Blogmas Day 07: Okinawan Souvenirs
We did buy stationary bits here and there when we went to the Aquarium and Shurijo castle but of course when it comes to souvenirs in Japan, you should expect to fill a whole suitcase full of snacks.
We stopped into a Calbee shop and one of the best things about Japan is its culture to celebrate local produce, so naturally the Calbee shops had special Okinawan flavours.
We grabbed the sweet potatoe one.
As I mentioned in earlier posts, the area of Makishi Market and the road leading up to it - Kokusai Dori, are all pretty touristy, with many of the shops selling the same things. So we went with the street staple shop, the reputable one where the prices are probably slightly inflated but it had EVERY kind of souvenir you would want from Okinawa. Every item also had samples, so you can try everything before you buy it and the shop offers Tax-free for foreigners, so long as your purchase is over 5000 JPY.
Here is what I got -
Another sweet potatoe crisp. I bought 4 boxes of this stuff (1 box has 6 packets) and I already wish I bought more!
Brown sugar, Kokuto, is another speciality of Okinawa. We bought a large packet of the original plain brown sugar, that I've already started to dig into . A little piece for herbal teas, adds a lovely mellow sweetness that reminds me of a toffee/caramel taste. Above on the screen left are peanuts covered in brown sugar and the one on the right is mint flavoured. Both lovely and snackable and won't last long in my cupboard.
I originally wanted to avoid buying mineral salt from Okinawa because I remember from my research it was another popular souvenir but it didn't tickle my fancy. However after an afternoon at Makishi market, I saw packets of this stuff EVERYWHERE, so I knew I had to buy one, haven't tried it yet, I'm sure I wouldn't really be able to tell it apart from regular stuff.
The packet on the right is Goya Tea/Bitter Melon Tea. There were samples of this tea too and it was a lightly fragrant tea that only had hints of that bitterness. I'm definitely inspired to try and cook some bitter melon at home now - we really did eat this stuff every day and the health benefits from this vegetable are too many to count.
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