Most unique, however, was a flavor that I have only seen so far in the Tohoku region (which Yamagata is part of). All over the area, there are various types of sweets or snacks that are ずんだ ("zunda") flavored. "Zunda" is a word in Japanese for edamame, or soybeans. Most places it looked kind of like a bright green, lumpy paste, but there were other places where folks had simply added that flavor to some other things I like to eat. Here's what I got:
Zunda softcream. For those of you who don't think that green soybean flavored ice cream sounds good, it actually was delicious. The flavor was just milder than I expected. It should also be said that I was eating this ice cream while at a "rest house" on top of a mountain in northern Japan in mid-October (pics to be posted later). It was *freezing* outside, literally. I definitely had an audience watching me eat this, which added a whole new element to the experience. Everybody else was drinking hot coffee and eating soup or tama-konnyaku, another Yamagata delicacy.And next came...
Zunda Kit-Kats!! Also extremely delicious. I've had trouble keeping myself away from them. Trust me- I have shared this box of goodies with NO ONE! As some of you know (especially if you've tried any of the souvenirs that I've brought home from Tokyo), flavored Kit-Kats are a huge thing over here, so it's only natural that somebody would produce Kit-Kats in this flavor as well. Not only is it a very tasty treat, but I've now added yet another flavor to the growing list, which I should actually try to post here sometime...
