Obuse, a small town in Nagano prefecture, famous for its chestnut produce and a large variety of chestnut sweets, is a must-go for all sweet tooths! And among all the sweets shops in Obuse, Obusedō (小布施堂) is probably the most famous sweets maker.
About Obusedō
Obusedō was founded in the Meiji period (1868 – 1912). With vast experience making Japanese sweets with chestnuts, it later successfully developed a Western chestnut sweets menu. Its Mont Blanc cake is so famous that online reservations to enjoy it would be gone in a flash when it goes on sale!
The confectionery maker also has a dining area offering a couple of small dishes and desserts. The asparagus rice (アスパラ御飯) is a savory dish you can order if you are a vegetarian.
Stir-fried asparagus is mixed into rice cooked in kelp stock. A tempura wheat ear is then added to make the dish more amazing.
Kuri no Tenshin Suzaku (栗の点心 朱雀)
Kuri no Tenshin Suzaku is the best chestnut dessert the shop offers its customers. Made from freshly picked chestnuts, the dessert is only available for a month each year during the chestnut season, from early September to mid-October.
Without adding any additional ingredients, the freshly steamed chestnuts are crushed and layered on top of the pre-made chestnut paste.
Kuri no Tenshin Suzaku is only offered to the first 400 customers each day when the dessert is on the menu. In the past, people would queue from midnight just to get one of the exchange tickets that the shop distributed at 8 o’clock in the morning. Even if one got there at 5 am, there would probably already be more than 100 people in the queue Σ(ﾟДﾟ).
Nowadays, you can reserve your Kuri no Tenshin Suzaku online. It is still very popular, so book as soon as possible after the reservation is open in late July!
In 2024, you can still queue for a ticket to enjoy Kuri no Tenshin Suzaku from 3 pm on the day. Tickets will be given out from 2:15 pm. Refer to the official website HERE for a photo of where to queue.
- If you are really keen to try it out, Kuri no Tenshin Suzaku will be served from the 7th of September to the 16th of October in 2024.
- Refer to the official website HERE for more details and to reserve. You can translate the website to English using Google Chrome’s translation function at the right of the address bar.
- Online reservation starts from 12 pm Japan time from the 1st of August.
Mont Blanc Suzaku Cafe Entotsu (えんとつ)
As travelers, we wanted to have enough energy to explore during the daytime. So instead, we went for the Mont Blanc Suzaku that is served at the Mont Blanc Suzaku cafe Entotsu (next to Obusedō).
- Mont Blanc Set with a drink is 2,000 yen (not cheap, but we are still glad we ordered it!)
- Cafe Entotsu opens between
- 11 am and 3 pm but may change depending on the seasons
- 11 am to 4 pm from the 16th of October to the 20th of November
- Numbered tickets are given out 30 minutes before the cafe opens when Kuri no Tenshin Suzaku isn’t served. Instead of the numbered tickets, the cafe may put out a piece of paper for you to put down your number on the day.
If you are more of a Japanese sweets kind of person, you will also find traditional sweets such as yokan, monaka, rakugan…etc, all filled with Obuse’s best quality chestnuts!
HERE, you will find photos of all the sweets that you can purchase from Obusedō’s takeaway shop (in Japanese only, click on the “詳しく” to view all the sweets under each category that you can get from Obusedō)
Obusedō’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Obusedō is open 9 am to 5 pm daily
- To get to Obusedō, it is a 10-minute walk from Nagano Electric Railway’s Obuse Station.
Discover the Fascinating Attractions in Obuse
Obuse, a small town that is a 30-minute train ride away from Nagano’s city center, is known for the delicious chestnuts growing out of the fields. It is the destination that all sweet tooths can’t miss out on when they visit Nagano.
In addition, the town also has a couple of ukiyo-e attractions for those who are interested in artwork.
For more information, please refer to our article on Obuse!
