I was never a big fan of spicy food, but lately I’ve been changing. I don’t mind a little dab of hot sauce or sprinkling of chili pepper, and sometimes it actually tastes good! So when I went to Nagano last month, I was pleasantly surprised by the Yawataya Isogoro shop near Zenkoji Temple.

Yawataya describe themselves as a “spice specialty store with a long history of 280 years.” Although I wasn’t familiar with the brand, I was drawn in by the colorful, attractive labels and the sheer variety of spices. I ended up buying several types of shichimi as well as a little wooden shaker for my family.

Their basic shichimi comes in a red tin with a picture of Zenkoji on the back. Right now, they’re selling a special purple tin that has a ‘festival’ version of the same temple. That’s because the Gokaicho Festival, which takes place every seven years, was held from April until June of this year. When we arrived in Nagano, we had missed it by only two days. Well…at least we got some shichimi as a souvenir!