Hokkaidoan 'Wayauma' [11] Gozasoro Oyaki

Greetings, it's Akatherina IV.

Imagawayaki, oyaki, obanyaki, Gozasoro...
This food is known for having countless names.

If you live in Hokkaido, you probably
would never think that there are regions
where 'oyaki' isn't understood, lol.

What I want to introduce this time
is an oyaki
called 'Gozasoro'.

If you were born in Hokkaido,
when you say oyaki, you mean the ones
baked by an uncle or aunt at a local shop,

or Sazae's oyaki,
which are popular.

I, too, have basically lived my life consuming these two types of oyaki.

And then time passed, lol.
Around the time I graduated from high school or so,
I encountered Gozasoro.

At that time,
I hung out in the city with my friends so much
that we were like, 'Isn't there nowhere left to go?'
and seeking further stimulation,

we started hanging out by browsing
department store basements.
(That's wholesome, right?)

Department store basements are really fun, aren't they?
Since the pandemic started,
they're a bit scary because there are too many people.

When it comes to department stores in the Odori area,
it's a choice between
Sapporo Mitsukoshi
or
Marui Imai Sapporo (commonly known as Marui-san).

Two stores we could go to
(if you include Sapporo Station, there's also Tokyu Department Store and Daimaru,
but let's leave those aside).

Gozasoro is located on the second basement floor of the Marui Imai Odori Building (hereinafter: Marui).

The Marui department store basement is directly connected to the Aurora Town underground shopping mall, so
it's fine even if it's snowing.

Wait, is this explanation understandable??
Odori has two underground passages with shopping streets,
which are called
'Pole Town' (between Susukino and Odori Station)
and 'Aurora Town' (between Odori).

That passageway connects to
the entrances of various commercial facilities,
subway ticket gates,
and exits to the surface,
making it a convenient path.

In 2011, an underground walkway called the "Chika-Hoko" was built between Odori and Sapporo Station, so
if you include that, there are three underground paths.

From that path, you can
go directly to Marui.

(Those who forgot or don't know the 3-6, please attend the remedial class lol 😜)

I was shocked when I first saw Gozasoro.

Because
first of all, it's cheap
(though it's gone up to 110 yen each now, back then it was 80 or 90 yen)
yet it's packed with filling.
The bean paste inside still has whole beans, is fluffy, and has a gentle sweetness.
The azuki beans are from Hokkaido.
And they wrap it in department store paper.

If you say, "Here's a souvenir~"
and it's wrapped in Marui department store paper,
even if the contents are just oyaki, it feels like a high-class treat, right?

I was already poor at the time,
so I had no money, and the feeling that such a cheap, delicious,
and supreme snack was being sold at a department store
was nothing but surprise, joy, and gratitude.

I bought some as a souvenir and brought them home right away,
and my mother and grandma were surprised,
eating them and saying how delicious they were.

"I'll buy some when I go to town"
became my routine,

and even now, if I go to town, it's almost guaranteed❗️
that it's the souvenir I buy to bring home.

I especially like the white bean paste,
so
I buy the red one occasionally too, but
I'm overwhelmingly on the white team!

(Our beloved Sazae oyaki doesn't have white bean paste...
so for Sazae oyaki, I'm on the cream team)

When buying,
if you want azuki bean paste, you call out "Red" to the clerk (like at a ramen shop lol),
if you want white bean paste, you call out "White",

and then tell them the quantity—that's the system.

Lately, the only call
I make is "Four White!"
(Am I eating too much?)

It's fun to watch them being baked at the shop, and
the paper they put the oyaki in when you buy them is also one of the things I look forward to.

That paper features "heartwarming stories related to Gozasoro"
submitted by Gozasoro consumers.
I've been thinking for a long time

that I'd like to submit one too,

but I don't have any good stories to share at all, lol.
So, for now, I have no plans to do so 😁

Also, it seems there is a headquarters
in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture,
where there is a Gozasoro "Azuki Museum."
A few years ago, they had a call for people to "experience baking Gozasoro,"


and I really, really wanted to go to that experience 😫
I couldn't make it, but I really wanted to go 😫

I want to go to the Azuki Museum,
and it seems they also do factory tours,
so someday❗️ I want to go at least once‼️

I bought some last week when I went into town to get my hair cut.

By the way,
when eating them cold,
if you microwave them for about 30 seconds

and then toast them in a fish grill or toaster for about a minute,
they get close to how they taste when freshly bought.

Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside,
the way you can still feel the texture of the white bean paste is the best.

They're delicious even when cold, though 🤤
Gozasoro is super tasty❗️


Anyway, what do you all call these oyaki?

And also, I bet there are regions where calling them "oyaki"
refers to something like a flat mochi, right?
Japanese is so interesting~
(Pettarakoi: flat)

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊ End-of-Volume CM ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
While writing this,
I was wondering what kind of place Hyogo Prefecture is,
but I, Akacherina IV, also have a serious side.

In my daily life as a singer-songwriter,
I share the message: "By putting your painful feelings into words,
let's all become able to talk about our painful feelings."
I have posted many of my own feelings on my official website,
so please go check it out.

アカチェリーナ4世 札幌を拠点に活動するミュージシャン,アカチェリーナ４世のWebサイト akacherryna4.com