Goodies from Shizuoka Part II

My sister used to be a JET in Shizuoka, which is only about a 2.5 hours by express train or 1 hour by Shinkansen away. So we visited each other back and forth more often than not. Each time we visited, she would have goodies for us, knowing I would take pictures of them and post on this blog ^.^ These are the last of them, now that she has left with promises to visit sometimes in the future while hubby and I are still in Japan.

In my previous Goodies from Shizuoka post, I mentioned the omiyage industry in Japan and it mostly comes in the form of food and snacks with whatever ingredients that the region is "famous" for. Below are a few more for Shizuoka, though mostly in the form of their baked sweet pies in various flavors.

Sakura Ebi Senbei

Short Weekend Trip, Shimizu, Shizuoka

Last last weekend hubby and took a short trip out to see my sister in Shizuoka, when more purikura ensued. I packed super light and was able to travel with only a tote bag ^.^

After all this time, my sister and I finally convinced hubby to come with us to karaoke. He's totally averse to it but we dragged him there kicking and screaming.

Hana no Yu, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka

While hubby and I were in Shizuoka, my sister also took us to her local onsen, Hana no Yu, located in the city of Fujinomiya, on the southern side of Mount Fuji. As soon as we got off the train, we were greeted with this view of the mountain ^.^ And it was a cloudy day. Imagine a nicer clearer sky!

Goodies from Shizuoka (Picture Heavy!)

Every region you visit in Japan will boast about their "famous" (though in most cases, self-hyped :P) regional specialties in the form of myriads of food and snack omiyage, a huge culture in Japan and a whole industry to itself! For Shizuoka, it's wasabi, green tea, strawberries, and baked sweet pies, among other things.

These are Strawberry Cream Daifuku

Miho no Matsubara, Shimizu, Shizuoka (Picture Heavy!)

Miho no Matsubara (Miho Pine Grove) is a famous scenic beach in Shimizu, Shizuoka city, Shizuoka. You can't go take a dip there, because the beach is littered with sharp rocks, but you will be in awe all the same by the view of Mount Fuji, Izu Peninsula, as well as the Suruga Bay all in the same turn! That's not all, behind you is a whole other scenic view, that of a beautiful pine grove and the sight of Hagoromo no Matsu (the Feather Mantle's Pine).

View of the Miho Shrine, from wooden path's entry point across the street.

Sunpu Castle, Shizuoka, Shizuoka

Urgh. It's almost mid June and I'm still posting about my trip during Golden Week, which is the last couple of days in April and the first week of May.

Anyhoo, hubby and I visited my sister during Golden Week, and she played tour guide for a few days ^.^ Our first stop was Sunpu Castle in Shizuoka city, the capital of Shizuoka prefecture. It was a beautiful day, sunny with clear blue sky, and best of all, it was breezy and cool.

The walk along the moat outside Sunpu Castle.

Taiyaki Part III

This post is courtesy of my sister who is a 3rd year JET. Her local Taiyaki stand came out with a new, and dare I say a bit wacky, flavor - pizza, so she bravely went out to try and even took pictures for me ^.^

Why is it wacky and why was my sister brave to go out and try it? Well, because taiyaki is traditionally a dessert, a sweet snack, and the shell is supposed to be made of waffle batter, in come cases pancake batter, and some even rarer cases as in the cold Strawberry taiyaki I had a while ago, shortcake-like batter. So yeah, imagine eating pizza with a sweet waffle/pancake/shortcake crust. Vomit inducing, right?

My sister's verdict? YUCK. LOL! But she said the problem wasn't the combination of the waffle shell and pizza filling but rather the marinara sauce - it was disgusting ^.^ Hmm...well, I guess at least the terrible tasting marinara sauce is...fixable.

See my previous posts:

- Taiyaki

- Taiyaki Part II