sembei

[torakris]

tansan sembei 炭酸せんべい　　are sembei made with carbonated water, the best ones are made with carbonated hot spring water from the Arima onsen area of Hyogo prefecture.

Arima tansan sembei

These aren't very popular in the Kanto (Tokyo area) and actually I had never heard of them before my next door neighbor (from Osaka) went crazy when she found a can of them. This is a cheaper version

[torakris]

I picked these up because they look interesting

sembei with cheese and black beans

they were actually quite gross and have been sitting in my snack basket for some time now and no one (not even my husband who eats anything) is touching them....

[sk_ward]

I was wandering around Nezu and ran across this osembei shop fairly close to the train station. It is such a nice surprise to run into family shops such as these, especially in the craziness that is Tokyo. I wonder how these sorts of shops stay financially afloat as having so few people making products on such a small scale seems to not be the most efficient business model. Even though department store products are so beautiful and almost glamorous seeming, I would be much happier to buy my osenbei from these people and feel as though I know at least a little bit of the story about how the osenbei ended up in the packaging and also to feel that I am supporting actual people and not some mega corporation! Sorry, but I was too excited to eat my osenbei, I forgot to take a picture of it! You can see it there in the fishbowl like container for 190 yen! Come to think of it, that's pretty pricey for one osenbei! Oh well... At least it was tasty!!

[sanrensho]

^^^I love that second photo. Thanks for posting it. It's truly amazing what you can find in the nooks and crannies of Tokyo.

[Hiroyuki]

You can see it there in the fishbowl like container for 190 yen!  Come to think of it, that's pretty pricey for one osenbei!  Oh well... At least it was tasty!!

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I know what you mean. 190 yen for a single sembei is quite pricey, but I can see the sign "炭火手焼き" (charcoal, hand grilled).

[Hiroyuki]

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Looking at this photo carefully, I also noticed that there is a wooden sign that says 紀州備長炭使用店 (shop that uses kishuu binchoutan). Kishuu binchoutan is, of course, a top-quality charcoal. Now you know that this is not just another sembei shop!