The Lazy Explorer: Part One
Nostalgia embedded lollipop...
I didn’t have a lot of money. Now I have more than I did at that time, but we aren’t talking about now we are talking about then.
When I’m at my brokest I’m at my most nostalgic. Living away from home, I can’t visit the sites of my own nostalgia. Instead, I’m left to visit the sites of others’. Luckily this works just as well. This is what lead me to the old timey candy store by my house.
When you have less than 20 dollars in your bank account and more than a week left until your next paycheck what do you do? Eat eggs and rice? Walk to work instead of taking the train? Refrain from craft beers and trips to the movies? The week leading up to my paycheck I found myself heading to the candy store, around a 20 minute walk from my house on a particularly sunny Saturday afternoon.
In Japanese, old-timey, penny candy stores are called “Dagashiya.” Once upon a time they used to be everywhere. Kids came to these hole in the wall establishments after school purchasing 10 yen pudding shaped gummies or 100 yen umaibo (a big puffy cheeto available in a multitude of flavors) with their allowance money. Now Dagashiya are a dying breed, although partly revitalized by the public’s current obsession with everything retro. The few real remaining Dagashiya are doing great business.
The Dagashiya I went to is one of the biggest in my area, called Dagashiya Ewatari. It’s located in Kinshicho, an area I associate with seedy girls bars and yakiniku. But, on this sunny day, Kinshicho appeared to be a lot more kid friendly than usual.
The entrance to Dagashiya Ewatari is marked with a giant Umaibo advertisement. You can’t miss it.
Inside you are greeted with every candy imaginable. If you’re into Japanese candy, or just candy from other countries in general you can spend hours looking around, choosing from the many options available. And everything is available.
Towards the front you will find the more mainstream, modern candy, the stuff available at every grocery store and 7/11. I love gummies and they had every flavor of my favorite ones available here.
One of the many walls of candies and gummies.
My favorite peach flavored ペタグーグミ (Petag Gummy.) This is always a rare flavor to find in normal grocery stores.
Venturing back further you are greeted with the more classic candy options. The candy that sparks everyone’s feelings of childhood. That Saturday, the store was busy with people. There were of course children with their parents but to my surprise, the majority of customers were my age or older. A lot of them were on dates, it seemed. I listened to them, eavesdropped as they reminisced over their childhood favorite chocolate, or caramel, or gum ball. I had never tried any of these more old school candies before so I used their excited exclamations to guide my purchase. Like a nostalgia leech.
Most of these candies are under 50 yen.
My favorite botan ame is a little more expensive at 97 yen…but it’s totally worth it. It’s a chewy candy wrapped in edible rice paper.
Rows of gummy packs line the walls.
Of course there are candy cigarettes in multiple flavors. This one tastes like a popular energy drink. Candy cigarettes always made me feel so sophisticated as a kid.
Pudding shaped candy smaller than the palm of your hand.
On the second floor, you can buy candy in bulk like these packages of Milky.
One of the things I like the most about Japan is the packaging. Many products have kept original or close to original packaging, which gives it an old fashioned, comforting feel. I always get the urge to save the packaging for things but have resulted to keeping a folder on my phone to document all the pretty advertisements and graphic design that crosses my path. Maybe I should make a newsletter about that?
All in all, I left the store with a handful of assorted gummies, sugary cigarette shaped sticks, and shelf-stable pudding cups. I added in a few savory umaibo to add some variety and enjoyed my walk home eating handfuls of candy along the way.
If you are interested in checking out Dagashiya Ewatari here is their address:
Address: Dagashiya Ewatari, 3-4-12 Kinshi, Sumida-ku
Until next time!
Daisy