A Fukuoka Souvenir Classic: Cute, Delicious Signature Sweets at Chidoriya Honten

Chidoriya Honten is a long-established shop with culture and history rooted in Kyushu and Fukuoka.
For that reason, its products are chosen by people of all ages as special souvenirs with a local-only feel.
If you are visiting Fukuoka, you will want to pick up signature sweets loved by locals.

It offers classic wagashi such as Chidori Manju, known for its white bean paste.
It also offers Western sweets such as Tirolian, a rolled cookie with a crisp, light texture, creating a Japanese-Western fusion lineup.
In addition, there are many original products that feel like the best of both wagashi and Western sweets.
With such a varied lineup, the fun of choosing expands.

The colorful, retro designs of the packaging catch the eye and look great on social media.
Collaboration products with popular anime and characters use special-edition packaging.
Because most are sold for limited periods, you will want to buy one immediately if you come across it.

The secret to the unchanging deliciousness lies in a commitment to ingredients and handcrafting.
With the finished sweets in mind, they carefully select the ingredients best suited to taste, aroma, and texture.
That is a principle that has been upheld since the company’s founding.
Their commitment to handwork has also remained unchanged, both in the past and today.
At the factory, skilled confectioners with years of experience pay close attention to slight differences in temperature and humidity, supporting deliciousness through an attitude of seeking the best for each day.

Chidori Manju was created by combining a castella baking method with roots in Nanban influences and the Japanese wagashi tradition of white bean paste.
A luxuriously pure-white smooth bean paste made by simmering Hokkaido-grown tebo beans (a type of white kidney bean) with zarame (coarse sugar) is encased and baked in a batter made with flour, eggs, fine granulated sugar, rice syrup, and honey.
The balance between the refined sweetness of the white bean paste and the aroma of the baked outer crust is exquisite.
It is a sweet with a nostalgic flavor.

Tirolian is made by filling smooth cream into rolled cookies baked with plenty of milk and fermented butter using a traditional recipe from the Tyrol region of Austria.
You can enjoy the pairing of the crisp cookie and the creamy, quick-melting filling.
The standard flavors are four varieties: vanilla, coffee, strawberry, and chocolate.
In addition, there are also offerings such as the winter-only Alps Chocolat and the Kyushu Paradise series made with Kyushu specialties.
In recent years, it has also been sold overseas, with rising popularity mainly in Asia.
It is also available at duty-free shops inside the Fukuoka Airport International Terminal Building, and is well received by international visitors as a souvenir they can buy at the very end of their stay in Japan.
Individually wrapped and with a good shelf life, it is also easy to share, which is another welcome point.