The best place to go on a date or outing in the summer! Indoor cool and refreshing Amezaiku experience report.

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  • Experience Gifu
Delicate Amezaiku crafts are created one by one by craftsmen.　(Photo courtesy of Amezaiku Ameshin, Asakusa)
Amezaiku is a traditional Japanese craft. Have you ever experienced its charm?
Because of its beauty and fragility, Amezaiku is very popular both in Japan and overseas. There is a place in Asakusa where you can actually experience such Amezaiku!

In this article, we introduce how the staff of JR East Travel Service Center Ueno actually participated in an Amezaiku hands-on class at "Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin". This indoor experience facility is perfect for a hot summer outing! Please refer to this page for information on places to go on dates, with friends, or with family.

Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin, a traditional Amezaiku specialty store that boasts the best techniques in Japan

Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin has two branches, one in Hanakawado and the other in Tokyo Skytree Town Solamachi. The Hanakawado store is located near Sensoji Temple, about a 7-minute walk from Asakusa Station, and is the only store where you can try Amezaiku Ameshin. At the Tokyo Skytree Town Solamachi store, you can purchase Amezaiku and other candy products. Both stores are easily accessible, and are recommended as a stopover spot when visiting the Asakusa and Oshiage areas!
The exterior of the Hanakawado store. The Japanese-style storefront is reminiscent of a festival!　(Photo courtesy of Ameshin Amezaiku, Asakusa)

A little trivia here! What is Amezaiku, a traditional Japanese craft?

Japanese Amezaiku is one of the traditional techniques in Japan where a craftsman uses only a pair of scissors and his hands to create a variety of shapes from a single round block of candy that has been heated to about 90 degrees Celsius to soften it. The craftsman's dexterity in cutting and stretching the candy with a pair of scissors, without cutting off or adding parts, is a true art of craftsmanship!

One of the representative works of "Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin" is a very realistic three-dimensional "goldfish" that looks as if it is about to start moving. This work is famous for revolutionizing the Amezaiku industry, which until then had only white and opaque Amezaiku, and has even been featured in elementary school textbooks!
Goldfish" is a masterpiece of "Amezaiku Ameshin" in Asakusa. All of the work is done by hand, which is a divine work of art! (Photo courtesy of Ameshin Amezaiku, Asakusa)

Let's go to the Amezaiku workshop! Let's go to the Amezaiku workshop! Our staff actually tried it!

The Hanakawado store in Asakusa, where we visited this time, has a retro atmosphere, and when you step into the store, you are filled with a sense of tension and excitement that you are about to experience Amezaiku. I could feel the nervousness and excitement of the staff.
Perhaps the craftsman who would be our teacher could sense our nervousness, but he greeted us with a smile and said, "It's too early to be nervous.

This time, we will try our hand at making a "white rabbit"!

First, we watch a video to learn how to use a pair of grip scissors, how to handle candy, and how to make a bunny.
The video has English subtitles, so even foreign visitors can feel comfortable. The large white ears make it easy to grasp the characteristics of the rabbit and shape it in the hands-on class for beginners. The process of cutting the rabbit's large ears, curling its tail, and stretching its legs involves many basic Amezaiku techniques, and even when craftspeople are trained, they begin by mastering the rabbit.
The illustrations are easy for beginners to understand! An English version is also available.

The Amezaiku experience started right away!

First, each person actually tries to make a rabbit twice using candy for practice. The teacher made the outline of the rabbit with quick hands and handed it to us. This is actually the most difficult part of the process.

Once you receive the candy, it is a race against time! The candy is very soft and hardens quickly. The time limit is only three minutes! Quickly insert the scissors and shape the ears. Do not be timid here! A little hesitation can make or break your Amezaiku.
In no time at all, the ears are ready! It looks like a rabbit!

The key to the Amezaiku experience is to hold the candy upside down as soon as you cut it!

The cross section of the cut candy will cool and harden quickly when exposed to air, but the whole candy is still soft, and if you keep holding the candy in the same direction, the candy will start to sag due to gravity, and the skewer will quickly penetrate through the candy. As expected, the first bunny in the first practice session ended up looking sad, as if it had been pierced by the skewer.
The staff's rabbit also looks like it was caught by a spear... (sweat).

After two rounds of practice, it was finally time for the real thing!

After receiving the candies from the teacher, it was time to get nervous!
This time, we were conscious of changing the candy in various directions so that it would not become a skewered rabbit. However, when you get absorbed in the game, you forget to move the candy and end up with a "taran".... At such times, I would say, "The candy is dripping! More right! More right! The staff members accompanying me would also cheer enthusiastically.

After the candy had cooled and hardened, the participants put the finishing touches on the rabbits using red food coloring. Painting is a process that brings out a great deal of individuality, so much so that the finished rabbit's impression changes 180 degrees, so you may be able to see a side of your friends and family you don't know...!

How did the staff do?

Rather than a rabbit, I became a guinea pig fairy (lol).

You can take home the Amezaiku you made in the production and actually eat them. The rabbit was a bit of a failure, but after looking at it for a while, it looked like it was about to start moving, and I began to feel attached to it, thinking, "If I eat it, I'll feel sorry for it...".

This idea that something resides in an object and makes you feel attached to it comes from the Shinto religion of Japan and is said to be a peculiarly Japanese feeling. The delicate and fragile nature of Amezaiku, which disappears after eating, and the animals and plants that look as if they are about to start moving, have been loved by the Japanese people since long ago, and have continued to be so until the present day, as I experienced firsthand!
A rabbit made by our staff. It is too lovely to eat.
The first time you experience Amezaiku, you will make a rabbit, but after the second time, you can make a dog or a cat. I heard that many people are fascinated by Amezaiku and keep coming back for more!

Two of us visited the workshop this time, but we were exhausted from laughing at the mysterious creatures that the staff created one after another during the class. What kind of face should we make? Maybe it would be cuter with big eyes! The bunnies created by the staff were a great opportunity to learn about a new side of the staff and at the same time, a wonderful opportunity to deepen the bond between the staff and each other.
The practice rabbit and the real rabbit side by side. It looks like an evolutionary process...!

Don't forget to bring a souvenir after the fun!

The cool and beautiful Amezaiku products last for a long time and are very popular as gifts.

At the entrance of the store, there is a wide variety of products, such as Amezaiku crafts that craftsmen put their skills into and individually wrapped candy products that can be handed out easily.
There are also many seasonal products as well as regular items, and the design of the Amezaiku changes depending on the season. At the Tokyo Skytree Town Solamachi store, there are many limited edition candy products available only at Tokyo Solamachi!
You may want to visit both stores many times to find your favorite Amezaiku.

The most popular product is "Uchiwa Candy", perfect for summer!

Each colorful design is an original, individually conceived by a craftsman!
The round, transparent candy is decorated with traditional Japanese patterns in the shape of an Uchiwa fan. The cute appearance of the candy in a container resembling a bucket makes it a perfect souvenir for a date around Asakusa, an outing, or sightseeing in the downtown area! The Japanese-style design will surely look great on the streets of Asakusa or in a kimono!

By the way, all designs of "Uchiwa Candy" have the same refreshing apple flavor, but the three-dimensional candies such as goldfish and rabbit are all water candy flavored! They are characterized by a slight, gentle sweetness that is slightly different from sugar.
Uchiwa candy" is cool and summery. All of them are so beautifully designed that you will want to buy all of them.　(Photo courtesy of Ameshin Amezaiku, Asakusa)

And that candy that's all over SNS...!

Bonbon candy" is now creating a huge boom in the world of candy.
A certain convenience store released this candy for a limited time, and it has become a hot topic on SNS, especially among young people.

The most distinctive feature of "Bonbon Candy" is that it contains liquor, black honey, or other liquid inside the candy as it is! When you unwrap the small package and bite into the cute bite-size candy, the thin candy cracks and the sweet liquid overflowing from inside spreads into your mouth. The new sensation of "Bonbon Candy" was very popular among the staff, who said, "I've never had candy like this before! The staff members were very pleased with the new sensation of "Bonbon candy" and said, "I've never had candy like this before!

The flavors include the standard ramune and black honey, as well as the slightly more mature sake and yuzu (citron) flavors. There are also seasonal specials, so be sure to check them out at the store!
Bonbon candies" are very delicate. It is fragile, so please handle it gently.

The representative talks about his passion for Amezaiku

Mr. Shinri Tezuka, the representative of Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin, said, "People say that Amezaiku is like a traditional culture, but it has to be constantly renewed and accepted by the people of the times in order to survive. We must always innovate. The Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin hands-on class is one of the wonderful ways to pass on tradition to future generations.

The hot summer season is finally here again this year. Have you decided where to go with your girlfriends, friends, or family? This summer, how about learning about traditional Japanese culture while cooling off indoors at Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin, where you can try your hand at making Amezaiku? You may discover an unexpected aspect of someone close to you and get to know them better!
Click here for the official website of Asakusa Amezaiku Ameshin!

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