End of June - time for Minaduki!

June 30 marks the passage of exactly half of the year.

In Kyoto, a specially made sweet called "Minaduki" is eaten on this day to gain strength to go through Kyoto's hot and humid summer.  So... as a keen follower of Kyoto customs, I bought a pakage of Minaduki myself! 

I'm glad a local supermarket still sell it as a special product from a local Japanese sweets shop.  It feels like I need to actively support small and traditional businesses like Japanese sweets shops in order to preserve the long history and culture that makes Kyoto unique. Otherwise, they will not survive, and mass-produced goods with less flavor and less characteristics may dominate.  Why is it a probelm?  Actually I can't answer it well; it is after all a personal preference as to which is better - cheaper retort foods that last long or a slightly more expensive, perishable ones that  carry unique flavors that each maker put a lot of effort into..  I value the latter, that is all.