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| wasabi seaweed tempura (noriten) |
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| This wasabi fried squid is addicting! |
Then I asked my sister-in-law, who had given us some as pasalubong from her trip to Japan before, where she bought them. And guess what? She bought them at the airport.
So are Ohgiya Noriten and Wasabi Aji Fried Ika just for tourists? You know, like dried mangoes and otap for us? (Tourists always buy dried mangoes and otap as pasalubong when they come to Cebu but we locals rarely eat them. Well, speaking for myself anyway.)
Actually, our Airbnb host did say that maybe wasabi flavored snack items are popular in the Kantou area (around Shizuoka or Tokyo). In the Kansai area (especially in Kyoto), it's matcha flavored everything. So it's most probably more of a regional thing. Each region has its own specialty, and a person may not be familiar with another region's specialties. I know there are many times when someone goes home to some province and brings back a local delicacy that I've never heard of. It's probably like that.
Now I know that these two yummy treats are not native to Osaka, but I'm still hoping to find them in a Family Mart, 7-Eleven, Don Quijote or Matsumoto Kiyoshi. :-)
*A "pasalubong" is what Japanese people call "omiyage." It's a customary gift you give to your boss, colleagues or family when you get back from travel. It's kind of like a souvenir. But I think this custom is only practiced in some Asian countries? So you might now know what I'm talking about.
