Do you ever buy Japanese sweets for guests, as a gift to bring when visiting someone, or simply as a snack at home?
Many Japanese sweet shops are unique to their local area and deeply rooted in the community.
Mabi-cho, Kurashiki City, is also home to a Japanese sweet shop beloved by the local community.
The shop is called “Kashoan Hashimoto.”
It is popular for its signature dorayaki and seasonal offerings.
However, Hashimoto was hit by the “July 2018 Heavy Rains” and forced to suspend business.
After overcoming the threat of closure, the shop reopened in December 2020.
Many customers who had been waiting for its return came to visit.
Let’s explore what makes Hashimoto’s products special, the shop’s appeal and history, and its journey from disaster to reopening.
The information presented here was accurate when this article was published in May 2023. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Mabi’s only specialty Japanese sweet shop, revived after the “July 2018 Heavy Rain Disaster”
Hashimoto is a Japanese sweet shop along National Route 486 in Kawabe, Mabi-cho.
It serves people in and around Mabi-cho as the town’s only specialty Japanese sweet shop.
Hashimoto opened in 1981 in the Arii district of Mabi-cho as “Kyogashi-dokoro Hashimoto.”
It later moved to its current location in 1986 under the name “Kashoan Hashimoto.”
However, it was hit by the “July 2018 Heavy Rain Disaster” in 2018.
The shop suffered such extensive damage that its reopening was in doubt.
But after about two and a half years, it reopened in December 2020.
On reopening day, many customers who had eagerly awaited the shop’s return came by, and it was bustling.
Hashimoto’s products
Hashimoto offers a wide range of products. Here are some of its signature items.
Prices include consumption tax. Information as of May 2023
| Product | Price (tax included) |
|---|---|
| Kotohiki Rock | 110 yen |
| Walnut | 150 yen |
| Aoume | 200 yen |
| Bamboo Shoot | 110 yen |
| Tsukishiro | 200 yen |
| Chestnut Dayori | 200 yen |
| Dora-Choco | Temporarily unavailable |
| Doraja | 150 yen |
| Temari Song | 220 yen |
| Mabi Moon | 150 yen |
| Warabi Mochi | 200 yen |
The most popular item is “Doraja,” the dorayaki that has been a specialty since the shop opened.
There is also a spin-off, “Yataji’s Dora-Choco.”
Other popular classics include steamed buns and castella.
※Photographed in March 2021; prices may differ from current prices
Some sweets are inspired by things associated with the local area of Mabi-cho, such as “Kotohiki Rock,” “Bamboo Shoot,” and “Mabi Moon.”
※Photographed in March 2021; prices may differ from current prices
※Photographed in March 2021; prices may differ from current prices
Another of Hashimoto’s signature products is warabi mochi.
When you think of warabi mochi, do you picture it as a summer-only treat?
Hashimoto does sell warabi mochi as a seasonal summer product, and it is popular.
But in fact, it is not limited to summer at Hashimoto—it is available all year round.
You can buy warabi mochi outside the summer season, too.
Warabi mochi is one of Hashimoto’s signature products, alongside its dorayaki.
Seasonal products are also popular
Hashimoto also offers seasonal products.
All of its seasonal products are popular with customers.
| Product | Sales period |
|---|---|
| Strawberry Daifuku | Mid-December to late March |
| Sakura Mochi | Late February to mid-April |
| Ohagi | From the start of the spring and autumn equinoctial weeks until around the middle day |
| Chimaki | Mid-April to early May (through Golden Week) |
| Kashiwa Mochi | Mid-April to late May |
| Wakaayu (ayu-shaped confection) | June to late October |
The sales periods are approximate and may vary depending on circumstances.
Introducing some of the signature products!
Here are some of Hashimoto’s signature products from its wide selection.
“Doraja” is the dorayaki that has been the shop’s signature product since it opened
“Doraja” has been Hashimoto’s signature product since it opened and remains popular.
It is a type of dorayaki.
Before the shop was hit by the July 2018 Heavy Rains, it was sold simply as “dorayaki,” without a special product name.
It was given its current name, “Doraja,” when the shop reopened in December 2020.
The owner, Mr. Hashimoto, came up with a slightly distinctive name for the shop’s signature product.
He took inspiration from the Okayama dialect line “~ja!” spoken by the comedy duo Chidori, who are from Okayama Prefecture, and came up with “Dorayaki ja.”
That was shortened to “Doraja.”
Doraja is about 8.5 centimeters in diameter and about 2.5 centimeters thick.
The top of the pancake is dark brown, while the underside is yellow.
The shop uses Hokkaido-grown azuki beans and cooks the filling on site.
The sweetness is also adjusted using the shop’s own recipe.
Each pancake is also cooked by hand in the shop.
I think this dorayaki has an exquisite balance of fluffy, flavorful dough, the sweetness of chunky red bean paste, and the crisp texture of the azuki beans.
“Strawberry Daifuku” is a popular seasonal treat made with strawberries from Kiyone
“Strawberry Daifuku” is available for a limited season, from around mid-December to late March.
It is a popular item that sells in very large quantities during the sales period.
They make about 120 a day, and apparently sell out almost every day.
Sometimes they sell out as early as the morning.
The key to Hashimoto’s strawberry daifuku is the strawberries.
The strawberries we use are from Kiyone, Soja!
They’re fresh strawberries that I go and buy myself every morning.
Apparently, they started using them after a customer introduced them to a strawberry farmer in Kiyone.
When you eat it, the gyuhi has a subtle sweetness.
Inside the gyuhi is white bean paste.
It has a smooth texture and a light, refined sweetness.
The strawberry’s sweetness and refreshing tartness fill your mouth.
Then its juicy fruit juice bursts out.
It’s very fruity.
Hashimoto’s strawberry daifuku has an exquisite balance of the strawberry’s fruitiness, the refined sweetness of the white bean paste, and the texture of the gyuhi.
It has a wonderfully addictive flavor, so it’s no surprise that it sells out.
“Oimo” is a distinctive jo-yomanju with sweet potato paste and cinnamon flavor
“Oimo” is a specialty unique to Hashimoto.
It is a type of jo-yomanju, made with yam (joyo) in the dough.
It is filled with plenty of yellow sweet potato paste!
Oimo is oval-shaped, about 4.5 centimeters wide, 6.5 centimeters long, and around 3 centimeters high.
When you pick up the confection, it feels fluffy and slightly springy.
A pleasant aroma, seemingly of cinnamon, wafts up.
When you eat it, the thin dough is fluffy and chewy with a springy texture, while the sweet potato paste inside has a rich, sticky mouthfeel.
The sweetness is restrained, but the sweet potato flavor is rich.
The cinnamon aroma also goes well with the sweet potato flavor, making it delicious.
“Yata-jii’s Dora Choco” is dorayaki filled with chunky red bean paste and chocolate
“Yata-jii’s Dora Choco” is a variation of Doraja, made as dorayaki.
It was created after Hashimoto moved to Kawabe, Mabi.
The dough and size are the same as Doraja.
When cooking the azuki beans to make chunky red bean paste, they add chocolate to the paste.
When I tried it, the chocolate-filled paste had the texture of chunky red bean paste, with a little of the azuki bean flavor remaining.
But the flavor is chocolate.
It’s a very unusual and delicious dorayaki.
The crisp texture of the azuki beans and the flavor of the paste go surprisingly well with the chocolate’s sticky texture, sweetness, and flavor.
Before trying it, I imagined that adding chocolate would make it too sweet, but it was surprisingly light in sweetness.
The name “Yata-jii” refers to the mentor of the current owner’s older brother, who once worked as a confectioner at Hashimoto.
Apparently, Dora Choco was created after the mentor remarked, “Wouldn’t chocolate-filled dorayaki be interesting?”
To show their gratitude to the older brother’s mentor for the idea, they added “Yata-jii” to the name.
The mentor was from Yata, Mabi, hence Yata-jii.
Dora Choco is a Japanese confection with a flavor that’s quite addictive.
“Seibaiu” has been on the menu since the shop opened and contains a whole plum
“Seibaiu” has been a popular item since the shop opened.
As its name suggests, it contains one whole plum.
It is square, about 4.5 centimeters on each side and 2.5 centimeters high, with a distinctive, rugged surface like a rock.
The dough is pale beige and crumbly, but also has a moist mouthfeel.
Inside the dough is white bean paste.
A large plum can be seen wrapped in the white bean paste.
The white bean paste has a light, restrained sweetness.
The plum’s sticky texture, refreshing tartness, and subtle sweetness spread through your mouth.
The aftertaste is fruity and refreshing.
Please note that the plum has a pit when eating it.
Kashoan Hashimoto suffered extensive damage in the torrential rain disaster, but managed to reopen after about two and a half years.
We interviewed the owner, Hashimoto Kengo.
Kashoan Hashimoto Information
| Name | Kashoan Hashimoto |
|---|---|
| Address | 134-4 Kawabe, Mabi-cho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-454-8688 |
| Parking | Available About 4 cars |
| Hours | 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. |
| Closed | Irregular holidays |
| Payment methods |
|
| Website | Kashoan Hashimoto |
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