Warm thoughts

Today must have been one of the coldest days of this winter yet. I really, really don't like to be cold. I am miserable if I get cold toes. So before I dive back under the kotatsu, I just wanted to show you something I picked up in the shops today.

Obviously I am not alone in yearning for the spring to arrive - it would appear that new tactics are being employed to will this cold snap away. There I was, looking for some comfort snacks to munch on whilst warming my extremities, when I came across a display of the usual fare... but it was all pink! The packages all featured a huge cherry blossom tree, and the flavours were all... cherry blossom! OK, so the cherry blossom Kit Kat released last year was good, but how would this work with prawn cracker snacks (Ebi Sen) and the like? In spite of my diet, I just had to find out:



What we have here is a bag of Saya Endo, a salty rice based snack made with peas (and yes, they are shaped like pea pods). I am rather partial to a bag of these every now and then on the basis that they contain a vegetable and must therefor be good for me ;-) This particular bag is 'salty cherry blossom' flavour, and according to the label really does contain powders made from both the blossoms and leaves of the cherry tree. Reading a bit closer, I understand that this is part of a range of products designed to encourage students sitting entrance examinations, and that there is a supposedly sacred tree in Hokkaido to which one can ask for special help (some people will believe anything - personally, I feel that their time would be better spent doing a bit of extra revision).

Anyway, I ate them and indeed they did have a slightly floral taste to them. Not bad, but I'll stick with the regular flavour next time. At least as they disappeared to a warmer place, I was visualising the arrival of the warm sun as it wakes the flora around. Ahh, the power of the mind...