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What is the oldest shop in Kyoto?

Ichimonjiya Wasuke (Japanese: ??????) is a traditional confectionery company located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It was established in the year 1000 and is operated by the 25th generation of the same family. The recent building is about 300 years old and contains many benches and stools around small tables.



The oldest shop in Kyoto—and arguably the oldest confectionery shop in the world—is Ichimonjiya Wasuke, commonly known as Ichiwa. Located near the Imamiya Shrine, this shop was founded in the year 1000 and has been operated by the same family for 25 generations. Ichiwa specializes in a single product: Aburi-mochi. These are small pieces of mochi (pounded rice) that are skewered on bamboo sticks, dusted with soybean powder, grilled over charcoal, and served with a sweet white miso sauce. The shop was originally established to provide refreshments to pilgrims visiting the shrine during a plague. The atmosphere of the shop remains remarkably traditional, with guests sitting on low benches in a building that is several centuries old. While Kyoto is home to many "Shinise" (ancient businesses), Ichiwa stands as the definitive symbol of the city's incredible longevity and dedication to culinary tradition, surviving through over a millennium of wars, fires, and modernizations.

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