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.
The shop has been designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property by the national government.
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.
You can feel the richness and history of this centuries-old shop even in the scent of the antique decorations and shelves.
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.
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