I went to Atami on my birthday weekend (which I'll be sharing in another post) and when we got out of the train station, we were welcomed by the lively shotengai of Atami. It's as if they already wanted us to empty our wallets the moment we step foot in their town. It was quite tempting, especially seeing the different kinds of goods and the freshly baked manju in front of you.
The last time I was here in Atami, I mentioned passing by this shopping district but too many shops were closed at that time, and I didn't really have time to roam around.
This time, we had a bit of time, or rather I did, because I was waiting for my partner who went smoking somewhere. I usually go with him to wait but my wandering feet won't say no to a new place exploration.
From Atami train station, the shotengai is very visible. You would often pass it going to the beach or when you're walking from the station to the different beach resorts and hotels in Atami.
As I've mentioned before, a shotengai is a Japanese shopping street, closed to traffic so there's only foot traffic in there. You can read more about its meaning on Wikipedia.
The first thing that caught my attention in this shopping district is, of course, the first store that I see. π
They have a lot of seafood products, so tempting because in Tokyo, it's so rare to find good ones like these, or it could be quite expensive. The names? I have no idea how to read them and even when I can read, I don't know their meanings. I can read some but mostly I just rely on what they look like. Maybe someone can tell me what they are?
I can tell some are dried seafood, and there's even an Izu shrimp ramen in 4 pieces per pack. I haven't tried the ramen of Izu peninsula, which is this place by the way, and that made me curious. Probably the next time I visit Izu, I should try their ramen.
They even have a free tasting area! I was too shy to try it but when my partner came back, I told him about trying, and he didn't even hesitate to take a bite of the food there.
There was no one guarding the free tasting area, which is nice for introverts like me, but even when no one's there, I was still of little courage to taste them. My partner said many stuff were delicious. I told him we should get something when we leave Atami the next day. The next day though, I forgot to buy anything. π«
Aside from seafood, this store also sells snacks. There are a bunch including the New Summer Orange Jelly in a very colorful bag and the nice looking manju in a box.
Manju is a traditional Japanese flour-based pastry (instead of rice-based like mochi). It originated in China under the name mantou in Chinese, but became known as manjΕ« when it came to Japan.
src: Wikipedia - Manju
I wonder why I can smell something delicious - turns out this store was baking manjus! Newly made ones are delicious, especially when you pair them with hot tea. I can imagine myself sitting down in a Japanese style tatami room, wearing yukata, sipping tea, and eating hot manju. By the way, I already did this before, just that the manju wasn't hot at that time. π This is one of the things on my todo list whenever I'm staying in a ryokan (or a traditional Japanese style inn).
The next store was selling dry souvenirs, aka toys, keychains, and a bunch of stuff. I don't know why there's this cute emoji-looking thing, probably Atami's mascot? I'm not sure.
Don't worry, the sword is not real. π That's a toy!
Aside from the toys for kids and kids at heart, they also sell a bunch of seafood products just like the first store I've been to.
Aside from souvenirs in boxes, this store also sells drinks, some of which are only available here in this area like ciders, juices, etc. There's sake for sure. And in the store flag (I don't know how to call that) in blue, it says Atami beer available. Wonder what that taste like. Haven't had a beer in ages and have no plans of breaking it. Other liquors, I'm good though. π
Further deep inside the Heiwa-dori (Heiwa street in English) are different shops selling souvenirs and locally made products. It was Saturday afternoon and this street had surprisingly less crowd.
Heiwa-dori on Sunday feels so different though. There were so many people roaming around, eating snacks and I don't know what they're up to. As for me and my partner, on Sunday, we were looking for a place to have late lunch. π
Some shops here are from the 60s and 70s, quite old but business is thriving. Quite impressive.
I saw Atami senbei (a Japanese rice cracker) and some fish cakes. The senbei is kinda expensive, I think they're high quality senbei.
I also saw a famous potato chip brand but the flavor is unique to Atami's flavor, so it can only be bought in this town. It's expensive because it's an area-specific flavored chip.
The Atami shopping district is actually divided into 2 streets. The Heiwa-dori was what I shared above. The other one is called Nakamise-dori (Nakamise street). In this street, there are many restaurants but most of them close so early. It's the countryside so I guess that's an excuse to close earlier.
There's a sushi restaurant, a Japanese style cafe, soba and tempura shop, and a bread shop. Many restaurants serve seafood.
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The bread shop is called Atami Butter An and it's pretty famous. On Sunday afternoon, the next day, when we came back, they had pretty long lines.
The shopping street of Atami has a lot of great products, and they're very good at selling their local goods. It's nice to roam around, for sure you'll be able to buy something. I mentioned I told my partner we would be buying some dried seafood and some side dishes when we come back to go home the next day but I forgot about it. We weren't able to buy the souvenirs I wanted to get, because we were too occupied with eating some fish cakes which we got from a shop in the shopping street.
So be very careful when you come here. For sure, your pockets will be empty π because there are a lot of amazing goodies that you can buy here, some of which you can only buy in this area.
Happy #MarketFriday by 
Thanks for reading!
See you around! γγγγγΎγγοΌ
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.