Tanukikoji Shopping Street is bustling with Sapporo residents and tourists. Its history dates back to the early Meiji period. With the establishment of the Hokkaido Development Commission, the area gradually became lined with merchants and restaurants, and was shaped along with the lives of the people, eventually becoming widely known as "Hokkaido's oldest shopping street."

Even now, after all this time, the arcade is still bustling with people. If you walk along the shopping street to 6th block, you will see the Sapporo Shinkuraya Main Store on your right, marked by a flag with the words "Hanazono Dango" written on it.

"Hanazono Dango" is a famous confectionery that originated in Otaru, next to Sapporo, and is a type of rice dumpling with a distinctive way of placing the bean paste. This famous confectionery, which originated from being sold at Hanazono Park, a famous cherry blossom viewing spot, is preserved by "Sapporo Shinkuraya Main Store" with the desire to "make it available to the people of Sapporo as well."

Enjoy the taste of Otaru's famous sweets in Sapporo

"Sapporo Shinkuraya Main Store" was established in 1960 (Showa 35) as a store selling mochi sweets and Japanese sweets, branching off from "Otaru Shinkuraya", the birthplace of "Hanazono Dango". Previously, they also had a store in Tanukikoji 3-chome, but currently they operate two stores, the "Main Store" here in Tanukikoji 6-chome, and the "Sapporo TV Tower Store".

When you open the heavy glass door, you'll see a display case filled with mochi sweets, including "Hanazono Dango."

The "secret" of the bean paste on top of the dango

Hanazono Dango comes in five different flavors: black bean paste, white bean paste, soy sauce, sesame, and matcha. The adorable round dango is topped with a generous amount of bean paste and sauce. This unique way of topping the bean paste is called "Yamagata Itto-ryu" and was invented by the second generation owner of Otaru Shinkuraya.

"It's not something you can master in a day or two to make the tip of the paste taper like a sword. It took me about three to four months to master it. The softness of the paste changes depending on the temperature and humidity at the time, so it's difficult to get the right balance."

This was explained by sales manager Reika Saito, who greets customers at the store every day. Saito and other staff members place bean paste on the dango made by craftsmen in a factory attached to the store.

Hanazono Dango requires delicate handiwork and has a best-before-sell date on the day it is made. The combination of the soft, stretchy mochi and the gently sweet bean paste goes without saying.

A gentle sweetness that brings out the flavor of the ingredients

"We would definitely recommend trying the classic Hanazono Dango, but recently many people have been buying the Sanshoku Dango. This is a gyuhi dango filled with sweet bean paste and topped with black sesame seeds, green laver, and rakugan (rakugan rice cracker) powder."

The color is different from the usual three-color dango (pink, white, green) and the flavor is unusual, with green seaweed added. Many people visit Shinkuraya in search of the "extraordinary feeling" that can only be experienced here.

The "Sanshoku Dango" allows you to enjoy three different flavors and colors in one dango, and is characterized by its crispy texture and chewy texture. The red bean paste is made with Hokkaido-grown azuki beans, and the shop is particular about preserving the natural flavor of the ingredients.

Enjoy seasonal specials too

In addition to the "Three-Color Dango," there are other Japanese sweets such as dorayaki, monaka, and manju, as well as pound cake soaked in liquor, with around 30 other kinds of sweets on display; the sheer variety will leave you dizzy.

"We also offer seasonal products. For example, in the spring we have sakura mochi and kashiwa mochi. We don't sell them all year round so that our customers can feel the change of season."

Nowadays, most things can be purchased immediately without having to wait for the season or when they are in season. However, Saito says, "It is precisely because of these times that we want to cherish the changing of the seasons."

A coffee shop where you can't help but stay for a long time

On the second floor of the store, there is a coffee shop with the concept of "a place where you can spend a long time relaxing." When the store opened in Sapporo, this space was created with the idea that "we want customers to be able to eat in as a 'sweets cafe', rather than just take away."

The retro space makes you feel as if you have traveled back in time to when the store was founded in the Showa era, and a comfortable atmosphere continues to flow unchanged, making it a ``place of relaxation for the locals'' that is visited by many people even on weekdays.

"Some customers come just in time for our 10am opening. We change the menu regularly, offering things like desserts to go with our hot sandwiches and shaved ice, which is only available in the summer, so that our regular customers can enjoy themselves."

We want to continue to share the traditional flavors here in Sapporo

"I want to continue spreading the deliciousness of Hanazono Dango and Japanese sweets in Sapporo."

With this in mind, our predecessor decided that "this is a place that will attract a lot of people," and he set his sights on Tanukikoji, which had been bustling even back then.

"There are only a handful of shops selling mochi sweets in central Sapporo. That's why we want to continue to be here. We want to continue passing on the Japanese culture and traditional industries that Japan has cherished to the next generation."

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of Sapporo Shinkuraya Main Branch. We are sure that they will continue to deliver the same delicious flavors and Japanese traditions to Sapporo in the future.

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札幌 新倉屋 本店 
電話： 011-281-5191
住所：北海道札幌市中央区南2条西6丁目3番地
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