SawanoTsuyu is the name of candy that has been made by a small shop in Otaru since 1911.
The unique characteristic of Swanotsuyu is that it is made by sugar only. No other ingredients and additives are used except for a little flavor of citrus. Therefore, it is neither too sweet nor having a strong aftertaste.
There are many nice sweets from Otaru. Sawanotsuyu is a low-key, but has been a popular candy for such a long time.
The shop is also located on a modest scale near Sushiya-dori street.
The candy comes in plastic bag and in the can.
Soba or buckwheat noodles are a popular food for lunch in Japan.
There are many Soba restaurants in Otaru, and 一福 (Ichifuku) is one of my favorite Soba restaurants.
I had a bowl of Soba at Ichifuku after enjoying Seiji Kaneko's exhibition at Otaru Museum of Art last Sunday.
The Soba I chose then was 'Kake', a basic bowl of Soba in the hot soup.
You can tell the quality of a Soba restaurant by eating Kake or Mori,a cold Soba, as it consists of simplest combination of boiled Soba and soup.
kake is eaten with a little condiment; chopped Japanese leek and red pepper.
I wrote about low-malt beer with chocolate flavor on 21 January. Today, I would like to tell you how it tastes like.
First, I tried 'bitter' one. It was just like a dark beer with a hint of chocolate flavor.
The other one, 'sweet' tastes chocolate more than bitter. I felt that the taste was somewhat similar to the coffee flavor liqueur 'KAHLUA'.
I love both beer and chocolate, but after all, I prefer to enjoy them individually, not the composition.
However, they are due to be made for a limited time only.
Seiji Kaneko(1914-1994)is a representative woodblock printer of Hokkaido.
He spent most of his life and produced his works in Otaru.
Otaru Aquarium that is usually closed in winter opens temporarily from January 29(Sat.)-February 13(Sun.) coinciding with the dates of Sapporo Snow Festival and Otaru Snow Gleaming Festival.
The performance by seals and dolphins take place at the Dolphin Stadium at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 respectively, and Penguins' Walk can be seen at the place in front of Dolphin Stadium at 11:30 and 13:30 during the opening period.
You can also see Pelicans' Walk in the Aquarium building at noon and 14:00.
If you are interested in Backyard Tour, you can apply for it at the Aquarium shop on the 1F.
I wrote about a strange drink "CHOCOLATE SPARKLING" on my blog on March 8 last year.
I found another interesting drink named "Chocolat Brewery" yesterday. It is an alcohol drink categorized as low-malt beer in Japan.
The drink is made by collaboration between Sapporo Beer Co., a major beer brewer in Japan and ROYCE', a popular chocolate company in Hokkaido. You might have seen ROYCE' products at many gift shops if you have visited Hokkaido.
There are two kinds for Chocolat Brewery, sweet and bitter.