Narita is the origin of chestnut yōkan. Yōkan is a sweetened bean jelly made of agar instead of gelatin. Chestnut yōkan is a type of wagashi, or traditional Japanese sweet, and it can now be found all over the country.

The “yō” in“yōkan” actually means sheep and “kan” means hot broth. Yōkan originally refers to a Chinese dish of lamb floating in a thick soup. During the education missions to Tang Dynasty China, yōkan was introduced to Japan. However, at that time, meat was not a part of the Japanese diet, so people would mash and mix red beans and mountain yam and shape it to look like a lamb’s liver, so the name yōkan stuck.

Eventually, “kurikan”, a chestnut-filled steamed yōkan, became a part of the diet at Shinshō-ji Temple. However, with the technology at that time, mold easily grew and it was impossible to turn this treat into a souvenir. So, the founder of this rice shop, Chōzō Moro’oka, created the well-preserved “chestnut yōkan” (a subtle name difference). In the blink of an eye, it took hold as a souvenir. When soldiers would pray for fortunes in war at Shinshō-ji Temple, they would also buy some chestnut yōkan to send home to their families. This made the sweet widespread throughout Japan.

So, Japan’s first chestnut yōkan was “Yoneya’s chestnut yōkan”. How about taking some home as a souvenir?