10 Top Popular Local Specialties and Products of Kanazawa for Souvenirs!

The castle town, Kanazawa used to be a flourished clan called Kaga Hyakumangoku (it meant wealthy clan). Now it has become a popular tourist city, and its townscape is really elegant. One of the best things to do would be taking a walk and finding great souvenirs. Kanazawa is one of the best places for Japanese confectionery, and Japanese traditional culture has been passed on by skilled artisans in this area. So, this is the list of 10 Top Popular Specialties and Products of Kanazawa for souvenirs! You would not have to worry about what to buy with this list.

Tawara-ya’s Jiro Ame

“Tawara-ya” is the oldest candy shop established in the first year of Tenpō (1831). Their specialty is thick-syrup type soft candy called “Jiro Ame”, which is sold in a cute jar. Its ingredients are only rice and barley. This sugarless candy’s natural sweetness from the grains are mild and light. It is a healthy natural product for all generations and would be perfect for souvenirs.

Thier shop curtain is hung at the entrance, and it says “俵屋　あめ” [tawaraya candy] in large letters. Looks nostalgic and elegant. Tasting is on offer, so why not trying their Tawara-ya Honten’s specialty, “Jiro Ame”?

Shiba Zushi’s Sasa Zushi

Kanazawa’s “Sasa Zushi” is pressed sushi which is well known in Hokuriku area, and one of the must-eat specialties as well as Toyama’s nationally famous Ekiben [station lunch box], “Masu Zushi”. The pressed sushi is wrapped in bamboo leaves. For Sasa Zushi of the sushi lunch company, Shiba Zushi, they use specially blended rice with the special rice from the contracted farm and the quality rice produced in Hokuriku area. It is made with fresh local veggies of the season and natural caught fish marinated with natural salt and special vinegar. Tastes really nice and mild with the nice scent of bamboo leaves.

Staple choices include: Mackerel, Salmon, and Sea Bream. Simmered conger is also on offer. It would be a great souvenir, also a great lunch for yourself in the Hokuriku Shinkansen Bullet Train.

LE MUSEE DE H’s YUKIZURI

“YUKIZURI” is a creative confectionery made by imaging of “yukizuri (technique for preserving trees from snow with ropes and bamboo poles)” at Kanazawa’s iconic place and Japan’s one of the three great gardens, “Kenrokuen”. Japanese plum produced in Noto, Ishikawa is used, since Kanazawa’s former dominant family of Kaga Clan, the Maeda used umebachi-mon [crest of a single plum blossom] as their family crest. Other ingredients such as salt, eggs, and rice flours are also produced in Noto. “YUKIZURI” it self is made based on French traditional confectionery, sacristain.

The icing on the pie looks like snow on ropes for yukizuri, and the crispy pie tastes nice with a little plum flavor. Seasonal varieties include: Strawberry, Blueberry, and Gold Leaf. The package looks elagant with a picture of yukizuri ropes printed on. It can be a great souvenir from a graceful city, Kanzawa. You should get it.

Nakat-ya’s Kintsuba

Nakata-ya’s “Kintsuba” is highly admired as Kanazawa’s specialty for its excellent taste. Kintsuba is an azuki bean confectionery coated with thin batter. This shop’s kintsuba is made with quality dainagon azuki beans, and tastes moderately sweet with its nice azuki bean texture and flavor. Its subtle saltiness nicely accecntuate the sweetness. In summer, it would taste better if you cool it in the fridge.

Their seasonal product, specially selected “Kintsuba Igaguri” is on offer for three months from the middle September. Luxurious chestnuts from Noto are used for the product. The building of Nakata-Ya Honten looks authentic with a traditional Japanese house exterior, and is located close to Kanazawa’s famous tourist attraction with historical ambience, “Higashi Chaya Gai”. So, stop in this place on the way back from sightseeing.

Takagiya’s Kami Fūsen

“Takagi-ya” is a confectionery shop with a Japanese traditional appearance. The specialty is their original confectionery, “Kami Fūsen [paper balloon]”. Cute agar agar jelly cubes are filled in colorful round kaga-monaka (Japanese wafers). Varieties of jelly include: Red Grapes, Yellow Lemon, White Wine, and Brown Sugar. The jelly tastes mildly sweet, and the wafers are crispy. When you bite, you would hear a nice crunchy sound.

This product is a kind of eclectic confectionery of Japanese and European style. Looks really cute, and comes with five sheets of origami and an instruction of how to make “Kami Fūsen”. Perfect for souvenirs! Add this confectionery to your must-buy list when you visit Kanazawa.

Katō Koyō-dō’s Uchiwa Senbei

How about getting a special food in the shape of Japan’s staple summer item? “Uchiwa Senbei” is a round fan shaped rice cracker, and is a seasonal product from March. Each cracker has a colorful nature beauty decoration. Looks so pretty that it would even make you hesitate to eat. It is thin but tastes elegant with a moderate sweetness. Very Kanazawan product.

This seasonal crackers would be perfect for souvenirs. You should definitely get it, but be very careful not to break them when you take home.

Ukei-an’s Ukokkei Castella

“Ukokkei Castella” is a luxurious cake made with fresh local silky fowl eggs from its captive poultry farm in Kanazawa. The eggs are very valuable because one silky fowl lays only 30 to 40 eggs per year. It tastes excellent with rich egg flavor and fluffy moist texture. There is no other castella like this.

Each castella is carefully made by confectioners, and its sweetness is controlled in order to take most advantage of the egg’s flavor. Perfect balance with a nice rich eggy taste and elegant sweetness would make you happy. They also offer a gorgeous version of “Ukokkei Castella with gold leaves”. Looks so brilliant and would be a nice souvenir from Kanazawa. You must get it!

Rakugan Moroe-ya’s Wabi

“Rakugan Moroe-ya” is a long standing confectionery shop that is famous for its “Rakugan (confectionery made with rice powder and sugar)”. Established in Kanei 2 (1625) at the end of Edo era. “Wabi” is a rakugan gift packed in a paper box with three stacked drawers. Each drawer is filled with cute rakugan and looks so brilliant. This is highly recomended for gifts. Sugar they use is called wasanbon (fine grained Japanese sugar), and each sugar grain is so fine. Once you put the rakugan in your mouth, it cracks and melts smoothly and the elegant sweetness spreads.

The various shapes include small flower, maple leaf, etc. Very colorful and cute with a moderate size. After eating them up, the box can be used as an accessory case. So, it would be accepted as a nice gift!

Kinpaku-ya Sakuda’s Bireihi

Kanazawa is well known as Japan’s largest producer of gold leaves. “Kinpaku-ya Sakuda” is a long standing gold leaf shop established in 1919. Located at “Higashi Chaya Gai” with traditional nostalgic buildings. They offer a wide range of original gold leaf products from traditional crafts to gold leaf cosmetics.

Among many products, “Bireihi” is highly admired. It is self-manufactured lotion mixed with lots of high quality gold leaves that are said to be effective for beautiful skin, and placenta extract that is good for moisturizing. Sounds gorgeous and seems to be effective for gorgeous skin too. The package looks brilliant and it would be a great souvenir for girls.

Kutani Yaki Moroe-ya’s Tableware

Kanazawa is also famous for one of the traditional crafts, Kutani Yaki, which is painted with 5 colors called Kutani Gosai: green, yellow, purple, deep blue, and red. On the first floor at the long standing 150-year-old pottery shop, “Kutani Yaki Moroe-ya”, many Kutani products such as tableware, flower vases, plateaus, small dishes, large plates, mugs are on offer. The second floor, on the other hand, is a pottery gallery that displays beautiful pottery artworks made by Kutani pottery artists.

It is not easy to buy expensive Kutani artworks made by famous artists, but they have a lot of everyday use tableware and ornaments of Kutani pottery, too. Maybe you should get some of them for souvenirs when you travel to Kanazawa.

Get Souvenirs That Makes Everyone Happy!

How was the list of the best selected popular local specialties and products of Kanazawa for souvenirs? After Hokuriku Shinkansen Bullet Train Line started, more poeple are visiting the little Kyoto, Kanzawa. There are many stylish attractive items for souvenirs in the elegant city. Why not traveling to Kanazawa and find something great to see it with your eyes?