Among many famous products, this one is definitely my favorite! The candied yuzu peel at Genkichi Chouan is a perfect gift for someone important! (laughs) Their elegant seasonal sweets are the best!

This is the underground food section of Tokyu Department Store...Located in Maruyama Park, "Sokkei Genkichiouan" is a well-established famous Japanese confectionery store, so they offer high-end Japanese sweets. I tried the "Riku no Houju" for 260 yen. It is a Japanese sweet made with fresh Muscat of Alexandria fruit, wrapped in a thin layer of sweet bean paste and coated in sugar. The ripe and juicy Muscat has a perfect balance of slight acidity and sweetness, making it delicious. Another item I tried was the "Momowakahime" for 300 yen. It is made with young green peaches, known as "infant peaches," which are simmered in honey and wrapped in a transparent rice cake. The firm texture of the green peach, despite being young, gives it a flavorful taste. These Japanese sweets truly live up to the reputation of "Sokkei Genkichiouan." I didn't know they also have an international presence.

I made a bad choice by picking this place at the Tokyu Department Store basement, so this will be the end of it. Thank you for accompanying me. There is an elegant sweets shop here, and I thought it would be perfect to buy souvenirs for my grandmother since they seem to specialize in beans and chestnuts, which she likes. I find choosing things a bit of a hassle, even though I usually put a lot of effort into it. So I just reached out and grabbed one of the sweets that were within reach and placed it in front of the kind lady who was serving me. "Just one, please." "No problem at all!" She responded with a smile. She was like a perfect example of good customer service. She explained that what I picked was like a potage, which needs to be heated in the microwave before eating. Oh, I see. I didn't really pay attention to that when I grabbed it. Potage means it has milk in it, right? But my grandmother doesn't drink milk, so she won't eat this. What should I do? I ended up eating it myself after heating it in the microwave. I finally saw what it looked like... and I lost my appetite completely. I couldn't bring myself to eat it. I could feel the chestnuts, but the taste was just off for me. It's a no-go for me. I handed it over to my wife, but she refused to take it. "Come on!" I said, but it had no effect. It was a miss on my part. It was expensive and elegant, but it didn't agree with my unsophisticated palate. Sorry!

◆◆◆◆◆◆【Second Submission】◆◆◆◆◆◆【January 2014】This is my second submission, so I'll briefly talk about the seasonal confectionery "Suikan Shin" from Genkichi Chouan. I also tried a few more items. When paying, they served tea and traditional Japanese sweets again. The tea this time was plum and kelp tea. Among all the Genkichi Chouan stores, I have come to like the one in Tokyu Department Store the most. (laughs)■Suikan ShinThis confectionery uses Ichiida persimmons from Nagano. It uses a whole dried persimmon, a seasonal fruit. Inside, there is a smooth white bean paste. The combination of high-quality dried persimmon and white bean paste creates a perfect balance of sweetness and the deliciousness of dried persimmon that spreads in your mouth. It has a rich and mellow flavor. Price: 525 yen per piece■Fuku Watarase SenbeiThis is a classic confectionery. It consists of layers of wavy baked Western-style rice crackers with a creamy filling of gentle sweetness. The crispy texture is very pleasant. Price: 137 yen per piece■Steamed KintsubaNo comment as I have not tried this one yet. Price: 137 yen per pieceHigh-end traditional Japanese sweets made with fruits are definitely best enjoyed at Genkichi Chouan. You can truly taste the season. While I often visit the local Maruyama store or Mitsukoshi store, I am sure I will be visiting the Tokyu Department Store more in the future. It's a nice place for a little break as well. I have upgraded my rating from 4.1 to 4.2.◆◆◆◆◆◆【First Submission】◆◆◆◆◆◆I had "Sakuranbo" and "Ayame Mochi". The main branch of Genkichi Chouan is a stylish Japanese confectionery shop that beautifully captures the four seasons of Japan!!【May 2013】Genkichi Chouan excels in creative traditional Japanese sweets using fruits. They are skilled at expressing the seasons through their confectionery. Established in 1947 as a privately owned confectionery shop, they have a history of 66 years. Their headquarters is in Ginza, with main stores in Tokyo, Okayama, and Kamakura. The Maruyama store in Sapporo is one of the flagship stores. The Okayama main store even has an art museum. They have grown into a large chain with 135 stores in Japan and 15 stores overseas. Most of their domestic stores are located in famous department stores. One of these stores is in Sapporo Tokyu Department Store. This store is located in the JR Sapporo Station area in Chuo-ku, Sapporo, on the basement floor. Please check on Tabelog for the exact location of the store. I visited in April, so there were many spring-themed traditional Japanese sweets. Spring is the season of cherry blossoms. When my usual companion and I were hesitating, they served us tea and sweets. The tea was kelp tea. While sipping tea, I relaxed and thought leisurely.■SakuranboThis spring confectionery wraps a whole cherry in a Japanese-style jelly. The slightly sweet honey-soaked cherry's tartness combined with the subtly sweet jelly evokes the joy of spring. It's a confectionery to be enjoyed visually and tastefully. Available until early May for 242 yen■Sakura Hana ShigureThis delicate yellow shigure unravels like a gentle touch. Inside is a sakura leaf-scented anko paste. The sweetness is quite subdued, highlighting the flavor of the sakura. The faint salty taste of the sakura flower on top enhances the subdued sweetness of the anko. The delicate creation seems to capture the scattering of cherry blossoms. It has a very elegant taste. Price: 252 yen. Available until the end of April■Ayame MochiThis mochi, shaped like the beautiful iris flower, has a slight soy sauce flavor. Inside, there are walnuts. It is covered with vibrant green kinako. It's a very smooth and soft mochi with a pleasant texture. Price: 242 yen. Available until the end of MayWhile their regular items are good, their seasonal and fruit-based confectioneries are truly delightful. You can see and enjoy the four seasons of Japan at Genkichi Chouan. They offer elegant yet stylish traditional Japanese sweets. It's almost time for the Rikuno Hoju season to begin again. I look forward to trying it next time. It was a bit inconvenient that it was only available in the evening. Thank you for the delicious treats.

Last year, when I was choosing New Year's gifts online, I came across this shop's manju called "Oribenishiki." I found out that they also have a store in Tokyu Department Store in Sapporo, so when I visited Sapporo at the end of the year, I bought some. The store was very crowded, probably because they don't have a store in Daimaru. I managed to buy the Oribenishiki for 158 yen, as well as Tsuyakuri for 242 yen and Shimizu Kage for 158 yen. I served them to my relatives during New Year's and they loved it. The Oribenishiki is a moist manju with a sweet potato red bean paste filling that includes chopped chestnuts. The Tsuyakuri, a fall-winter product, has a whole chestnut wrapped in smooth chestnut paste. The Shimizu Kage, also a seasonal product, is a delicious bite-sized sweet bean jelly with white bean paste. They were all elegant and delicious traditional flavors. However, I was surprised to see ingredients like artificial flavoring and coloring being used. The use of these ingredients is a bit disappointing, especially in products like the Tsuyakuri which don't contain chestnuts in syrup. Overall, it would have been a 4.0-star taste without those artificial ingredients.

There has been a dorayaki on the table for 2-3 days now. I've been quietly observing because I know I'll get scolded if I eat it without permission. Through the bag, I can see the surface, and it looks like senbei, but when I poke it with my finger, it's soft. It's confirmed to be a type of dorayaki. Finally, I received permission to eat it. Yum yum. There's red bean paste in the middle, huh. It's delicious. The red bean paste isn't overly sweet, and when combined with the dough, it elevates the taste. The uneven pattern on the surface is not something you see often in Hokkaido. Truly a well-respected confectionery. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you for the meal.

I received a gift from a business partner~♫ It's a representative sweet from Genkichi Kioan, "Fukuwatarisenbei." When I opened the package, the aroma of matcha was amazing, and when I broke it, even the cream inside was matcha! When I ate it, it wasn't as hard as regular senbei, but more like a cookie with a crunchy texture. As soon as I put it in my mouth, there was a lot of matcha flavor! ( ´∀｀) I love matcha, but this senbei was quite bold. Maybe I prefer the normal one after all^_^ Thank you for the meal^_^

My husband brought me a souvenir. He knows I love jelly, so when he saw this, he couldn't resist buying it for me. I was surprised by the shape of this jelly, it's quite unique. And it looks fancy too. When I opened the packaging, I found a smooth round container filled with apple compote-like big pieces and firm jelly. It's quite sweet but not too big, so it's easy to eat. I would be happy if they made various flavors in this series like peach or melon.٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶

This is also a gift I received in December 2017. I admire the package while thinking that it doesn't have any particular characteristics. It's a traditional Japanese sweet wrapped in a paper with a design of bamboo and bellflower. When I opened it, I found a prestigious baked manju with a pattern of bamboo and bellflower. I looked up the store name and found out that it's a well-known traditional Japanese sweet shop. There is also a shop in Maruyama, Sapporo. The baked manju from "Oribenishiki" contains sweet potato chunks in the red bean paste filling. I'm not a big fan of sweet treats, but I think this kind of traditional Japanese sweet goes well with a strong green tea.