The Obama Tourism Bureau has reopened the “Roadside Station Wakasa Obama” (24-45-2 Wakuri, Obama City, Fukui Prefecture).
Located just off the Obama Interchange on the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway, this gateway facility in Obama City has completed the renovation of its merchandise sales hall and information center that has been underway since FY2020. The previously separated two sections have been expanded to be connected, and the existing section has been completely renovated, increasing the sales floor area by approximately 1.6 times.
The new concept is “Saba Kaido Wonderland,” and the town will offer a variety of features as the starting point of the Saba Kaido route. A 5.8-meter-wide “saba-noren” (mackerel curtain) will hang at the entrance, and a “saba kaido” noren (curtain), a basket for carrying mackerel, and a hat, all written by calligrapher Yoshison Nishiyama, will be on display in the center of the merchandise pavilion. Visitors can dress up as a mackerel peddler who carried mackerel along the Saba Kaido Road, and those who shop in the peddler’s costume will receive a “heshiko candy” to relieve their fatigue. Visitors can also select and purchase canned mackerel from the “Canned Mackerel Wall,” a collection of approximately 30 types of Obama canned foods.
The store also has a “Saba Kaido Catcher” crane game with a stuffed mackerel. If you catch a mackerel, you can take the stuffed animal home with you or exchange it for a mackerel-related prize. There is also a corner where visitors can choose their favorite chopsticks from a display showing the process of making Wakasa-nuri chopsticks, which are painted in a variety of colors.
As original products, five sweets were developed in cooperation with local confectioners. The lineup includes “Bottled Dechi Yo-kan,” “Wakasa Obama Pudding,” “Hitoyasumi Yo-kan,” “Ohagi,” and “Wakasa Umashimon.
As for takeout food, the new “Obama POCKET” using pita bread will be offered, replacing the burgers and sandwiches that have been offered in the past. The pita bread dough is filled with a variety of local ingredients, such as mackerel dried in soy sauce with fried Tatsuta sauce and vegetables. Other dishes include mackerel fish and chips.
In addition to the unveiling of the new store, an event will be held from March 31 to April 2, where kitchen cars and sweets from Fukui Prefecture will gather.
© Source travel watch