Delectable delights of of Japan

Like we Indians, Japanese too have an abiding love for sweets and confectioneries and the land of rising sun offers a large number of tempting confectioneries to satisfy one’s sweet cravings. From daifuku to dorayaki and from manju to mochi, the list is seemingly endless. During his trip to Japan, Bishan Kumar got a chance to visit two famous confectionery outlets. Let us go through with his delightful report from Yamanashi.

The love of the Japanese people for high class confectioneries has contributed towards changing the fortunes of many companies towards better. One such amazing enterprise is Châteraisé, which started about 70 years back and is now an international brand, having its presence in many Asian countries and in the Gulf.

A Sweet Date with Châteraisé

I was invited to tour the Châteraisé Farm factory in Kofu city and it opened my eyes to a whole new world
of breads, cookies, pastries and hundreds of typical Japanese and western confectioneries. Before entering the factory premises, I had to wear a head to toe suit and had to go through three layers of sanitisation, which

I gladly complied. I was really amazed to see their care for hygiene and cleanliness. No one is allowed to enter the production sites without going through this rigorous protocol.

The Chief Communication Officer of Châteraisé, Shiro Nakajima, and Rieko Hara, the company’s public relations persons, took me around the whole set up. The factory is spread across four floors and each floor has a massive set up for different products. Châteraisé has global aspirations. It has its presence in nine countries including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and UAE and has two set up factories abroad too.

I saw a very balanced use of machines and workforce in the factory. The workers were fully engrossed in making a variety of products and giving full attention to each and every product. Those pieces who do not conform to the standard were weeded out, so that the best goes to consumers.

Châteraisé management purchases fresh ingredients such as eggs, milk and fruits directly from local contract farms and produces the products in the region. “Farm Factory” is what they call this ingredients-focused production system.

“Sourcing ingredients directly from farmers, making products in our own factories and delivering them straight to our stores across Japan, without involving wholesalers – this unprecedented scheme was launched in 1985 and revolutionised the traditional distribution system, defying what was taken for granted back then,” says the company website.

Today, the system has evolved to the next level, allowing for co-development of new ingredients with farmers and production of safe products, traceable back to the farms.

“In Japan, confectionery companies are either selling confectioneries or manufacturing them but we do both. We are producing confectioneries and we sell them to stores. We have 700 confectionery stores in Japan. We have a vast range of confectionery products as of now. We have 400 products in our basket to sell,” informed Shiro Nakajima, Chief Communication Officer of Chateraise. The excitement in his voice infused enthusiasm to the proceedings.

Rieko Hara told me that though all their products sell in big numbers but their biggest selling product is Strawberry Cake.

Chateraise’s management is well aware of India as a potential market and they are contemplating to set foot in India. While talking about the potential of their company’s confectionery products in the Indian markets, he offered, “We know that India has very big potential for confectioneries and we are very keen to go to India. We are preparing to launch our very first store in India.”

Let’s hope we will have a chance to enjoy the high-class Chateraise products in India soon.

Soft Sensation of Mochi

You should head to Kikyouya Shingen-Mochi Factory in the Katsunuma, in Isawa Onsen area in Yamanashi Prefecture if you want to witness the love of Japanese people for confectioneries. Surrounded by lush vegetation with a site area of 11,000 square meters and a total floor area of 5,000 square meters, Kikyouya Shingen-Mochi Factory has been awarded many prizes including the honorary President award, at the National Confectionery Exposition.

It was a chilly early morning when I visited the place but that was no reason for people to ignore the massive temptation of bagging their favourite confectionaries; coming fresh from the factory, especially the company’s flagship product Kikyou Shingen-Mochi.

Kikyou Shingen-Mochi, which has been on sale since 1968, is one of the most famous sweets in Yamanashi Prefecture. Mochi, which is soft and bite-sized, is eaten with plenty of Kinako(soybean flour) and Kuromitsu (brown sugar syrup); served separately.

As I watched the process of making Shingen Mochi, I saw that glutton-free rice powder is added with water and sugar, and steamed. Another layer of sugar is added when Mochi is made. This is then left for a day or two in yellow trays (which are oiled) before Mochi is put to slightly dry but it remains sticky. The Production Incharge, Hiroaki Tsukahara explained that two Kneader machines set up there make 600 kg of Mochi each. The factory employs around 362 people.

One of the features of Kikyou Shingen Mochi is that it is wrapped in plastic furoshiki. This furoshiki, which was new at the time of its release, is one of the reasons why Kikyou Shingen Mochi has become widely loved.

The wrapping of this furoshiki is not done by a machine but is all done by hand by confectioners. They are tied one by one with all their heart.

Kikyou Shingen Mochi, which won many awards, including the 19 Annual National Confectionery Exposition Honorary President Award and the Monde Selection Gold Prize, is a confectionery that everyone loves. It is easy to distribute as a souvenir.

Hiroaki Tsukahara took me around the factory and showed me how Shingen Mochi is produced. The production is heavily dependent on workers, who are fully draped in sanitised overalls, working at each production function. It is nice to watch each Shingen Mochi being wrapped in colourful furoshiki by hand.

The compnay was established in 1889, and has grown into a big and successful enterprise. It is currently headed by its President, Jyon Nakamura.

I was lucky to taste Shingen Mochi at the factory and savoured its sweet taste and flavour for a long time.