Celebrate all things sweet at the Shiroi Koibito Park, dedicated to Hokkaido’s famous souvenir

In Japan, you don’t want to be caught returning from a trip without omiyage for your family, friends, or even your coworkers. Omiyage, or souvenirs, might be a small trinket, like a magnet or a keychain — but the most coveted omiyage is usually food-related, and tends to be a pre-packaged sweet or salty snack specific to the city or prefecture where it’s purchased.

On Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, Shiroi Koibito is, quite possibly, the region’s most popular omiyage, and has attained an almost mythical status among Hokkaido’s visitors.

Shiroi Koibito is a simple, yet decadent snack consisting of white or milk chocolate sandwiched between two buttery cookies. The snack is produced by the Ishiya Company in Sapporo, which produces 830,000 of the beloved items every day.

But Shiroi Koibito’s cult following goes beyond just being a tasty souvenir — the celebrated cookie even boasts its own theme park.

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