[Amatou Head Office in Otaru] Big Cookies, Marron Colon

Amatou

Amatou (あまとう) is a long-established confectionery store based in Otaru city, and has been established as a restraunt and a panju shop since 1929. Amatou corp. (株式会社あまとう) runs it, and Mr. Akira Shibata (柴田 明) is a company president at present. They have 2 shops, the head office and Unga Branch (運河店), in the Otaru, and most of Otaru people know the Amatou. They sell cookies, baked confectioneries, white puddings, cakes, chocolates and ice creams, and sweets such as Cream Zenzai (クリームぜんざい * Zenzai with ice cream) is also popular.

My visited place is the head office facing Otaru Miyako-dori Shopping Mall (小樽都通商店街), and it is near Otaru Station. A shop is on the 1st floor, and a tea room is on the 2nd floor. The tea room has a typical atmosphere such as an old tea room.

OTARU

Otaru (小樽) that 120,000 people live is the 9th largest port city in Hokkaido, and is located in the located in the northwestern part of Sapporo city. It takes about 30 minutes from the Sapporo to the Otaru by a train. The Otaru is one of most popular tourist cities in the Hokkaido, and about 8 million people visit here. It is also well-known as a city with a lot of slopes, and there are 30 slopes with its name, so the Otaru has a lot of slope lands, and has a lot of narrow roads. It is famous as a city with a lot of sushi restaurants, too, and more than 100 sushi restaurants open their businesses. Fresh seafood caught in the Sea of Japan facing the Otaru or caought in various places of the Hokkaido can be enjoyed. As for a climate, the Otaru has calm climate, it is cold in a summer, and it snow hard. The Otaru was called an inaccessible land in the old days because all transportation facilities paralyzed by a heavy snow. Article is here

Marron Colon

I heard from my older sister that cookies were tasty, so I purchased 4 Marron Colons (マロンコロン) this time. Those were 3 sables (Almond Flavor, Walnut Flavor and Cheese Flavor) and 1 jam sand (Almond Flavor). I brought these, and sat on a bench along the Otaru Miyako-dori Shopping Mall, and decided to eat those.

The Marron Colon, a baked confectionery, has been sold in the Amatou since many years ago. 3 pieces of circular cookies are stacked, and chocolate is coated around the cookies. Sable type (Almond Flavor, Cheese Flavor, Cacao Flavor and Walnut Flavor), strawberry type and jam sand type revived flavor in those days (Almond Flavor and Cacao Flavor) are sold.

The sable type had the crispy texture, and the sweetness was just right, too. As for the jam sand type, Apricot jam was spread out between cookies, and it had the moist texture. This was sweeter than the sable type. Since these were big cookies, it was really filling. Thanks for the tasty Marron Colons!