ibaraki– category –

Tsukuba’s Côte d’Azur Hanjuku Cheese Tsukuba, Ibaraki, has grown rapidly, supported by the University of Tsukuba and residents moving from Tokyo. Its souvenir scene has changed as well. A modern local recommendation is Hanjuku Cheese fro...

My recommended Ibaraki souvenir is Kuradashi Yakiimo—cellar-matured roasted sweet potatoes—from Kaitsuka. Ibaraki is famous for natto and lotus root, but its sweet potatoes and peanuts are excellent as well. What Are Kaitsuka’s Kuradashi...

When choosing a souvenir, it is always appealing to feature a specialty of the region. It starts conversations and makes the gift easier to remember. Natto, the focus here, can be difficult to choose because the real product needs refrig...

Natto may be Ibaraki’s best-known specialty and dominates its souvenir shops, but refrigeration makes it less convenient as a gift. New specialties are gradually appearing, yet historic sweets also remain. Yoshiwara Denchu dates back to ...

When I travel, one of my favorite souvenirs to bring home is a local specialty food. At a popular restaurant, however, you may have to wait in a long line. Families with small children also cannot always choose a restaurant based only on...

I am still happily hunting for souvenirs at roadside stations and other shops throughout the Kanto region. Whenever I visit an unfamiliar area, stopping first at a roadside station is a good way to learn about it. The information corner ...

Here is another souvenir I purchased at Michi-no-Eki Goka in Ibaraki Prefecture. Many visitors to Ibaraki head for Mount Tsukuba, and one of the things for which the mountain is famous is gama no abura, the traditional “toad oil” associa...

Every souvenir shop has products that may be too small to serve as the main gift but are perfect as one extra item. Almost every region now has its own yuru-chara mascot. These characters make it immediately clear where you have visited,...

Ibaraki Prefecture is easy to reach from Tokyo and offers more than enough to enjoy on a day trip. Children especially delight in the wide-open natural scenery that is difficult to experience in the capital. For adults like us who love r...

Hakuro by Mochiya is well known as one of the specialty sweets of Sakai Town in Ibaraki Prefecture. It appears to be made by Mochiya, a traditional sweets shop located in Sakai. After doing a little research online, I had a feeling that ...