Kinseiken

Kinseiken in Daigahara, Hokuto City is a long-established Japanese confectionery founded in 1902. Its stately store, built in 1852, was renovated from a building that operated as the Maruya inn in Daigahara-juku (a post town on the Koshu Highway) from the Edo to Meiji periods. This historic building, where Jippensha Ikku, the author of comic picaresque novel “Tokaidochu Hizakurige” (known in translation as Shank’s Mare) once stayed, features a 50-tatami-mat gallery on the second floor, evoking the atmosphere of the past. Its specialty is “Mizu Shingen Mochi,” a confectionary made using soft water from Mt. Kaikoma, one of 100 Famous Japanese Springs. It is sold in limited quantities on Saturdays and Sundays from June to September. This simple confection consists of Hakushu water with just a touch of agar. It is enjoyed with organic green soybean kinako powder and black sugar syrup. Due to its softness and delicateness, it cannot be transported, yet its popularity draws long lines before opening, attracting visitors from across Japan.