A shop devoted to natural tokoroten. The owner gathers tengusa seaweed from the sea in front of the shop, boils it and chills it until it sets. There are two flavors, vinegar-soy and kuromitsu; the kuromitsu version comes with a cherry, and I ate it sprinkled with kinako and black sesame. The log hut houses a small gallery. After typhoon damage the shop moved temporarily to Kimitsu in April 2024, but according to an article from March 2025 it returned to its original spot that December.
Emi-Tayuzaki, Kamogawa, Chiba
Sources: bosotown.com mina-pre.chiba.jp hamoni.jp
This moment in the journey
A shop for natural tokoroten
Past the tunnel, in the middle of a grassy field, stood a wooden hut with a sign reading natural tokoroten. This too is a summer tradition: tokoroten, an old-fashioned treat made by boiling seaweed and chilling it until it sets.
The shopkeeper lifted a translucent block from a tub of water and pressed it through a wooden press into noodles. My favorite is the one with plenty of kuromitsu, dark sugar syrup, poured over the top, finished with a single red cherry.
Watch this scene on YouTube4:56
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