Hello, this is the staff of The Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa. This is the staff of The Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa.
If you walk along Shijo Street from our hotel to the west from the intersection of Shijo Kawaramachi, you will suddenly encounter a sweet and savory aroma. Yes, sweet chestnuts!
This time, we would like to introduce you to the Shijo Main Store of Hayashi Manshodo, a long-established sweet chestnut shop with a history of 140 years in Shijo, Kyoto.

What kind of store is Hayashi Manshodo?

Hayashi Manshodo Shijo Honten is a long-established sweet chestnut shop located at the intersection of Shijo Street and Shinkyogoku in the center of Kyoto. The ama-guri (sweet chestnuts) that the craftsmen bake with great care and skill have been loved in Kyoto for as long as 140 years. The sweet and savory aroma lures you in and you buy a bag. Then, the warmth of freshly baked sweet chestnuts can be felt through the bag.
Because of the store’s policy of “never selling sweet chestnuts over night,” you can always enjoy freshly baked, delicious sweet chestnuts.
Hayashi Manshodo’s main store in Shijo is about a 5-minute walk from The Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa. The shop is located along Shijo-dori, a 5-minute walk from The Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa.

History of Hayashi Manshodo

The history of Hayashi Manshodo dates back to 1874 when “KUWAIYA Bubei” was established as a specialty store of KUWAI, one of the Kyoto vegetables. At that time, there were still no sweet chestnuts in Japan.
When sweet chestnuts were imported to Japan for the first time in the Taisho era (1912-1926), we began to handle sweet chestnuts with a texture similar to that of kuwai. Since then, we have thrived as a specialty sweet chestnut store.

Since its establishment, our main store has been located at the intersection of Shijo Street and Shinkyogoku Street, the busiest street in Kyoto, and during the Taisho period (1912-1926), our sweet chestnuts were appreciated as souvenirs by customers returning home from theaters around Shinkyogoku.
We have established our own unique roasting technique by slowly and deliberately dealing with chestnuts in a direct manner.

From the website of Hayashi Manshodo

Our commitment to delicious sweet chestnuts

The chestnuts used by Lin Wanchangdang come from Qinglong Manchu Autonomous Prefecture in Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, China.
Qinglong Manchu Autonomous Prefecture is surrounded by mountains where the temperature rises to nearly 40°C in mid-summer and there is plenty of rain, but in mid-winter the temperature drops to below freezing. Chestnuts grown in this region protect themselves by producing nutrients during the warm daytime and storing them during the night. The chestnuts grown in this region are said to be of the highest quality among chestnuts produced in all of China, as they are firm, sweet, and full of flavor.

The mountains that surround the area are rich in nature and contain numerous veins of gold and iron ore.
This is a testament to the abundance of minerals in this land, and the chestnuts of Hebei, which store enough of these nutrients along with water, are highly valued as a healthy food.
Chestnuts are classified into three categories according to the time of harvest: early chestnuts, medium chestnuts, and late chestnuts, of which medium chestnuts are the most suitable for sweet chestnuts, which is why we use them in our restaurant.

From the Hayashi Manshodo website

Hayashi Manshangdo calls these chestnuts “Hebei chestnuts. They are rich in nutrients, have a sweet pulp, and the astringent skin is easy to peel, making them the perfect material for sweet chestnuts.
The owner himself goes to the area to purchase the best Hebei chestnuts, and only the best quality “Hebei chestnuts” are available at the Hayashi Wanchangdang store.

Recommended products!

In addition to the traditional sweet chestnuts, Hayashi Manshodo’s Shijo main store offers a wide variety of chestnut-based products. From among the various products that showcase the deliciousness of chestnuts, we would like to introduce some recommended products that were actually tasted by The Gate Hotel staff!

Sweet chestnuts in a bag

Amaguri in a bag is synonymous with Hayashi Manshodo. The ama-guri, carefully baked using traditional baking techniques, is a gem filled with the deliciousness of the ingredients.
200g to 1,500g are available to meet various needs, such as for individual consumption, for family consumption, or as a souvenir for business partners. The 200g of regular grain sweet chestnuts is also available in a 200g portion.
A 200g portion of regular sweet chestnuts is priced at 800 yen including tax (860 yen including tax for selected large sweet chestnuts), which is an affordable price.

This time, we bought a bag of “Selected Large Sweet Chestnuts”!
The freshly cooked sweet chestnuts were so warm that we could feel the warmth from the bag, making us excited and saying, “I can’t wait to eat them! I can’t wait to try them!

When I opened the package… hot sweet chestnuts!

Look at the size! The chestnuts are packed so tightly that they are very heavy.
At the time this photo was taken, less than 30 minutes had passed since they were baked, but they were still hot.

For those of you who think that sweet chestnuts are difficult to peel, please don’t worry.
On the back of the bag containing the ama chestnuts mentioned earlier, there is an explanation on how to peel ama chestnuts, and if you follow this procedure, you can remove the chestnuts beautifully.

In addition, the instructions for folding the first green wrapping to put the peeled chestnuts in the garbage can are written on the back of the wrapping, and a cute hand towel (otefuki) is also included, which is very warm and thoughtful.

Amaguri-no-Tsugi (sweet chestnuts)

Large sweet chestnuts boiled down in high-quality molasses are available for purchase for as little as 350 yen per bag (50g), or as a souvenir in a wooden box of 12 bags (600g) for 4,920 yen or 18 bags (900g) for 7,020 yen.
The soft, fine sweetness of the chestnuts is irresistible, and is recommended by the author, a lover of amanatto!

When you open the bag, you will see large golden chestnuts covered with molasses.
They are so beautiful…!

It is the perfect chestnut confectionery for those with a sweet tooth, as it is delicious to look at and even better to eat!

Hayashi Manshodo Shijo Main Store is located in the back…

Can you see a passageway leading to the back right of the Hayashi Manshodo Shijo Main Store?

In fact, the Hayashi Manshodo store is connected to “Some-den-in,” a jizo hall that has been a longtime favorite in this area.

On the day we visited Hayashi Manshodo for the photo shoot, some people bought sweet chestnuts at the store and wondered, “What is this aisle here? On the other hand, some visitors came to Some-den-in and were lured by the sweet aroma to buy sweet chestnuts from Hayashi Mansho-Do.
If you buy sweet chestnuts at the Hayashi Manshodo Shijo Main Store, please visit Some-donoin as well.

About Hayashi Manshodo Store

Hayashi Manshodo’s delicious sweet chestnuts are available not only at the Shijo Main Store, but also at the JR Kyoto Isetan Store and the Daimaru Kyoto Store.
Please purchase at your nearest store in accordance with your travel plans.

You can also purchase them at the famous confectionery corners of Takashimaya and Hankyu department stores throughout Japan.
If you are unable to visit Kyoto, please stop by your nearest Takashimaya or Hankyu Department Store to see if they carry our confections.

Manshodo Hayashi also has an online store.
If you are unable to purchase our products in your area, please visit our online store!

*For the latest information on business hours, holidays, etc., please contact the store directly.

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