One of the cities that I love spending time in is Nagano. It is easy to access from Tokyo. So much to love here. Zenkoji temple. The Buddhist temple dates back to 642.
I also love the many shops on the Omotesando street leading up to Zenkoji. In particular, one of Japan’s most famous shichimi seven spice shop @yawataya.isogoro. It is just in front of Zenkoji. The shop has a standard shichimi that is sold throughout Japan. At their main shop here it is also possible to find cool variations like a Garam Masala spice mixture.
Shichimi is used for a variety of dishes. Miso soup. Soba. Yakitori. Steaks. Grilled chicken. Stews. Chowders.
The most fun here is to create an original spice mixture. My kid wanted to make a yuzu based mixture. Staff answered our many questions. She recommended not using aonori as the aroma would overpower yuzu.
There is a cafe in the back of the shop. Didn’t have time to visit, but hopefully next time. If you visit Nagano and Zenkoji be sure to pick up some shichimi seven spice here.
Yawataya Isogoro
Nagano-ken, Nagano-shi, Daimoncho 83
https://www.yawataya.co.jp/en/about/history/
The last two photos are of Monzen Miso. The sliver of a shop is on the arcade in front of Zenkoji. We are addicted to the miso soft serve 🍦 which tastes like salted caramel.
Food Sake Tokyo 