Antenna Shop Expert "Shin Ehime" Edition ~ First Tasting Experience of ○○ ~

In the second half of the article, we will select "recommended items to buy" within a budget of 3,000 yen, and tell you about the appeal of each food item along with a taste test report. By the end of the article, you will not only be more knowledgeable about antenna shops, but you will also have a deeper love for the local area.

A space where warmth and style coexist

The first place we visited was "Shin Ehime" located in "KITTE Marunouchi", a commercial facility close to Tokyo Station. It is a rare style for an antenna shop, and is a combined shop with "Iori KITTE Marunouchi Store".

The "shin" in "Shin Ehime" represents the desire to convey "the true, serious, and new Ehime." The store's unique design was devised to express all the charms of Ehime. On the left side, the space themed on orange, reminiscent of the famous mandarin oranges, is focused on food. In the "Iori KITTE Marunouchi Store" space on the right, Imabari towels and items made from towel fabric are lined up.

The store design, which combines warmth and style, was created by SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE Co., Ltd., led by architects Makoto Tanijiri and Ai Yoshida.

In addition, the symbol mark and logo of the cute character "Shin Bocchan" from "Shin Ehime" were created by Ehime-based comedy manga artist Wada Radio.

Items based on the "Shin Botchan" motif are also available for sale, so be sure to check them out as well.

Tasting and comparing different varieties of mandarin orange juice

One of the store's specialties is the "Tap Mandarin Juice 3-Type Tasting Set" (630 yen, tax excluded). Although this is currently out of service, you can still have the dreamlike experience of turning on the tap and getting mandarin juice. Although we weren't able to try the tap at the time of our visit, they were offering a 3-type tasting, so we decided to give it a try. This was my first time trying different mandarin juices.

You can get juice in the eat-in area at the back of the store. The staff will explain the varieties to you.

The three types of citrus available are in season, and all are 100% pure juice from Ehime. On this day, 01 was Amanatsu, 02 was Unshu mikan, and 03 was Shiranui. They are different in color, but when you drink them, you'll be surprised at how diverse their flavor characters are.

Amanatsu has a bitter and astringent taste that gives it a mature flavor. Unshu mandarins have a soft sweetness, yet are clean and sharp. Shiranui has a rich, full-bodied flavor and a long-lasting refreshing acidity that leaves an impression.

Specialties, famous sweets, lifestyle goods, and Ehime items that can also be used as gifts

From here, we will introduce the product lineup in more detail. First, let's look at the specialty products in the "Shin Ehime" space.

Besides boasting the greatest variety of citrus fruits in Japan, Ehime is also known for being the number one producer of sea bream in Japan, making it a prefecture rich in seafood. There are also many specialty products made with traditional seafood, such as Uwajima's "Jakoten" (a fish paste made by crushing small fish, shaping them, and deep frying them) and "Ebi-miso" (shrimp miso), which is said to have been eaten in the Miyakubo area of Imabari since the days of the Murakami Navy.

There are also plenty of souvenirs to choose from, including "Matsuyama Age," a favorite of Matsuyama, the prefectural capital, and "Yamadaya Manju," a popular confectionery representative of Matsuyama and Seiyo. In addition to food, there is also a Tobe ware corner, so there is plenty to see.

In addition to towels, Iori KITTE Marunouchi store also offers a lineup of lifestyle goods made from high-quality fabrics, some of which would make great gifts.

Some of the unique items available are beauty products like face masks, handkerchiefs which are popular gifts for men, and baby goods which are perfect for baby showers, making them suitable for a wide range of occasions.

A selection of recommended items that can be purchased for a total of 3,000 yen!

We have introduced a variety of items, and from among them we have selected recommended items that cost less than 3,000 yen in total.

The items I chose were gauze masks made in Imabari, seafood delicacies, and of course citrus sweets.

The gauze mask is made of a unique fabric with different densities in the center and sides, which provides comfortable breathability while preventing droplets. It is available in M, L, and kids' sizes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the food at home. First, there was the sea bream rice mix, which can be easily enjoyed by mixing and cooking. It contains grilled red sea bream from the Setouchi region and the aforementioned Matsuyama age, allowing you to make sea bream rice that is unique to Ehime.

Cooking is easy. Wash two cups of rice and set it in a rice cooker or pot with the usual amount of water. Then add the sauce and all the ingredients in the taimeshi base and cook. When it's done, the aroma is extremely luxurious.

The mellow aroma extracted from the sea bream and kelp. The "Matsuyama-age" adds a rich umami flavor. These ingredients soak into every grain of rice, and together with the Setouchi wild sea bream, which is characterized by its rich elasticity, will lead you to a blissful meal.

I bought two kinds of citrus sweets. One is the most popular "Whole Mandarin Daifuku" at "Shin Ehime". It is a specialty of "Ippuku Hyakuka Seikodo", a long-established Japanese sweets store founded in Imabari in 1952.

It contains a whole Uwajima mandarin orange with a sugar content of over 12 degrees, which is then wrapped in white bean paste and mochi rice cake, filling your mouth with a juicy, sweet and sour taste.

The other is from "10"TEN", a brand that aims to promote the citrus industry in Ehime Prefecture. In addition to the mandarin orange juice featured in the aforementioned tasting comparison, they also offer a wide variety of processed products such as jams and dried fruits. From among these, I chose the particularly popular "Setoka" mandarin orange jelly.

The wide variety of jellies and juices is also a plus. Each one makes use of the original flavor of the ingredients, and "HANDY JELLY Setoka" is impressive with its bright sweetness and refreshing acidity, reminiscent of the sunlight shining down on you. It's also great that it can be eaten with one hand, so you don't have to get your hands dirty.

According to the staff, "Shin Ehime" offers things and experiences from Ehime, and is also working to create a store that makes Ehime feel more familiar to customers. They also said, "We hope that one day you will come to Ehime."

Inside the store, back issues of Ehime's local magazine "Machibon" are lined up, and each feature will let you learn about the local charms.

We encourage you to pick up a copy and visit the area someday. There are plenty of delicacies, spectacular views, and experiences waiting for you that we couldn't cover here.

Shin Ehime

Text and photos: Hideaki Nakayama