Do you know an imaginary creature called "Kappa"? It is the symbol of a neighboring city called "Ushiku", and there is a statue of Kappa on the riverside. I'd like to show the statue next month or later. Of course, Kappa doesn't exist in reality, but it appears in many Japanese folktales and children are familiar with it as it's drawn in manga as well. There is a saucer on the head of Kappa, and when the saucer breaks, it is said the Kappa would die. Some people think him as a water god.
There is a Japanese-styled confectionery called "Kappa" in Ushiku city, and it displays some Kappa artifacts and drawings. As you can see above, the creature is not so cute.
I come to this shop to buy Dango and Japanese chips called "Senbei". The texture of Dango is soft like rice cake, and it is made of sticky rice. This shop is the best Japanese-styled confectionery in my neighborhood, and whenever I drop by this, I see some people in it who came here for the same purpose.
But contrary to what I said, this Kappa was drawn in a pretty way. These Senbei would be the best souvenirs if you're on your way back from this city. The black words say, "Home to Kappa".
You can find some other Japanese-styled stuff like this. This is ginger cut in pieces and coated with sugar. I tried it some times before, and it was very good.
Last year I introduced "Yokan" in this posting, and this is another kind of Yokan that has some steamed sweet chestnut on top of it. This is also my favorite.
And I bought some Dango. These tasted like sweet soy sauce. And this is the most commonly seen Dango in Japan.
And these Dango tasted different. The black sauce you see on top of them is basically ground sesame, and it also tastes sweet. The Japanese people are used to having something black such as Nori , which is dried seaweed.
One Dango skewer cost a little more than a dollar, but the taste was so good you'd think the price to be reasonable. Old people like Japanese confections very much, and when my grandparents visited my city, I used to treat them to these stuff.
