Kikushodo (Nakamachi Main Shop)

A long-standing Japanese sweet shop founded in 1932. Its main shop is at the entrance to Esashi's Kuramachi Mall. They're dedicated to making sweets people love with a focus on safety, delicious flavor, and traditional hand craftsmanship. Their popular Iwayado yokan (sweet bean paste jelly) confection is wrapped in a bamboo leaf after solidifying in a rectangular wooden frame. Its traditional manufacturing method has been handed down in this region for nearly two hundred years. There are many other products that make great souvenirs too, such as their Mutsu-no-oja (their own version of a walnut tart from Switzerland's Engadin region) and their Fujiwara Yondai (pie-style manju buns).