Hitotsuki Kizuku, a new type of Japanese confectionery shop with young craftsman

We would like to introduce "Hitotsuki Kizuku", a Japanese confectionery store that opened in September 2021, located in Higashino-cho, Kasugai City. We highly recommend this store for gifts for your loved ones, colorful seasonal events, or as a reward for yourself.

The store is located in Kasugai City, along Prefectural Route 196, which runs parallel to National Route 19, opposite the swimming school. The shop is set up in a building lined with izakayas.

The red shop curtain is impressive, with a navy and gold decoration that makes it look like an overseas sweets shop. Through the large glass window, you can see the Japanese sweets displayed in the shop and the state of the workshop, creating an open atmosphere.

New Opening
- rare in the Japanese confectionery industry

In the Japanese sweets industry, which is dominated by long-established stores, we interviewed the young shop owner, Mr. Kizuku Takahashi, who opened a new style Japanese sweets shop. We will introduce you to the story leading up to the opening, the concept of the shop, and the commitment to Japanese sweets.

– What inspired you to enter the world of Japanese sweets?

Mr. Takahashi: “I majored in design in high school, and after graduating, I went on to a culinary school that I had been interested in for a long time. While learning various cuisines, I had practical training in Japanese sweets, and my work was recognized there. That was the beginning."

Takahashi: "I like making beautifully shaped wagashi (Japanese confectionary) with my hand skills, and I began to enjoy being able to apply what I learned in design to making wagashi. I was very happy to receive compliments from the people around me, and that's when I fell in love with the world of wagashi."

Takahashi: “After graduation, I got a job at a long-established Japanese confectionery store in Nagoya that has been in business for 100 years.

At the recommendation of the president, I entered some contests. I received awards at these contests, and I realized again that making Japanese confectioneries was really interesting! And I began to think that I would like to open my own store.

Advertisement designed by Mr. Takahashi

Japanese confectionery training is said to be a long way out of making sweets. Mr. Takahashi has finally decided to open his own business with the skill of a craftsman who has been honed through seven years of training.

-Is it common for Japanese sweets shops to open new stores?

Takahashi: "It is rare. Most of them are successors to their predecessors, and although there have been some store closings recently, it is almost unheard of for a Japanese-style confectionery to open a new store. That's why people in the same industry are very happy and support us."

– Was it difficult to start from scratch?

Takahashi: "To be honest, there was a difficult time, but in the year leading up to my retirement, I first prepared my mind. I had studied Japanese and Western cuisine, Japanese and Western confectionery, and various other genres at vocational school, but I also wanted to study bread, so I worked part-time at a popular bakery in Kasugai for a year after I retired. Through that experience, I learned a lot about the flow of a workshop and its management."

A young craftsman who has been steadily preparing to make his dream come true. It seems that it will bring a new wind to the Japanese confectionery industry.

I want to eliminate boundaries,
because now I am going to open a new Japanese 
​confectionery.

-Could you tell us about the concept of the Hitotsuki Kizuku?

Takahashi: "It is a new kind of Japanese confectionery. Generally speaking, customers of Japanese confectionery shops are of a rather older age group. Some of my friends of the same generation say they go to western confectionery shops and bakeries, but have never been to a wagashi shop. We are working to offer new sensory wagashi in the hopes that these younger generations will become familiar with them as well."

-Please tell us about your commitment to Japanese sweets.

Takahashi: "It is to create Japanese confectionery that surprises and discovers."

“Tsukikage” is a tiramisu-flavored Japanese sweet made with espresso coffee and mascarpone cheese.

Takahashi: “Of course we use good ingredients, but we also use slightly unusual ingredients. I think it would be fun to surprise and make new discoveries, such as how these ingredients go well with Japanese sweets.”

"Salt Koji An Dango" is a dish that makes you addicted to the gentle sweetness and saltiness of koji.

Takahashi: "For example, recently, sweets using 'salted koji paste", which has a slightly salty taste with a sweetness that is addictive, have been very popular. We also made dorayaki with a sweet bean paste that combines mugwort and white miso. It's a combination you won't find anywhere else."

Seasonal dumplings. This is a taste of autumn, topped with plenty of Anno sweet potato paste.

Takahashi: “We also use seasonal ingredients and prepare seasonal Japanese sweets every month.

Mr. Takahashi says that inspiration often comes from cooking. He has learned a lot about cooking at technical schools, and his experience comes to life here.

-The shop looks like a pastry shop.

Takahashi: "My image was of a chocolate shop in Paris. I wanted to get rid of the high threshold of a Japanese confectionery shop."

 Takahashi: “I wanted to make it chic and cool, so I used navy and gold in a way that other Japanese confectionery shops don’t have. I designed the logo myself.”

Mr. Takahashi: “I wanted to eliminate the borders as much as possible, so I made the window larger so that you can see the inside of the store from outside. I want you to enjoy to watch it, and above all, I hope that you will feel that wagashi is more familiar.”

Mr. Takahashi wants young people in particular to feel familiar with Japanese sweets. In addition to seasonal events such as moon viewing, equinoctial equinox, New Year and celebrations, it can also be used as a gift or as a regular snack. He told us that he would like people to feel free to come and buy it and enjoy Japanese sweets in their daily lives.