A heartfelt cafe featuring artistic Japanese-style sweets recommended by Kose’s advertising department staff

Kose, celebrating the 70th anniversary from its establishment in spring 2016, relocated their head office from their birthplace of Oji, Kita-ku, to Nihonbashi in 1965. Ginza and Nihonbashi have been the center of fashion and culture since those days, there are many chemical and pharmaceutical companies nearby, and the area is convenient. These factors made Kose decide on the relocation. Women working in the Advertisement Department of Kose seem to also enjoy working in Nihonbashi every day.

“Step into one of the side streets in this area and you can find lunch services offered by small casual Japanese eateries and long-established Japanese sweets shops. We enjoy discovering new shops,” said Hitomi Aoki, who is engaged in advertising production in the Advertising Production Section.  Also, Tomomi Hike and Yumi Hirai, who are in charge of magazine interviews in the Advertising Planning and Public Relations Section, said “Nihonbashi has a different atmosphere from fashionable Ginza even though they are close and has many good restaurants that provide delicious meals,” and “I am impressed every day going to different restaurants each day with my seniors.”

Hike and Hirai often prepare a present before visiting a shooting or interview site for advertising; therefore, buying little presents in the Nihonbashi or Kyobashi area is routine work.
“For example, we often buy kintsuba at Eitaro-sohonpo but since shooting studios are likely to get dry, we sometimes choose an assortment of candies for the cast members to soothe their throats,” said Aoki. Hike also said “Dorayaki from Nihonbashi Usagiya, which has a lot of celebrity fans, is something that never fails, and madeleine from Hidemi Sugino is also a must-buy sweet when it counts.”

Also, when Kose has an early morning shooting session, they sometimes place an order from Kyobashi Senbikiya to serve an assortment of cut fruits as breakfast for the actresses and models used for their advertising. Since what sweets are appreciated, including Japanese sweets, baked confectioneries, and cold sweets, vary depending on the site situation and people, those Kose staff work diligently on their daily research.
“Once I hear a restaurant is good, I always visit them right away. When I heard of Tokiwagi from one of my seniors, I went there to buy sweet buns for myself first,” Hike said.

During their busy business schedules, the women even pay attention to what gifts their clients would prefer to receive. The Nihonbashi and Kyobashi areas have many notable shops with traditional artistic techniques and spirits that respond to those women’s demands.

Since the establishment in 1946, Kose has been developing products that meet the demand of the times and customers based on their research results from their state-of-the-art technologies. Kose is also a company that developed and sold powder foundations and serums, which are now regular cosmetic items, for the first time in the industry. Medicated Sekkisei, which has sold 50 million in total since the first release in 1985, is one of the Kose’s long-selling representative products and entrenched the concept of skin transparency to the world.

Address: 3-6-2 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku

Artistic square sweets made with well-established traditional techniques

Takadono, which was designed and inspired from the foundational stones of Omiyabitono Takadono, elegant graceful buildings, such as the Imperial Palace and shrines, is a Japanese sweet limitedly offered at the Nihonbashi shop. The outer Kimishigure (Japanese sweet made of white bean paste, egg yolk, sugar and rice granules) is made from eggs that are boiled once, and the texture is so smooth and light that it melts in the mouth. It goes perfectly with the inside Japanese marron glace wrapped with pasted red beans and is a perfect, high-quality gift item.

Address: 1-2-5 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: +81 (0)3-3271-7785
Business hours: [Shopping space] 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.　[Café space] 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Regular holidays: Sundays and public holidays

Fresh jellies that only a fruit shop can provide

When you remove the top lid parts of the orange and grapefruit, wobbly jelly appears. The jelly, made from juice freshly squeezed from fruits taken out of the skin, has been sold for over 30 years and is a popular item selling more than 5,000 pieces a month in each flavor. Squeezing the top lid part of the desert over the jelly enhances the flavor and makes the sweet even more fresh and delicious.

Address: 1-1-9 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: +81 (0)3-3281-0300
Business hours: [Shopping space] 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, [Café Space] 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (LO 5:30 p.m., Reservation required for fruit buffet held at 7 to 9 p.m. ) on Monday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (LO 8:30 p.m.)  from Tuesday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (LO 5:30 p.m.) on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays
Regular holidays: None

The taste of pure and simple dango (dumpling) inherited in the long-established shop

Momoroku, sticking to their belief of using high-quality ingredients with no impurities, has been popular among theaters’ backstage visitors and celebrities since the establishment in 1869. Their signature sweets Momotaro Dango are served in two different flavors of Yakidango, dango with soy sauce, and Amadango, dango wrapped with red bean paste. The sticky dango made with 100% pure rice powder makes the soy sauce flavor and freshness of red bean paste more outstanding.

Address: 2-9-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: +81 (0)3-3561-1746
Business hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Regular holidays: Sundays and public holidays

Delicious world of small baked confectioneries

A very popular patisserie with many people waiting in a line before its opening time. All of their recommended baked confectionaries as gifts are made carefully in detail with ingredients cut, cooked, soaked, and kneaded. Their Madeleine Ardechoise with finely cut marron glace and marron cream kneaded into the dough is a masterpiece where you can enjoy the moist texture and liqueur flavor.

Address: 3-6-17 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: +81 (0)3-3538-6780
Business hours: [Shopping space] 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday, [Tearoom] 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday (LO 5:30 p.m.)
Regular holidays: Sundays and Mondays

Sweets with a lot of celebrity fans that never fails as a gift

This small shop with a dark blue noren (shop curtain) is always busy with many adults buying the signature item, dorayaki. Just one bite of the sweets makes you understand the popularity. The smashed bean paste sandwiched between the soft dough makes you feel the red bean pieces in the mouth, and you cannot help but have seconds. Making a reservation is suggested for a purchase.

Address: 1-3-8 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: +81 (0)3-3271-9880
Business hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Regular holidays: Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays

Unexplained texture that you want to tell others

Wakamurasaki having been made since the foundation in 1910 is a popular item sold only three times a year that requires making a reservation for a purchase. It is made with beans cooked and put in water carefully and repeatedly many times. It is made from red bean paste with sugar carefully kneaded well, which creates the unique texture that quickly melts in the mouth. The elegant taste of the fresh sweetness disappearing instantly into the mouth is impressive.

Address: 1-15-4 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: +81 (0)3-3271-9180
Business hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Regular holidays: Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays

Fifty-six types of chocolates where you can enjoy comparing the different tastes

On the first level of Meiji Holdings head office in Kyobashi there is a café full of chocolates. One of the items popular especially as a souvenir is the 56 types of chocolates different in the origin of cacao beans, milk, and flavors. People of all ages will be delighted with the colorful packages and unique lineups, including wasanbon Japanese sugar, black paper, and royal milktea.

Address: 2-4-16 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: +81 (0)3-3273-3184
Business hours:  8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (LO 7:30 p.m.) from Monday to Friday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (LO 6:30 p.m.) on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays
Regular holidays: None

The simple sweetness and aroma of the extra-thick sweets are attractive

Nihonbashi Nishikihorin is highly rated for its unique karinto. The main shop facing Yaesu-dori Street sells extra-thick karinto two centimeters in diameter. The sweet is offered in two different flavors, black, which uses brown sugar from Okinawa, and white, which uses beet sugar from Hokkaido, and when you bite them, the gentle sweetness of the crumbling fried crispy dough spreads in the mouth.

Address: 3-5-12 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: +81 (0)3-6225-2952
Business hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Regular holidays: Sundays and public holidays

Text: Chiharu Yoshida, Photograph: Shoko Matsuda
Reprinted from Tokyo-jin July 2016 extra edition