Takahashi Magozaemon is one of the oldest confectioneries in Japan. This family-owned confectionery first opened its doors in 1624, and is currently on its fourteenth-generation owner. Nearly all of the sweets here are made using awa-ame, a traditional Japanese syrup made from a blend of local mochi rice and domestic malt.
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The shop has been designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property by the national government.
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In the mid-Edo period, novelist Ikku Jippensha visited the shop and wrote in his travel journal about the great taste of the awa-ame syrup.
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You can feel the richness and history of this centuries-old shop even in the scent of the antique decorations and shelves.
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Okina-ame
Okina-ame is mizuame syrup thickened with agar, beautifully translucent and pale yellow in color. It has an appealing gumdrop-like texture, with a silky sweetness that differs from that of table sugar.
Sasa-ame
Sasa-ame is awa-ame that has been folded inside a sasa bamboo leaf, giving the confection a wonderful aroma. It is so highly regarded that it even makes an appearance in the novel Botchan, written by the foremost novelist of the Meiji period Soseki Natsume.
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Takahashi Magozaemon Shoten (高橋孫左衛門商店)
3-7-2 Minami Honcho, Joetsu-shi, Niigata 943-0841
TEL. +81-25-524-1188 / FAX +81-25-525-3138
info@etigo-ameya.co.jp