Hey everyone, Nabejun here!
I've had a great time on my trip to Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture—I’ve had the chance to experience some historical culture, and visit some shrines and temples, which I love.
However, my biggest reason for coming here is in fact...
To buy some Haru Honoka from Sankaido, a veteran Japanese confectioner in Yamanaka Onsen-Gai!
So, first of all I head from Kanazawa Station to Kagaonsen Station.
Then from there, I take the bus to Yamanaka Onsen and eventually arrive at Sankaido, taking an hour and a half each way!
Finally, here they are!
Haru Honoka
They’re monaka (wafer cakes)—it’s like each one’s packed with a different season!
What’s more, they have a fortune slip inside!
Not only are they incredibly cute, you also get that exciting feeling when you open them, like with a fortune cookie!
Spring
The butterfly and cherry blossom petals are just so cute!
These spring Haru Honoka come in special cherry blossom petal-shaped monaka.
Summer (Natsu-kirari)
Watermelons and stars are very evocative of summer in Japan!
Fall (Aki-yurara)
The season of falling leaves and harvest time!
Winter (Fuyu-fuwari)
Look, there are little gloves inside!
Each sweet is delicately handcrafted one by one.
It really made me think how great traditional sweets like this are.
Because they’re made by hand, they’re probably not able to make that many in a day.
They’re very popular, and have been shown on a TV program reporting business trends.
I was worried I might not be able to buy any today, but I phoned up before coming and they put several aside for me, which was very considerate of them.
I was so happy!
Thank you so much, Mr. Shopkeeper!
So, having picked up the traditional Japanese sweets I came here for, I head to a nearby onsen (hot spring) for a quick dip, and then begin my return journey! ;)
It was quite a journey, but I was so pleased that it didn’t seem like very long at all!
Map:
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