A small, sweet “Seto Inland Sea view” recreated in monaka

Packed with the charm of the Seto Inland Sea—this beloved monaka

A monaka shell made with glutinous rice gives off a gentle toasty aroma, filled to the brim with clean, refined bean paste. Its adorable shape—slightly puffed in the center—and the wave pattern recreate the Seto Inland Sea and the islands floating on it. This is “Hakoniwa Monaka,” the signature sweet of Ichikawa Kashihō, founded in 1963.

The founder, Shigeo Ichikawa, who loved the Seto Inland Sea, named it because this beautiful scenery felt like a “box garden.” The bean paste is prepared from the day before and cooked with great care, totaling as much as 35 kg, and the final wrapping is done steadily by hand—an astonishing 500 pieces a day. Today, he works side by side with his son Yoshitaka, but when it comes to finishing the perfectly balanced bean paste that keeps the texture of the beans, Shigeo says, “I can’t hand that over yet,” speaking through his actions. His sincere dedication to making sweets makes it easy to see why the shop has been loved for so long.