The Best Treat in Japan!

They call them shu cream.  We call them cream puffs.  We've had several different versions, but the best- the very best in the country we're convinced- is purchased at this little bakery in Sakata.  Maru Fuji is the name of the shop.  They sell other treats, but they are known far and wide for their shu creams.

You can see there is not even any place to park at their little shop that is attached to their home.  People come from as far away as Yamagata (1 1/2 hours away) and beyond to buy these delicious treats.  They just pull up in front and block traffic while they run in to purchase the prize.

You have to get there early in the day, as they sell out fast.  A late afternoon stop will usually produce a "gomen nasai"  Sorry, we're all sold out.  Yes, we know from experience.  Much experience.  You can see, on this day, the display case is still full of these delicious treats.

There is a lot of reflective glare, but you can see it is just a cute, little, simple shop.  But man do they do a business! 

We were first introduced to this delicious treat when one of our eikaiwa students brought us a box of them as a thank you for teaching him.  We just couldn't believe how delicious they were when we took that first bite.  We were hooked!

That was over a year ago.  Since then, we've stopped at the little shop many times, only to be disappointed.  They are often out of them, or the shop is closed- a lot.  They close for every holiday, and sometimes take two or three weeks off- just because.  We were about to despair of ever tasting them again until one terrible, awful, gloomy, upsetting day.  We drove to Sakata to meet with a dear less active sister.  We had an appointment to meet her in a public building.  We prepared a wonderful lesson for her.  We drove the forty minutes to meet her.  Then she didn't show up.  We tried to call, but only got a message saying her phone was disconnected.  We were sad.  I had little bags of treats in the car, so we decided to visit several other less active friends in Sakata.  Not a single one was home.  Not one.  Well, we think  couple of them were, but they didn't answer the door.  So, you can see we needed some cheering up.  We drove to Maru Fuji, just hoping, just this once, they would be open and still have shu cream even though it was now after 4:00 pm. 

Hallelujah!!!!   They did still have some!  We couldn't believe our eyes or our luck!  We bought six. 

It may not look like much, but just wait until you bite it.  Oh, my!

See?  See?  That custard!

Elder Hinton doesn't look near happy enough, considering what he is eating. 

It felt like a little tender (and delicious) mercy on a hard day!  We then went to eikaiwa to teach our lesson.  One of our students was in a prideful and sour mood and got after the other students for not being as good at English as he is.  It was the only time before or since that we've had trouble with any of our students.  They are usually all gracious, grateful,  and kind.  He was just having a bad day, I guess.  We knew what that was like!  But, we had the memory of the shu cream we had eaten, and the knowledge that more awaited us in our car!  It got us through!

We feel quite certain we have experienced the best treat in Japan.  It's probably a good thing that these little jewels are 40 minutes from home and difficult to obtain!