For those who have traveled throughout Japan, one of the things you start to notice is that certain areas have their own dish and sweets that they proudly display.
In Japan, specifically in the Kanagawa prefecture, is the town of Hakone.
And it is one of the locations that people go to in order to experience the scenery of all four seasons.
A mountainous region, it was used back then during the Tokugawa Shogunate as a checkpoint for those leaving Edo and along the Tokaido and travel permits and baggage were checked to make sure the restriction of women and weapons were enforced.
By the time of the Meiji Restoration, Hakone would become part of the Ashigarashimo District in Kanagawa Prefecture in August 1876 and became a town in 1889.
The location is a tourist destination because of its onsen hot springs and its close proximity to Mount Fuji. And for anime and manga fans, it is known for the setting of “Neon Genesis Evangelion”.
And not far from Hakone-Yumoto Station is a popular sweets shop known as Fukuya Kuzuryuumochi. No doubt a great location to chill out after a long walk, eat a delicacy of Hakone and the location also has a hot spring to dunk and rest your feet.
Owned by Odawara Co., Ltd. Nanohana, Fukuya Kuzuryuumochi is among the few shops they have in the area, but it’s specifically place to try the sweets and purchase them boxed for those looking for souvenirs from Hakone.
Established in 2014, the location makes their sweets by hand and utilizes Kyushu/Saga rice cake powder. It’s also a shop known for providing sweets made with chestnuts, which is popular for sweets sold in the Hakone area.
This is the public onsen where people can rest their feet and the benches where people can sit down and kick back.
You can purchase some of the confections sold at Fukuya Kuzuryuumochi and while vanilla and green tea (macha) ice cream are popular, these souvenirs such as the cake and chestnut cakes are very popular.
The center attention is chestnuts at Fukuya Kuzuryuumochi and while not part of the Japanese diet today, back in prehistoric times, charred chestnuts that are thousands of years old were found in archaeological sites from the Jomon Period (10,000-200 B.C.).
The “Tsuki no Usagi” (Moon Rabbit) is made with rape flower with a wheat bran breading and chestnut center. The difference between the dark and the light is the lighter color is sweeter than the darker version (which is called “Tsuki no Kuro Usagi” (Moon of the Black Rabbit).
The Tsuki no kuro Usagi was created back in 2009 and uses what is known as shibukawa kuri (shibukawa is the inner skin that is bitter, kuri is chestnut). Unlike the lighter version which uses powdered sugar, this one is cooked in rice flour and cooked over again for fragrance, so it’s not that sweet and is considered a mature taste.
When chestnuts are boiled, the shells can be removed with a knife and the rest of the outer shell can be peeled off. Some people like the shibukawa kuri and thus, this is the darkened version.
I know for some people, when making this type of sweet without the breading, they take the chestnut and cooking in water with baking soda with granulated sugar and brandy. But in this case, there is no sugar and I see no mention of brandy. Even in France, there is candied chestnuts with a similar process but instead of brandy, they use vanilla.
This is called a “Odawara Doroyaki” utilizing red beans (typically made with azuki red bean paste), flour, fresh eggs, honey with pure butter using molasses. It’s like a sandwich and a popular Japanese confectionery.
These confections are made fresh and you can see the employee taking the fresh ones and preparing them in bags. I didn’t get a chance to ask how many sweets are sold per day but considering that Hakone is a popular tourist location and this shop is closer to the station, it’s in a prime spot.
I had a pleasant time at this location and the employee gave great customer service in answering my questions. The bags look like the products were made and sealed at a factory but you can watch as they take a fresh piece and put it in the bag.
While I sat outside taking a photo of what I was going to try, an employee came out and gave me free tea to eat with my sweets. That’s Japanese customer service! So Awesome!
I was not surprised by the “Odawara Doroyaki” and to be truthful, I was surprised I enjoyed it because I’ve not been the biggest fans of red bean or anything manju and I tend to have avoided eating it But for the sake of eating a confection from Hakone, it’s a must and I actually enjoyed it. Nice and sweet.
The “Tsuki no Usagi” was deliciously sweet. The chestnuts just melt in your mouth and was nice and sweet. You can see the chestnut with sugar all over it inside. The chestnut was nice and soft and also sweet.
The shop employee asked me if I wanted to try the “Tsuki no Kuro Usagi” but to be truthful, having eaten two sweet things and going to something a bit more bitter, was not appealing to me at the time. But part of me wished I did try it for the sake of trying shibukawa kuri.
I ordered the Baked Mont Blanc, one of the most popular confections offered by Fukuya Kuzuryuumochi at Hakone. You have breading made with butter, eggs and inside is a chestnut filling, Absolutely delicious!
Mont Blanc is from France, in which chestnuts are pureed to chestnut cream with a sugary chestnut cream. There is another dish popular called Marron glace which features pureed chestnut cream and whipped cream crowned with a sugared chestnut ala Marron glace.
Overall, I enjoyed my short stay at Fukuya Kuzuryuumochi in Hakone. Great place to get sweets as souvenirs or to try some of Hakone’s sweets. And a cool place to just kick back, dunk your feet into the hot spring and relax!
Definitely check this place out!
