- December 7th, 2014
- Food
- Sweets
- SouthernArea
[Senshuan Sohonke in Hakodate] 100 years History Tastes of Dorayaki Cake and Ganso Yamaoyaji Cookie Can Be Savored
CONTENTS
Senshuan Sohonke
Senshuan Sohonke (千秋庵総本家) is a long-established confectionary store based in Hakodate city, and has been established since 1860. It is the 2nd oldest in existing confectionary stores in Hokkaido, but I think that it is the oldest confectionary store rooted in the Hokkaido. As for the origin of the Senshuan (千秋庵), Mr. Kichibee Sasaki (佐々木吉兵衛), the founder, was from former Akita prefecture, and it was named because of missing Akita of hometown. He had a good sense that waiting impatiently (proverb) is punned on the Akita. * A kanji “秋” is used in both meanings. In addition, they have a big influence because Senshuan Sohonke is a root of Sapporo Senshuan (札幌千秋庵) and Rokkatei (六花亭). The Sohonke means “Originator” in English. The head office is in Horai-chou, Hakodate, and some brach stores open a business in the Hakodate and Yuraku-cho, Tokyo. They have become an affiliate company of Suzuki Eikodo (鈴木栄光堂), a long-established confectionary store in Gifu prefecture, since 2017.
My visited place is the head office near Mt. Hakodate. Both the appearance and the interior decoration of the building have a long-established atmosphere. The store is not large, and a clock has been working since Taisho period, and it makes visitors feel the history. Japanese confectioneries as well as Western confectioneries are displayed in a shocase. A small but cozy place for customers to enjoy foods and drinks is provided at the store, and free tea can be drunk.
Movie of Senshuan Sohonke
Mt. Hakodate
Mt. Hakodate (函館山) is a range of mountains with 334 m in height in the west side of Hakodate city, and is general term of 13 mountains. Another name is Mt. Gagyu (臥牛山). The Mt. Hakodate used to be an island originally, but a sandbar grew on the sea, and the downtown of the Hakodate was built on the sandbar. A view of the Hakodate downtown has been famous since old days, and is one of the 3 best night views in the world together with Hongkong in China and Napoli in Italy. “A View from Mt. Hakodate” was given 3 stars in Michelin Green Guide Japon 2011. It features that world people rate “The View from the Mt. Hakodate” highly. In addition, it is also well-known as one of the 3 best night views in Hokkaido together with Mt. Tengu in Otaru and Mt. Moiwa in Sapporo. After all, the night view is most popular. Admission free. A parking lot is free of charge. Read More
By the way, Express Hakodate-go (高速はこだて号) and Hakodate Limited Express New Star-go (函館特急ニュースター号), express buses, run between Sapporo and the Hakodate. Unfortunately, the express bus does not run between New Chitose Airport and the Hakodate. Besides, Rent-a-car can be rented around Hakodate Station, Hakodate Airport, the Goryokaku Fort and Hakodate Ferry Terminal.
HAKODATE
Hakodate (函館) that about 260,000 people live is the 3rd largest port city in Hokkaido, and is a regional hub city of the Southern Hokkaido area. The Hakodate became incorporated with Toi town (戸井), Esan town (恵山), Todohokke village (椴法華) and Minami-kayabe town (南茅部) in 2004, and most of Kameda Peninsula (亀田半島) has changed to the Hakodate. It is one of most popular tourist cities in the Hokkaido, and about 5 million people visit here. The downtown of the Hakodate from Mt. Hakodate toward former Goryokaku fort is developed on a large sandbar between the seas, and a unique seashore landscape is very popular. Although a lot of tourists think the center town of the Hakodate is around Hakodate Station and the Mt. Hakodate, it is around Hakodate Streetcar Goryokaku Koen-mae Stop (函館市電五稜郭公園前駅). The Hakodate is also well-known as a city with a lot of slopes, and there are 19 slopes with its name such as Hachiman-zaka slope (八幡坂), Daisan-zaka slope (大三坂) and Motoi-zaka slope (基坂), so around the Mt. Hakodate has a lot of slope lands, and the Hakodate has a lot of narrow roads. As for a climate, the Hakodate is wamer than other cities in the Hokkaido because it is located of the Southern Hokkaido, and it does not snow hard. Read More
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Dorayaki Cake and Ganso Yamaoyaji Cookie
I visited here around 10:00 on a weekday. I asked a waitress about store’s recommendation, so she replied to me “100-years standard cakes are Dorayaki Cake (どら焼き) and Ganso Yamaoyaji Cookie (元祖山親爺)”. As I expected, it was a very long-established confectionary store. A period of the bestseller was long beyond my imagination. I bought those to relish their history. As for the prices, the Dorayaki Cake was JPY 194, the Ganso Yamaoyaji Cookie was JPY 324.
I decided to eat those at the place for customers to enjoy foods and drinks. First I ate the Dorayaki Cake. Bean jam was close-packed at the Dorayaki Cake, and the cake was fluffy texture. The taste of egg was tasty, and the sweetness was just right.
Then I ate the Ganso Yamaoyaji Cookie. A cookie of the Sapporo Senshuan was Yamaoyaji Cookie, so Ganso (Originator) was added before the Yamaoyaji Cookie. It was a funky visual that a bear put on his ski on the surface of the cookie. I was moved at such a picture created 100 years ago. It was the crunchy texture, and the taste of butter was rich. A lot of elegant women came to the long-established store while eating those. Thanks for the tasty sweets!
| Parking lot | Parking is provided (7 Cars) |
|---|---|
| Business hours | 09:30-18:00 |
| Regular closing day | Wednesday |
| Telephone number | +81-138-23-5131 |
| Home page | Home page is here |
| Mapcode | 86 041 022*47 |
List of accommodations
Refer to following websites for the accommodations in the downtown of the Hakodate. You can get information regarding online reviews and photos.
SOUTHERN PART of HAKODATE DOWNTOWN
NORTHERN PART of HAKODATE DOWNTOWN
YUNOKAWA ONSEN
A page of Hakodate is here
Hakodate
By the way, Club Tourism (クラブツーリズム), a Japanese tour travel agency, provides various types of tours such as day trip tours or ordinary tours. In the case of bus tours, tourists do not drive their cars themselves, so they can savor alcohol. Choosen tourist attractions are national parks such as Rishiri and Rebun, Shiretoko, and popular tourist places such as Furano and Biei, and some activities such as hiking and fruit picking are also enjoyed depending on seasons. If you are interested in tour trips, you should visit the club tourism's website for details.
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