Yakiimo Park (Held from January 24 to 26, 2020) - A variety of baked sweet potatoes and potato dishes gathered together.

Ishiya~yaki imo~♪

In late January, after the New Year and the Great Cold, this season makes it cumbersome to go outside due to the cold.

When you hear the call of the "yaki imo shop" from outside, you can't help but want to eat some, right?

When it's cold, having hot yaki imo warms not just your stomach but also your heart and body.

On January 24, 2020 (Friday), I went to the event "Yaki Imo Park," where various types of yaki imo and sweet potato dishes gathered.

I will share what kind of sweet potatoes I encountered, as well as their taste and texture, reported by Kuratoco reporter "Mugicha"!

What is "Yaki Imo Park"?

"Yaki Imo Park" is an event full of yaki imo and sweet potato dishes, organized by the special team of yaki imo lovers "imopro," which is active mainly in the Kansai region.

It was held for three days from January 24 (Friday) to January 26 (Sunday), 2020, at Kurashiki Mirai Park.

I visited around 3 PM on January 24 (Friday).

Although the weather was not very good with many clouds and wind, it was still bustling with many visitors.

Event Overview

Here is an overview of the Yaki Imo Park event.

Delicious-looking yaki imo were lined up at the long stalls, with hot steam rising from the sweet potatoes placed on hot stones, whetting the appetite.

Although January 24, 2020, was a weekday, there was a long line despite it being daytime!

Everyone loves sweet potatoes.

Under the cold sky, I waited about 10 minutes until it was my turn to choose a sweet potato.

However, the waiting time while thinking, "Which sweet potato should I eat?" was not at all bothersome.

At the venue, the yaki imo theme song was playing, and I could feel the love for yaki imo from "imopro"!

Highlights of Yaki Imo Park

The highlights of Yaki Imo Park are the rare types of sweet potatoes that you may have never seen or heard of, displayed at the stalls.

Starting with the very sweet Anno Imo type sweet potatoes, there are also visually striking purple sweet potatoes called Purple Sweet Road, and rare varieties like Yamadai Kansho and Aoi Haruka, all looking delicious.

Types of Yaki Imo and Sweet Potato Dish Lineup

The menu sold at "Yaki Imo Park" is as follows.

Additionally, if you buy the 400 yen sweet potatoes in the following combinations, you can get a better deal per piece!

• Buy 3 for 1,000 yen
• Buy 6 for 2,000 yen

Since the prices and features of the baked sweet potatoes are written above the booths, you can have a good idea of what to buy.

You can find your favorite sweet potato by trying the "One-Bite 6 Variety Baked Sweet Potato Tasting Set" before purchasing individual items!

By the way, what I bought is as follows.

• Plenty of Sweet Potato Potage Soup
• One-Bite 6 Variety Baked Sweet Potato Tasting Set
• Yamadai Kansho
• Aoi Haruka
• Kuri Ougon

When you specify the sweet potato you want to buy, the event staff will put it in the basket provided.

The three types of sweet potatoes I chose were available at a great price of 1,000 yen for the "Buy 3 for a Discount" offer!

I made the payment at the end.

Comforting Baked Sweet Potatoes and Sweet Potato Dishes Introduction

I will introduce what the selected sweet potatoes and sweet potato dishes were like.

Gentle Taste of "Plenty of Sweet Potato Potage Soup"

First, I enjoyed the "Plenty of Sweet Potato Potage Soup" before it got cold.

It had a gentle flavor with a hint of sweetness, the taste of sweet potatoes, and a nice broth.

Inside the soup, there were sweet potatoes with a strong sweetness from the Annou variety, which added an accent, and the gentle flavor of the soup and the sweetness of the sweet potatoes complemented each other!

Enjoy Various Types of Sweet Potatoes with "One-Bite 6 Variety Baked Sweet Potato Tasting Set"

Although the product name says "one-bite," for me, it was about "two-bites" in size.

If you can open your mouth wide, you might be able to take a big bite as a "one-bite"!

You can see the glossy syrup from the cut sweet potatoes, making them look delicious.

I was so focused on taking pictures that I lost track of time, and it got completely cold, but I still felt the sweetness!

Since the degree of sweetness is indicated, I decided to start tasting the sweet potatoes with fewer stars.

This is because I thought that if I ate the sweeter sweet potatoes first, I would find the taste of the ones I ate later to be lacking.

I will introduce my impressions of each sweet potato I tasted in order.

Purple Sweet Road (Fluffy Type: Sweetness ★★★)

Contrary to its beautiful and extravagant appearance, it had a simple sweetness and a fluffy texture, reminiscent of nostalgic flavors.

Beni Haruka (Moist Type: Sweetness ★★★★)

I felt a solid sweetness.

As it is classified as a "moist type," it was indeed very moist.

Annou Beni (Sticky Type: Sweetness ★★★★)

Even though the sweetness rating is four stars like Beni Haruka, the stickiness made the sweetness feel much stronger.

Annou sweet potatoes tend to have a strong flavor if they have even a slight blemish, but the quality of the sweet potatoes was good, so they were purely sweet, delicious, and impressive.

Silk Sweet (Moist Type: Sweetness ★★★★)

Silk Sweet is sweet and moist.

I could also taste the unique syrup flavor of the sweet potato.

It had an even moister texture than Beni Haruka, which is also classified as a "moist type."

Kuri Ougon (Fluffy Type: Sweetness ★★★★)

As the name suggests, it tasted like chestnuts.

The "crumbly" texture was just like chestnuts!

However, it wasn't as sweet as I expected, and the flavor was closer to boiled chestnuts.

Annou Ougon (Sticky Type: Sweetness ★★★★★)

As rated with five stars for sweetness, it was very sweet and had a sticky texture.

The sweetness is concentrated in the ample syrup.

Even without adding sugar or syrup, it tasted as sweet as a dessert.

Rare Sweet Potatoes "Yamadai Kansho" and "Aoi Haruka"

Since it was a special opportunity, I also tried some rare sweet potatoes.

Yamadai Kansho (Fluffy Type: Sweetness ★★★)

The sign above the stall said, "Fluffy sweet potatoes rich in minerals."

It was a sweet potato that offered not only sweetness but also umami, and it was delicious even when cold.

Aoi Haruka (Moist Type: Sweetness ★★★★★)

Aoi Haruka took it home and ate it the next day without warming it up.

Among the things I ate during the interview, this was by far the sweetest, with the syrup blended into the sweet potato, making it moister compared to other sweet potatoes!

The skin was soft, and I could eat it with the skin on.

Conclusion

When it comes to "yakiimo" (baked sweet potato), it is a simple and convenient snack.

I had only ever eaten the traditional fluffy type of sweet potato or the standard Anno sweet potato.

At "Yakiimo Park," there are eight varieties of sweet potatoes available, each with its own unique texture and flavor to enjoy.

Additionally, at the event venue, there was a theme song for baked sweet potatoes playing, and the characteristics of each sweet potato were clearly written, which deeply impressed me with their dedication to sweet potatoes.

Kurashiki Mirai Park is conveniently located next to JR Kurashiki Station, making it easy to access by train or car.

It seems there are events almost every week, so I would like to keep checking and visit in the future.

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