Heijisenbei. There is a rather sad story behind the origin of the shape of the hat! ? We also closely follow the manufacturing site that creates the gentle taste!

Heiji Heijisenbei Honten, a long-established store founded in 1920, has two stores in TsuCity.
First of all, I came to this daimon main store!
The store was opened in its current location in 1919. For more than 100 years, it has continued to be loved by locals at this location.

Let's go to the store now!
As soon as you enter, sweets are lined up on the counter in front of you.

Among the many products, Heijisenbei Honten's specialty is this "Heijisenbei".
It is a small round rice cracker, about 4cm in diameter, shaped like a hat with a raised center.


When you think of rice crackers, you might think of soy sauce or salty rice crackers, but this Heijisenbei is a sweet rice cracker!
With the gentle sweetness of eggs and just the right amount of crunch, this is a famous confectionery with a simple taste that can be enjoyed by everyone from small children to the elderly.

The shape of the hat, which is said to be the most distinctive feature of Heijisenbei, has this origin.
Once upon a time, akogi, a poor fisherman, lived on the Akogi coast in Tsu.
To cheer up his sick mother, Heiji caught a nutritious fish called Yagara in a no-fishing area and fed it to his mother.

Heiji broke the law and continued fishing out of a desire to help his mother, but one day, a hat he left behind on the beach became evidence and he was arrested.The officials also sensed Heiji's compassion, but there was nothing they could do about it, and akogi... It was sunk in the sea.

I was shocked to hear such a sad story, but Heiji Senbei was made in the shape of Heijisenbei 's hat, which was so kind and considerate!
daimon main store also has a courtyard modeled after akogi no Hama and the small boat Heiji rode on, allowing you to immerse yourself in the world of this story.

How is Heijisenbei, loved by the people of Tsu for over 100 years, made?
This time, we were able to get a special look at the manufacturing process!


Heijisenbei is made at a factory attached to the Heijisenbei Edobashi branch, which is about a 10-minute drive from the daimon branch.

This is the machine that bakes Heijisenbei.
These two machines reportedly produce as many as 40,000 Heijisenbei a day at peak times!

When you look at the baking mold, it looks like that hat!
The ingredients for the dough poured into this mold have remained the same since the company's founding: flour, sugar, and eggs from TsuCity.
It is made with only 3 simple ingredients and does not contain any preservatives.

The rice crackers are baked as the baking mold into which the batter is poured passes through the baking table.
Finally, the craftsman manually removes the baked senbei from the mold and it's ready!

Here are the freshly made Heijisenbei!
Heijisenbei lined up at the store have a crunchy and firm texture, but when you take a bite of a freshly made, still-warm one, it's soft and fluffy!
According to Mr. Ito, the representative of Heijisenbei Main Store, ``Actually, when you eat Heijisenbei warm, it regains its soft texture.We also recommend eating it warm!''

The items are then cooled down for a while before being transported in special boxes and then packaged.

In fact, if you look closely, you can see that the thickness of each rice cracker and the pattern of the lines on the hat are slightly different.
Many Heijisenbei baking molds are now built into two machines, but their origins lie in a single mold hand-carved by the company's founder during the Taisho era.
Because the molds were replicated as they were, the slight differences in each hand-carved rice cracker remain in the current Heijisenbei!
When you listen to it and look at it, it seems that each rice cracker has its own personality, and you can feel the warmth.

By the way, Heijisenbei come in various sizes, the one with a diameter of 4 cm is called "Ogasa", the next largest one is called "Nakagasa" with a diameter of 10 cm, and the largest one with a diameter of 20 cm is called "Ogasa". . Great impact!
Nakagasa and Ogasa tend to break during the manufacturing process, so they are made by forming them from a flat state.

Finally, the packaged items are displayed in stores!
This is 540 yen for 14 pieces. It comes in a cute paper box in the shape of a hat, so it would make a great souvenir♪


Heijisenbei comes in a wide range of sizes, from 14 pieces to up to 240 pieces (!). You can choose souvenirs or gifts according to your needs.


Heijisenbei Ogasa
24 pieces (bag) 540 yen
36 pieces (box) 918 yen
48 pieces (box) 1,296 yen etc.

In addition, new products have been introduced to the 100-year-old Heijisenbei!
This is Heijisenbei Chocolat, which is made by soaking Heijisenbei in chocolate in a vacuum oven.
The sophisticated packaging is also stylish ♪

Instead of just pouring chocolate on the rice crackers, the chocolate is soaked into the entire dough, creating a sense of unity! The slightly moist texture is also delicious♪


Heijisenbei Chocolate/ Heijisenbei Chocolate White
5 pieces 756 yen

That's not all!
Heijisenbei Honten manufactures a variety of sweets other than Heijisenbei.
This is a photo of the production of ` Heijisenbei Monaka,'' a popular confectionery shaped like a Heiji hat, similar to Heiji rice crackers.

It's made with rice from TakiTown, and it's filled with homemade sweet bean paste made from azuki beans from Hokkaido. Finally, put the lid on the hat-shaped monaka and you're done!
The combination of crispy red bean paste and grainy sweetness is sure to be delicious!

Waffles made using the rice cracker baking technique are also popular!
There are various types of sweets that go beyond the framework of Japanese sweets, such as crushed bean paste and custard cream, strawberries, kiwi, sweet potatoes, fresh cream and red bean paste, and coffee jelly, and they go perfectly with fluffy waffles!

There are also a variety of other sweets, such as ``Kasane,'' which is a castella-style rice cracker sandwiched with sweet bean paste, and ``The Moon I Found in the Castle,'' which is a custard cream wrapped in fluffy sponge dough, and the variety is always available. Over 20 types alone!


The ``Magokoro Set'' that combines them is perfect as a gift♪

In addition, at the cafe space in daimon Main Store, you can enjoy sweets from Heijisenbei Main Store with a drink, and there is also a dine-in only menu!

This is "Heiji-kun Ice Cream (Vanilla)" for 550 yen.
This sweet is inspired by the story of Heiji, with a small boat-shaped cup filled with vanilla ice cream and a small Heijisenbei on its head!

Seasonal sweets such as shaved ice in the summer and zenzai in the winter are also popular.
This is "Iced Coffee Zenzai" for 650 yen.
Luxurious shaved ice with coffee syrup, crushed red bean paste, and vanilla ice cream.

You can only eat in at daimon main store, but you can also purchase sweets at the Edobashi store as well.

Heijisenbei Main Store daimon Main Store
Address: 20-15 daimon, TsuCity, 514-0027
Phone number/059-225-3212
Business hours: 9:00-18:00 (Last order for the cafe is 17:30)
Closed: Wednesdays, January 1st and 2nd
Access by public transportation: From Kintetsu/JR Tsu Station, take the train bound for Mie Kaikan (via), get off at Kyoguchi Tatemachi, and walk for about 1 minute into the shopping district.
Access by car: Approximately 8 minutes by car east from Tsu IC on the Higashi-Meihan Expressway
Parking lot/6 cars


Heijisenbei Main Store Edobashi Store
Address: 2-200-1 kamihamacho TsuCity 514-0008
Phone number/059-226-9968
Business hours/9:00-19:00
Closed: January 1st only
Parking lot/8 cars
Access by public transportation/About 10 minutes walk from Kintetsu Edobashi Station
Access by car: Approximately 10 minutes by car east from Tsu IC on the Higashi-Meihan Expressway


Heijisenbei main store
Official URL: http://www.heijisenbei.com/