About 3,000,000 people visit the Naritasan Shinshoji temple during Hatsumode.
The road to Naritasan is lined with stores that have been there for a long time.
This time, we are focusing on the food tours that allow you to enjoy your journey back and forth.
We will present to you our recommended hand-picked food tour spots of the road to Naritasan for August, 2019.
1. Kintoki no Amataro, a nostalgic flavor.
From Narita Station, Kintoki no Amataro is found on the left-hand side after about a two minute-walk from entering the road.
Our recommended item is the “Obanyaki”.
It is filled with either sweet azuki bean paste or sweet white bean paste. ¥120 per piece.
This obanyaki became extremely popular as a snack among the common people in the Meiji period.
Amataro was founded 58 years ago as an obanyaki store. They are still preserving the same flavor until now.
The obanyaki in the photo is filled with sweet azuki bean paste. It has the perfect combination of a roasted shell and slightly sweet filling.
You can eat one in the blink of an eye.
We recommend you try and compare both fillings!
They do not have regular holidays, but they close the store from the last third of July until the end of August every year.
2. Chomeisen, direct seller of Narita’s popular sake, Kuramoto.
Chomeisen is found on the right-hand side after a one minute-walk from Kintoki no Amataro.
Our recommended item is “The Chilled Malted Rice Amazake”.
The plain one is for ¥350. The ginger, yuzu, cocoa, and matcha ones are for ¥400. The lemon and strawberry ones with jelly inside are for ¥500.
Chomeisen is a well-known brewery that has been making sake in Narita for 150 years. Chomeisen’s amazake is one of the popular items on this road.
You may have an impression that amazake is drunk hot, but the cool, refreshing chilled amazake is recommended in the summer.
Its sweetness is just right, so you can drink it easily.
They serve it in a lot of flavors, and the most popular is the simple plain flavor. Cocoa and matcha flavors are popular among foreign customers.
The item in the photo is Chomeisen’s lemon chilled amazake with jelly inside. The combination of jelly and amazake gives a fresh sensation while drinking.
They close when the products are sold out.
3. Dango Enokiya, the popular dango skewers grilled on charcoal fire.
Dango Enokiya is found on the left-hand side, about two minutes away from Chomeisen.
Our recommended item is “Grilled Dango.”
It is served with miso sauce, coarse sweet red bean paste, pumpkin paste, sweet soy glaze, sesame paste, and matcha paste. All the flavors are ¥350 per skewer.
The dango crackles as the shopkeeper grills it in front of the store.
It is crispy and not sticky on the outside as it is grilled on charcoal fire, so it is an easy-to-eat dango.
The dango in the photo is glazed with sweet soy sauce. The rich sweet soy sauce glaze goes perfectly with the crispy dango.
Surprisingly, the pumpkin paste and matcha variations are equally popular among foreign customers.
There are benches in front of the store, so you can sit back and enjoy the freshly-made dango.
They close when the products are sold out.
4. Narita Yume Bokujo, located in front of Yakushido, offers popular dairy farm sweets.
Narita Yume Bokujo is found on the right-hand side about 5 minutes away from Dango Enokiya, in front of Yakushido.
Our recommended item is “Yume Bokujo’s Fresh Soft Serve Ice Cream”.
The fresh soft serve ice cream is ¥390.
The thick soft serve ice cream is made from raw milk. It has a fluffy and soft texture! Its simple sweetness makes it delicious.
It melts quickly in the summer, probably because the cream is so soft, so be careful.
Also, Yume Bokujo has five branches on this road.
They have various recommendations such as gelato and freshly squeezed milk. So, if you come across it while walking, make sure to take a look!
5. Hayashida no Osenbei. This is the authentic Japanese soy sauce flavor!
Hayashida no Osenbei is found on the right-hand side, about three minutes away from Yume no Bokujo and Yakushido.
Our recommended item is “Soy Sauce Rice Crackers”.
The soy sauce one is ¥100, the sweet soy sauce glaze is ¥150, and the green onion miso is ¥200.
In the photo is the soy sauce rice cracker.
Founded in 1912, Hayashida no Osenbei is the oldest store specialized in rice crackers. You can enjoy freshly baked rice crackers in front of the store. The rice crackers have a savory aroma. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
This item is perfect after eating the sweet obanyaki and soft serve ice cream.
It does not easily crumble, so it is recommended for children as well.
6. Sawawa, matcha sweets store. An irresistible place for matcha-lovers.
The matcha sweets store, Sawawa, is found on the right-hand side, about three minutes away from Hayashida no Osenbei.
Our recommended item is “Matcha Warabi Mochi”.
.JPEG__large.jpg)
The item in the photo is the matcha warabi mochi, which is ¥300.
They have an endless variety of matcha sweets, such as matcha latte and matcha soft serve ice cream. This time we chose the matcha warabi mochi, and we do recommend it.
Warabi mochi is chilled and jiggly, and is a must in the Japanese summer.
Sawawa’s matcha has a little bitterness that gives it an accent, and it is simple with no unnecessary flavors.
On the contrary, the mochi itself is slightly sweet, so it is perfect when combined with matcha.
They just opened in July, 2019. They are open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. all year round.
7. Houei Coffee, a coffee stand where you can enjoy authentic flavors.
Walk about five minutes from the matcha sweets store, Sawawa, and go past Naritasan Shinshoji temple found on the left-hand side.
You will find HOUEI Coffee on the right-hand side after going down a gentle slope.
Our recommended item is “Iced Americano”.
The regular iced americano is ¥350 and the large is ¥500.
This is the best coffee stand to have a break after visiting Naritasan Shinshoji temple. They are known for the coffee they carefully roast in-house.
They have a variety of coffee, such as simple coffee and café latte, but the one we recommend this time is the iced americano.
It has very little bitterness and sourness, and it has a refreshing, refined flavor. It is fresh and very smooth to drink, especially on a summer day.
Café latte is recommended for people who like their coffee with milk. The bitterness of the coffee goes well with the refined texture of the milk.
This concludes the food tour spots we recommend after walking down the road to Naritasan in July, 2019.
All stores close by 5:00 p.m. latest, so we recommend you go around in the morning or during the afternoon teatime.
Naritasan Shinshoji temple is approximately a 15 minute-walk from Narita Station.
Walk around and eat delicious sweets while enjoying Naritasan!
