was Dalgona Ramen.

At the beginning of the pandemic with the popular Dalgona Coffee trending, I thought Dalgona meant “foam”, but it apparently means caramel/toffee.

I saw this idea on an IG account and had to try.

I couldn’t get my caramel to the right consistency so it turned out kind of hard and I wasn't able to coat all of the ramen.

I also adlibbed and added some arare, pumpkin seeds and nuts...

This snack is similar to caramel popcorn or chex mix...

I have another idea for this, so when I get the ingredients together, I’ll post about it.

Another thing I tried was Curry Ramen, which I copied from “Midnight Diner” season 5, episode 8.

I diluted the shio (salt) ramen soup, then added a package of veggie  instant curry.

This was delicious!

In the end it didn't snow (boo!) and we didn’t have to go out on Saturday. 

On Sunday, Satoshi had to go to work and it again rained all day.

It is supposed to warm up over the next couple of days.

Have a good (safe) week.

mottainai honpo

Whenever I go to the DIY store, they have an area where they sell snacks.

But, this area is usually AFTER the cash registers, so almost always, I forget about looking until after I've paid and am on my way out of the store.

Today, I made sure to look, but the items I wanted to check out were not there.

Then I found them in another part of the store.

If you've been to Japan and shopped, you know almost everything sold anywhere is "perfect".

"Perfect" sized, shaped and packaged.

Mottainai Honpo is a group in Ibaraki prefecture that sells the "ugly" items, some broken pieces, maybe a little on the burnt side.

I bought these arare (rice crackers) and kenpi (glazed fried sweet potato) to try.

I hope they taste good and will be on the look out for more items from this group.

kobaya honten

When we visited Naritasan, I found some "peanut brittle type" of arare (rice crackers).

I looked online to see if there was a store in Tokyo selling something similar and found Kobaya Honten.

Most of Kobaya Honten's shops are in Chiba prefecture but they do have a tiny shop near the JR Kanda station.

They sell peanuts and different arare.

And during the winter, they also sell yakiimo (roasted sweet potato).

Some of the types I bought were with green tea, bits of dried ramen noodles...At least now I know where I can find these and it is closer than going all the way to Chiba prefecture...I'll be back!

Kobaya Honten (UPDATE: 3/2026 no longer at this address)
6-2 Kanda Tomiyama-cho
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5256.2708
Closed Sundays & Holidays
Hours: 9:30-18:30 Mondays-Fridays, 10:00-15:00 Saturdays

things I don't eat in japan anymore...

You may or may not have noticed that I don't post about certain food stuffs anymore....

like McDonald's...It was a couple of years ago that they apparently found human teeth in the chicken nuggets here...eew!

Mister Donut...a couple of years ago, whenever I had eaten here, the doughnuts were dry and oily...blah

Oreos...the ones they sell in Japan, used to be made in Japan, now they are made in China.

Are there any foods you don't eat anymore?

snackage

Been enjoying these snacks...

This version of arare with peanuts by Sanko Seika is flavored with ume (pickled apricot), sprinkled with coarse sugar and then there are the peanuts...sweet, salty and a little sour.

And these peanuts by Inaba.

The left side is sprinkled with Jane's Krazy Salt and the one on the right is sprinkled with aonori (green laver).

The one with aonori reminds me of hurricane popcorn.

What are you snacking on these days?

big island bee & la tour bakehouse

As I was trying to figure out what to bring back as omiyage, I came across these cute packages of honey.

There are 8 sticks in each package and are sold for about $3 (plus tax, prices vary at different stores) each.

8 = hachi (ha-chee) in Japanese which is also the same pronunciation for bee...I'm not sure they intended to make that connection but I thought it was cute...

another item I picked up for friends is the Furikake Puffs by La Tour Bakehouse, which are sold at all La Tour Cafes.

These are $3.50 (plus tax) and would recommend picking these up at the main location in Iwilei--they have the most inventory, though the parking lot is kind of a pain to get in and out of.

I hope the friends I give these to will enjoy them.