1
"Kaika" by Fujimura Confectionery

Located in Nakamachi, a bustling tourist district, Fujimura is a long-established Japanese confectionary store with a building in the motif of a white-walled warehouse and a stone-paved approach to the store. The store is always crowded with regular customers because of its good reputation among the locals.

Both Japanese and Western confections are well known, and there are so many to choose from that you will be spoiled for choice. For first-time buyers, we recommend "Kaikagashi". It is a baked sweet made of white bean paste mixed with walnuts, apricots, and sesame seeds produced in Matsumoto, wrapped in soft cookie dough. It won the grand prize in the "souvenir category" of the Matsumoto Sweets Contest 2017.

Best Before:
*Best Before: 30 days

In addition, the store features its famous “Sake Manju”—renowned for the superb harmony between the aroma of sake and high-quality koshi-an (smooth red bean paste)—as well as seasonal limited-edition Japanese sweets.The highly popular “Reezun Kukki” is a Western-style confection that the second-generation owner specializes in; it features an exquisite harmony between rum-scented raisins and light buttercream.

Sake Manju (10-piece box)
*Best before: 4 days in summer, 5 days in winter

Raisin Cookies (8-piece box)
*Best-by date: 10 days

Local Guide

Hoshino Resorts KAI Matsumoto also serves them as tea cakes. In addition to their signature sake manju, they also offer sweet potatoes and seasonal products, all of which are delicious! Staff/staff members also personally go to this popular store to buy them as souvenirs.

Fujimura Confectionery

• 2-9-19 Chuo, Matsumoto, Nagano MAP
• 6 min. walk from Matsumoto Station
• 9:00-18:00
• Wednesdays (and occasional unscheduled closures)
• 0263-32-1421
• Free (1 car)

2
Iidaya Confectionery "Ame Senbei

The Matsumoto region is known for its candy production, and in the Meiji period (1868-1912), the region produced the largest amount of candy in Japan. Every year in January, the "Candy Fair" is held, which includes a candy exposition, sales and other events.
Iidaya Seika's signature product is "Ame Senbei" (candy crackers). It is made by boiling down fine powdered sugar into a thin sheet, and its crispy texture makes it look like a rice cracker. It melts easily in the mouth and has an elegant taste, and is a gem of craftsmanship and spirit. In addition to the "Ame Senbei" made with richly flavored brown sugar from Okinawa, other flavors such as "Salt," "Wasanbon," and "Coffee" are also available.

Ame senbei: 486 yen
Shelf life: 180 days

Iidaya Seika is one of several long-established candy shops in the city, founded in 1796. Since its establishment in 1796, Iidaya Seika has maintained the same taste as in the past, using carefully selected ingredients and the excellent skills of its skilled craftsmen, and has become a favorite among locals and visitors to the city.
Located not far from Matsumoto Castle, Temariya is an easy place to stop by while sightseeing in Matsumoto.

3
Temariya "Temarin

Temariya specializes in baumkuchen made with carefully selected ingredients. The baumkuchen are carefully baked by hand in a specialized oven in the workshop at the back of the store.
Among the products that express Shinshu and Matsumoto's unique flavor, the most frequently ordered item is the "Temarin," a lovely round shape filled with sweet Obuse chestnuts and a smooth chestnut filling. It is a baumkuchen with a cute Japanese taste, inspired by "Matsumoto Temari," a traditional Matsumoto craft.
Temarin: Large 2,500 yen, Mini 1,000 yen
*The best-before date is about 10 days.

Local Guide

The baumkuchen is so famous that it is considered a souvenir of Matsumoto! The store is so famous for its baumkuchen that it is called "Matsumoto's most popular souvenir. The "Temarin" is very cute and will surely make you happy when you buy it as a souvenir.

The ingredients are made from rice flour and brown rice flour produced in Nagano Prefecture in order to "share the rich blessings of Shinshu". As the name suggests, the shape of "Alps" looks like the mountains of the Japanese Alps. Experienced bakers carefully bake each layer, taking into consideration the temperature and humidity of the day.

Arupusu: Whole: 1,800 yen, Cut: 800 yen
Shelf life: about 3 weeks if unopened

The store is located in the center of Matsumoto, not far from Matsumoto Castle, on Nakamachi-dori, a street lined with black and white storehouse-style houses. The sweet aroma tickles your nose as you approach the shop.

Temariya

• 2-4 Chuo, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
• 10 min. walk from Matsumoto Station
• 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
• Closed on weekends and holidays
• 0263-39-5858
• None

4
Masamura "Tenshukaku Ishigaki Sable

“Masamura,” with its main store located in the heart of Matsumoto City, is a popular, long-established Western-style confectionery shop.
Among its wide selection ranging from fresh sweets to baked goods, the “Tenshu Ishigaki Sablé” is highly recommended as a souvenir.These cookies feature a thin sablé crust sandwiched with white chocolate that has an elegant sweetness, characterized by a crisp texture and buttery flavor. Finely chopped macadamia nuts are generously kneaded into the dough, and their texture is meant to evoke the stone walls of Matsumoto Castle.
Tenshu Ishigaki Sablé
*Best before: 60 days after purchase

Founded in 1966, the company has been a local favorite for 50 years. The main store has a coffee shop space, perfect for taking a break.
The retro wrapping paper that has been used since the establishment of the company is recognizable as "Masamura" and is said to have many fans.

The "Baby Puffs" compete for popularity with the "Tenshukaku Ishigaki Sable" (stone wall sable). There are six varieties, including "choux a la crème" and "Swiss-style cream puff." The light, fresh cream and custard cream are perfectly balanced with the rich cream.

Local Guide

A long-established French pastry shop that is very famous locally. The cakes and of course, the cream puffs are all delicious, and I always end up buying more than I need.

5
Tominari Gorou Shoten "Teshio ni korou no kinu" (Gorou's Kinu)

Tominari Goro Shoten, located not far from Asama hot spring in the backwaters of Matsumoto, won a gold medal at the first "Japan's Best Tofu Competition" held in 2015. Since then, the company has won awards at numerous other product fairs.

The tofu is handmade by skilled craftsmen using "Nakasenari," a rare variety of Nagano Prefecture soybeans known for their high sugar content. Tofu made with subterranean water drawn from a well 37 meters underground is creamy and rich, with a fine, smooth, sweet taste. In addition to the Gold Award-winning "Teshio ni Kakeru Goro no Kinu," other popular award-winning products such as "Teshio ni Kakeru Goro no Momen" and "Goro no Zaru (zaru)" are also available.

Goro’s Kinugasa, Made with Care
*Best before: 6 days after purchase

Goro’s Hand-Crafted Cotton Cookies
*Use-by date: 6 days after purchase

Goro’s Zaru (Bamboo Strainer)
*Use by: 4 days after purchase

Two years ago, we began selling side dishes and desserts made with tofu and soy milk at our stylish shop.
The “Tofu Menchi” (tofu cutlet), which reportedly sells 400 pieces a day and features the rich umami flavors of tofu and vegetables, is served fresh and hot right off the fryer. Additionally, the “Tofu Donuts,” made with tofu and soy milk, are known for their light yet chewy texture and are said to taste delicious even when cooled. We also recommend the “Soy Milk Soft-Serve,” a healthy treat made with over 30% soy milk.

Local Guide

It takes less than 10 minutes by car from Hoshino Resorts KAI Matsumoto, so we recommend that you stop by on your way home. Guests/customers are constantly visiting the popular store, and the tofu sweets are also very delicious!

GORO TOMINARI

• 90-3 Hara, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
• 18 minutes drive from Matsumoto Station
• 
  10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
• Sunday
• 0263-87-8584
• Free

6
Gokashiji Kaiundo "Shinjito" (Japanese confectionery)

The company was founded in 1884 (Meiji 17) as a confectionery business. With its main store located in the city center, it is one of Matsumoto’s most renowned confectionery shops, producing and selling both traditional Japanese sweets and Western-style pastries. It’s also a casual spot to stop by, featuring a very rare soft-serve ice cream robot.
Pursuing the unique flavors characteristic of Shinshu, the shop produces a wide variety of Japanese and Western confections using carefully selected ingredients—such as specially selected adzuki beans and ingredients sourced from within Nagano Prefecture—under strict safety management.

Shinjito" is known as one of the representative sweets of Shinshu. It is made with onigurumi walnuts and honey, which have excellent taste and flavor, and is characterized by its rich sweetness. It is also called "Japanese nougat.
In the early Showa period (early 20th century), it was named "Shinjito" by the Urasenke school of tea ceremony, and has a prestigious status as a confectionery for the tea ceremony.

Mami-tō (6-piece box)
*Best-by date: Approximately 20 days

Along with "Shamisugar," "Kaiunrosho" is another popular confectionery. It is a unique steamed confectionary combining sweet bean paste and sweetened red bean paste with nikki, and was created more than 50 years ago to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the company's founding. It is a lucky item that resembles the trunk of an old pine tree and is sprinkled with pine nuts. It is recommended for those looking for a souvenir for celebrations and other occasions.

Kaiun Oimatsu
*Best before: Approximately 20 days

7
Mizuki pickles studio "Nozawana pickles

Mizuki Pickles Studio Higashimachi Honten is located not far from Matsumoto Castle.
It has received numerous awards, including the "Shinshu Specialty 15" and the "Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award," and is one of the leading pickles stores in Shinshu and is popular not only in the city but also nationwide.

The most popular pickles are "Nozawana", a staple of Shinshu pickles. Nozawana is made using domestically produced ingredients grown with reduced use of agricultural chemicals and compost, well water pumped from mountainous areas, and low-temperature water (0°C) and low-salt water circulated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for pickling. The seasoning liquid permeates from the stem to the leaves, maximizing the moderate crunchiness and flavor.

Nozawana: 324-540 yen (tax included)
*Best-by date: 15 days in refrigeration

Yamasen pickles, made with crispy-textured aokibu daikon radish, is one of the signature products, bearing the trade name "Yamasen" from the time of the sake brewery. In addition, there is a wide selection of pickles unique to Shinshu, such as "Handmade Kobo Wasabi Zuke," made from finely chopped wasabi produced in Hotaka, Azumino, since the establishment of the company and pickled in sakekasu (sake lees).

Yamasen pickles: 432 yen (tax included)
Shelf life: 30 days in refrigeration

Handmade Kobo Wasabi pickles: 540 yen (tax included)
Best before: 30 days in refrigeration

Local Guide

Hoshino Resorts KAI Matsumoto is also a pickle store. It is a pickle shop that also serves "Kai Matsumoto" and offers a variety of products unique to Shinshu.

Along with pickles, "Shinshu Mura-oyaki" is also popular. With a chewy texture without fukurashi flour, this thin-skinned oaki with a variety of ingredients is popular among people of all ages.

Shinshu Mura Oyaki: 196 yen (tax included)
Shelf life: 180 days from frozen

Local Guide

Mizuki pickle factory's oyaki is very delicious! You will want to try a variety of ingredients. You can take them home frozen, so I recommend it.

Mizuki Pickles Workshop Higashimachi Honten

• 4-12-16 Ote, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
• 15 min. walk from Matsumoto Station
• 9:00-17:30
• Thursday and Sunday
• 0263-33-2310
• Free