This is the real thing! Kashiwaya Monaka, a traditional Japanese confectionery loved by local people in Sawara, Katori City

  • Chiba
  • JR East Travel Service Center
Popular Monaka

A famous local store! Kashiwaya Monaka store

Kashiwaya Monaka store exterior
Kashiwaya Monaka Store stands out with its dark green signboard and white "Kashiwaya" letters. Founded in 1927, Kashiwaya Monaka Store has been in business for about 100 years and has long been loved by local people as a gift for weddings, funerals, and as a gift. Conveniently located about 5 minutes from Sawara Station, the store is a popular stop for visitors on their way to Sawara for sightseeing.
Kashiwaya Monaka has been loved by local people for so long that they say, "When it comes to sweets, Kashiwaya Monaka is the best. Everyone has their own favorite flavor of bean paste, such as "I like crushed bean paste" or "This yuzu bean paste is delicious.
In this issue of JR East Travel Service Center, we, the Narita Airport staff, proudly introduce our recommended monaka!

Like macaroons! Monaka that overturns the conventional image of "Ichiguchimonaka".

Pale and beautifully colored "Ichiguchimonaka" (bite-sized monaka).
The round and cute looking sweets are "Ichiguchimonaka".
The store's top recommendation is the three types of monaka, which include crushed red bean paste, brown sugar red bean paste, and yuzu red bean paste!
The crushed bean paste is made from Hokkaido azuki beans and has a sweetness that you will never get tired of, the brown sugar bean paste with a green skin that resembles sugar cane has a savory brown sugar flavor, and the yuzu bean paste wrapped in a light pink skin has a gentle sweetness and a refreshing yuzu flavor.
The yuzu bean paste is made from yuzu yuzu carefully grown in the city by the store's relatives! Yuzu yuzu is harvested before it turns yellow to bring out its aroma, so they use freshly picked yuzu every year.

Oh, my, it's a big chestnut!

I am excited to eat it!
Big chestnut-sized chestnut monaka
The yuzu is harvested before it turns yellow, so they use freshly picked yuzu every year to bring out its aroma! The chestnut "chestnut" has a powerful impact.
These "big chestnuts" are not only impressive in appearance. The thin, crispy skin and the filling of the sweet bean paste are filled with sweetened chestnuts, and the delicious bean paste fills the mouth wherever it is eaten.
They are available individually as well as in an assortment of other products, making them useful as souvenirs. Each of the sweets is so delicious that you will find yourself devouring one, two, or even all of them. You can buy them at the store in Sawara or online, so why don't you share the deliciousness with everyone?
A showcase full of monaka.
Kashiwaya Monaka Shop" official website product list is here

What is the desire of a well-known store that continues to be loved by customers?

We asked the people at Kashiwaya Monaka store, which has been loved by the local community and tourists throughout the ages, about their commitment to their products and their thoughts for the future.

Q. What is the most important thing you do to be loved by your customers for a long time?
A. We try not to change the traditional way of making our products.

Q. To create delicious products What kind of difficulties did you face?
Since the previous generation thought up and created these products, it must mean that the previous generation had good taste. I have not had any difficulties. I dare say that some of them are no longer manufactured, so I have to stock the same raw materials as back then.

Q.Finally, what would you recommend to customers who have not yet tried your midium?
A.I think that people have different likes and dislikes about red bean paste, but we want people to feel free to try it by putting it between the crust or dipping it in bread. I would like customers to try it easily, such as by putting it between crusts or on bread. We would be happy if you try it, enjoy it, and want to try it again.

The traditional taste is in the traditional town.

Scenery along the Ono River in Katori City, a town of water villages
Sawara's Grand Festival: Autumn Festival
The Sawara area of Katori City, Chiba Prefecture, where Kashiwaya Monaka is located, is known as the "Little Edo of Hokuso," and the rows of merchant houses that have flourished since the Edo period (1603-1868) thanks to water transportation on the Tone River are registered as an "Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings," and visitors can enjoy a boat tour along the Ono River that runs through the city and see how the good old traditions have been passed down.
The "Great Festival of Sawara," registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, has a tradition of about 300 years and is held twice a year, once in July for the summer festival and once in October for the autumn festival.
This time, I visited the Autumn Festival and was overwhelmed by the power of the 5-meter-high floats, and at the same time, I could feel the spirit of the local people to keep the tradition alive here.
Once you try Kashiwaya's monaka, you will want to try it again. If you visit Sawara, please stop by the Kashiwaya Monaka store.
For train + accommodation reservations in the Chiba area, please visit the JR East View Dynamic Rail Package at
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