A taiyaki shop on the way from Minami-Senju to Minowa. It's only open from 14:00 to 16:00, so I rarely had the chance, but this time I timed it right and bought some. When you order taiyaki there's a short wait, so I also ordered a monaka ice cream: azuki vanilla made with the taiyaki shop's bean paste, there's no way it wouldn't be delicious. While I was savoring the ice cream, the taiyaki was ready: fragrant, crisp thin skin and a solid sweetness from the bean paste. Freshly made taiyaki eaten in the heat is delicious too. Thank you for the treat.

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Naniwaya's icchō-yaki taiyaki! The crisp-baked, piping-hot thin skin goes perfectly with the not-too-sweet, slightly soft, piping-hot red bean paste. Delicious. And the bean paste is packed all the way to the tail. These days there are all kinds of taiyaki around, with puffy skins or baked with butter, but I'm definitely team crisp thin skin.

I went by following the map, but couldn't find it, so I asked a young mail carrier, who told me right away. Apparently it's open when the banner is up, and I spotted the banner right away. When I got there, it was on the corner of an intersection, and the building was designed with a nice atmosphere, which raised my expectations. Apparently someone who worked at Naniwaya Sohonten in Azabu-Juban opened a branch (noren-wake) in front of Minami-Senju Station, then later moved near Minowabashi where it is now. The thin skin was filled with plenty of chunky red bean paste and was delicious ❣ The price was 200 yen per fish. It said that if you buy 10 or more, it's 190 yen each. I bought some for my family and some to eat while walking, and while looking for my way home, I spotted the postal worker who had helped me earlier, so I shared one of my walking-snack taiyaki. They were so happy, and that made me happy too.

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On the way from Minami-Senju Station to the hot spring sento in Yoshiwara, I thought, "Naniwaya taiyaki, that's the Azabu-Juban one, right?" and stopped by, and it turned out to be a noren-wake branch. The sign said "Currently a 15～20 minute wait," but when I asked, they said "About 10 minutes, I think," so I bought some. While waiting I heard all sorts of stories: it used to be in front of the station but moved because of redevelopment. Founded in Showa 30, it's been nearly 70 years. "Thanks to social media these days, we're grateful that quite a few customers from outside the area come even to an inconspicuous place like this," they said happily. Apparently there are quite a few noren-wake branches like this. Of course, they're tennen-yaki. Without much of a wait, I was handed them with a "here you go." Crispy, with plenty of anko. The sweetness was just right and delicious. Encounters like this make me happy.

2018.02.03 Taiyaki 150 yen (price at the time) From the Azabu Naniwaya lineage, crispy and delicious.