Whenever I travel to new places, I try to make it a habit to discover and buy a souvenir. Be it food or a thing, I want to keep a memory of the place with me. Sometimes I bring home food but my boyfriend doesn't eat them, so I eat them all by myself, except when I go to the office to share them with my coworkers.
So it's not really new that you'll see me in souvenir shops like this one in Tendo.
If you're wondering where Tendo is, it's located in Yamagata Prefecture, a 3-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo.
I thought my friends and I were looking for a place to hang out while waiting for our train. Turns out, we're going to shop. The only thing bothering me was our big luggage. ๐
The souvenir shop is located on the 2nd floor of the train station building, together with the tourist information center. From the JR ticket gates, it's a 1-minute walk. There are stairs and ramps going there as it's not entirely on the same level as the ticket gates.
There weren't a lot of people in Tendo, so it's no surprise that besides us, there was only a couple who were shopping for souvenirs. Later on, though, a few more came. Probably also looking for a way to kill time while waiting for the train to arrive.
It wasn't my intention to see the alcoholic beverages corner first. It's the first thing you'll see when you enter. There were tons of sake, the Japanese liquor, that you can choose from. I just don't know what's the best out there.
Besides sake, there are also fruit juices, and above it are salad dressings and jellies. You might be confused why the name is La France Jelly when this is in Japan. I was confused too but I guess it's just the name of the brand.
There are jams too. There are 4 flavors to choose from: cherry, raspberry, blueberry and La France. I guess this La France flavor is pear flavor.
In all the souvenir shops I've been to in Japan, they always have this set of something sweet like chocolates or manjus where it's wrapped one by one and in boxes with attractive designs. It's like you're giving a gift to someone because of its container.
Lately I've been craving for chocolates so I was in a dilemma for a few minutes whether to get this cherry chocola.
Tendo is known for its Shogi, the Japanese chess so you'll see a lot of shogi pieces-inspired goods here like this manju. Manju is like a cake with fillings inside.
If sweets aren't your thing, there are sour and salty food too. If you're adventurous, I suggest you to get the ใฎใๆข (read as noshi ume), a thin plum jam agar as translated from this website or the ใฌใผใซใใฏใใฉใค (garlic fry).
There's ramen too! This is the ใใใฟใใฉใผใกใณ (read as karamiso ramen) which seems to be a popular ramen in Yamagata Prefecture. Sadly we didn't have a taste of it from their actual store because I think they're not located in Tendo City but in other cities in the prefecture. This box is good for 3 servings.
Aside from ramen, there's also soba. These are easy to cook, just cook them like how you would cook pasta.
There were some apples and vegetables here too.
I realized I should not buy any food because, after Tendo, we would still be traveling to another place. In short, if I buy food here, it might get expired because I wouldn't be going home yet. So I went to the non-consumable corner.
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I saw a bunch of good souvenirs like masks, pouches, tote bags, slippers and charms. I'm not so keen of keeping charms especially in bracelet form because it gets in the way when I'm working. But these masks look cute. If you notice, the colors are the same designs as in the anime Kimetsu No Yaiba.
I found more good stuff but I'm not entirely sure if these are for sale. I've always wanted to have a bit of Japanese culture and history in my home but ๆต็ณใซ I couldn't bring this in my luggage. Though I think they're okay with sending it as a package straight to home.
And of course, there were shogi pieces here too. You can buy an entire board if you like.
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Isn't this just so cute?! I'm not just sure if this thing inside the case is for sale. And the image at the top shows the making of these shogi pieces.
I've been going around but still haven't decided on what to buy so I went to my friends who were gathering in the keychain corner. There were nice designs and within my budget so I settled for it.
My friends and I got 1,000 yen coupon each, except my friend Ryan who came from Singapore. It's only given to people who reside in Japan and traveling here to boost the tourism. The keychain I chose was kinda expensive so I had to pay around 1,000 yen including the magnet, minus the discount. Good deal I guess.
Aside from the keychain, I got this cute and simple magnet. We even have a picture together. ๐
I honestly can't read the kanji in the shogi keychain I got but I assume this is the king. After buying it, I immediately attached it to my bag and now, everywhere I go, you'll know it's me because the bell is too noisy. ๐
This post is an entry to #MarketFriday by 
Thanks for reading!
See you around! ใใใใใพใใญ๏ผ
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.