SNACKS
The following is a list of some the most famous souvenirs in Ichinoseki. *If you have severe allergies, make sure to double check the ingredients using translation tools/asking staff for assistance. The ingredients may have been updated.
1) Sanshoku Senbei (三色せんべい) An assortment of baked rice crackers that includes almond, peanuts and sesame flavors. They taste similar to cookies. Peanut is the most popular of the three and if you prefer, you can buy that flavor individually.
● peanut (flour, peanuts, sugar, margarine, eggs, salt, leavening agent)
● almond (flour, sugar, margarine, eggs, almonds, salt, leavening agent)
● sesame (flour, sugar, white sesame, margarine, egg, salt, leavening agent) 2) Kamenoko Senbei (亀の子せんべい) This turtle-shell shaped rice cracker is lightly coated in sesame honey and has a slightly sweet, salty flavor. The crunch of the cracker and the stickiness of the honey coating makes for an addictive texture.
There are two varieties - one is made with black sesame (more of a rich, earthy flavor) and white sesame which to me seems slightly sweeter than the black.
sugar, flour, ground sesame, egg, glucose, sesame paste, margarine, soy sauce, leavening agent
3）Nanbu Senbei (南部せんべい) Sasaki Seika: Traditional rice crackers. There are three types to choose from: peanut, sesame and soy sauce.
● peanut: flour, peanut, starch, sugar, reduced starch syrup, salt
● sesame: flour, sesame, starch, salt, leavening agent
● soy sauce: flour, sesame, soy sauce, starch, sugar, salt, fermented seasoning, leavening agent
4) Gomasuri Dango (ごますり団子) A light mochi with a rich black sesame syrup inside. These are sold frozen and will thaw out in about 1-2hours (although if you need them frozen for longer they will pack ice-packs), and can be refrigerated for up to 4 days and refrozen once.
rice flour, sugar, sesame paste, malt sugar, soy sauce (including wheat · soybean), starch, edible vegetable oils and fats, soybeans (yeast in genetically modified), salt, glucose fructose syrup5) Gomasuri Dakkuwa-zu (ごま摺りダックワーズ) If refrigeration is an issue with the gomasuridango, this sesame dacquoise is the way to go! It's crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside.
Ingredients: egg, sugar, almond powder, edible processed oils and fats, rice flour, sesame, powder sugar, powder syrup, powdered soy sauce, coloring (charcoal powder, caramel), konjak potato extract, seasoning (amino acid), sweetener (licorice) may include wheat and soybeans)
6) Tamura no Ume（田村の梅） Mochi with a beautiful jellylike plum sauce inside, wrapped in an aoshiso (green perilla) leaf.
Sugar, white bean paste, reduced starch, starch syrup, mochi rice, plum, aoshiso, soybean, salt, olive oil, trehalose, citric acid, glycine7) Sekinoichi Craft Beers Maybe you'd like something to go with those snacks. Sekinoichi sake is the most well-known brand in Ichinoseki, but in recent years their beers have also been well received. The sake is not sold at the station but their beers are! If you have time, check out the Sekinoichi brewery as it's only a 10-15min walk from Ichinoseki station. There are many types of sake as well as sweets and beers.
If you are looking to buy more permanent souvenirs, Ichiba (一BA）located in front of the West Exit of Ichinoseki Station has a lovely array of local and prefectural crafts such as *Nanbu Tekki kitchenware and *Hidahira Nuri lacquerware chopsticks
*Nambu cast ironware (南部鉄器 nanbutekki): for those who are a fan of tea, this is a true luxury item that will last you a lifetime. Originating in Hiraizumi (Iwate) with a history of about 900 years. The benefits of using Nanbu cast ironware include the water’s flavor enhancement, its great heat retention, its sturdiness and best of all, the teapot will give you an iron boost.
*Hidehira-nuri lacquerware (秀平塗 hideiranuri): this traditional craft of Iwate Prefecture dates back to Hiraizumi’s golden days. Signature attributes include gold-leaf motif accents, “Yusoku hishi monyo” which is a combination of diamond shapes and 'genji gumo' cloud pattern, a very hard, glossy lacquer base coating and colors black, vermillion and gold.
Products that you can purchase with this special lacquerware include traditional tableware to pens, phone cases and more.
Personalized souvenirs
Two major attractions of Ichinoseki (Geibikei and Genbikei) have experiences that can be turned into souvenirs. At Geibikei, you can try your hand at making Tozan Washi at Kamisuki-kan (within a 2min walk from Geibikei boats) which is traditional Japanese paper famous to the area. At Genbikei's Sahara Glass Park, you can try blowing your own glass. *You will need a Japanese address for the final product to be sent to you.
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