Kaisen Senbei Nanki: Seafood Rice Crackers near Shirahama

Overview

On the coast road between Tanabe and the hot-spring resort of Shirahama, Kaisen Senbei Nanki is the kind of souvenir stop that fills its car park at weekends. Open since 2011, it specialises in senbei, the Japanese rice crackers, made with the day's catch, and stocks more than forty varieties alongside local produce and the usual gifts. Most are laid out for tasting, so you buy only what you already like.

The house ranking is easy to follow: the everyday favourite is the Nanki Mix, a variety pack that folds seafood crackers together with kinako and soy-sauce arare; the brown-sugar peanut arare is the moreish outlier; and the bestseller is the Gokujo Ebisen, a premium prawn cracker made with carefully chosen shrimp. Everything can also be ordered from the shop's website for those travelling light. Beyond the crackers there is free coffee in a rest area overlooking Tanabe Bay, a 200-yen soft-serve, and a glass-walled view into the working factory.

Next door, the Kenko Wawa buffet serves a handmade, local-ingredient lunch: 90 minutes for 1,680 yen for adults, less for seniors and children, with the bay filling the windows. The shop opens 9:00 to 17:00 daily with free parking, about fifteen minutes from the Nanki-Tanabe interchange; buffet hours run slightly longer at weekends, so confirm the latest before you go.