Toraya Workshop

At this Japanese-style cafe adjacent to the Higashiyama Old Kishi Residence, you can enjoy sweets individually handmade in the workshop next to the sales office with sencha green tea on the open terrace where you can feel the nature.

In addition to the standard dorayaki, daifuku, monaka, etc., visitors can also enjoy Japanese sweets made with seasonal ingredients for a limited time only. A stroll through the beautiful garden in the spacious grounds is also recommended.

Gotemba City has a cool climate at an altitude of about 500 meters and is spread over an area of great charm.

In particular, the Higashiyama area, which stretches to the south of the Gotemba Premium Outlets, is dotted with facilities that give the impression of a former resort and vacation home, including Prince Chichibu Memorial Park.

Toraya Kobo is located in this Higashiyama area, where Prince Yonin Chichibu, Prince Saionji, Nobusuke Kishi, Akira Kurosawa, Masako Shirasu, and others once had villas. As a result, the atmosphere of a quiet villa area still remains strong.

This café is located on the grounds of the sprawling Higashiyama Kyu Kishi Residence, and the entrance is reached by a path through a bamboo grove swaying in the wind.

From the entrance, you will find yourself in a different world surrounded by fresh air and beautiful nature. Walking through the sunlight filtering through the trees, you will be soothed by the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves.

Pass through the gate with its traditional thatched roof, which has been here since 1927.

Visitors can stroll along the “Kazane-no-mori” (forest of sound of the wind), a walking path where they can enjoy the seasonal plants on the grounds. Yamazakura and sarusuberi cherry trees have been planted to create a sense of the seasons.

Visitors can enjoy delicious Japanese sweets in the building that houses a coffee shop, sales office, and kitchen. Toraya’s yokan is made at a factory in Gotemba City and can also be tasted at the workshop.

The stylish building is designed in such a way that the garden can be viewed from inside the store. The store has a wonderful atmosphere with a room with a wood-burning stove and an open space with no walls.

The shop offers a variety of “everyday Japanese sweets” that are familiar in everyday life, such as dorayaki, daifuku, monaka, and ningyo-yaki. Depending on the season, you can also enjoy seasonal wagashi such as sakura mochi, miso manju, kuzu manju, mizuyokan, and sake manju.

You can enjoy the wagashi taken out of the wooden box with an original blend of Shizuoka tea.

Toraya Kobo’s “Dorayaki” are available in two varieties: the rare white Ogura-an and regular Ogura-an. They use Hokkaido azuki beans for the azuki bean paste and white azuki beans, which are considered difficult to grow, for the white azuki bean paste. The white azuki beans are grown by contract farmers in Gunma Prefecture. The dusty, refined sweet bean paste is sandwiched between savory crusts.

At this café, you can also see the production process of artisans making wagashi by hand.

Toraya

Founded in Kyoto in the Muromachi period (1333-1573), Toraya is a Japanese confectionery manufacturer with a 500-year history. Since presenting its wagashi to Emperor Goyozei, it has been a confectionery business under imperial warrant.

In the Meiji era (1868-1912), the company moved to Tokyo. It is especially famous for the production and sale of yokan, and is widely known as “Toraya’s Yokan”.

Higashiyama Former Kishi Residence

Across the street from the building is a path that leads to the Higashiyama Kyu Kishi Residence. The Higashiyama Kyu Kishi Residence is a beautiful building that was built as the residence of Nobusuke Kishi, the 56th and 57th prime minister of Japan, and is a perfect combination of traditional sukiya-style architecture and modern functional beauty.