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Nagoya-based Japanese-sweets maker wows the Internet and customers with cute animal-themed manju

Preston Phro Sep 23, 2015
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Namikoshiken is a Nagoya-based sweets store that’s been in business since 1927. They produce some of the most adorable animal-themed manju, buns with various filling like sweet bean jam, we’ve ever seen! With all that experience and a product this cute, it’s hardly a surprise they’re blowing up the Internet with photos of their manju spreading like wildfire online.

https://instagram.com/p/7zHTs3tgUV/

Namikoshiken offers a variety of sweets, but it’s their animal-themed “Tetzukuri Dobutsuen” and “Tetzukuri Suizokukan” (“Handmand Zoo” and “Handmade Aquarium,” respectively) that have captured people’s attention. These buns, which are filled with either koshian, smooth bean paste, or chocolate, are just about as cute as you can imagine. They’re also supposedly delicious, too! Though, we’re not sure who would have the heart to eat these little adorable faces…

https://instagram.com/p/2WUZU3jsyy/

There are a variety of types available — from premium versions, which are filled with chocolate, to normal version, which are filled with koshian, to a twelve-pack, which have both types of filling.

▼ This is the twelve-pack zoo version with chocolate and koshian filling.

In the twelve-pack, the animals with chocolate filling are a panda, pig, kappa, elephant, bear, and tanuki. The rabbit, sheep, lion, koala, tiger, and chick all have the koshian filling. While these are all adorable and look delicious, we can’t remember the last time we saw a mythical kappa at a zoo! Or is Namikoshiken spilling some Nagoya secret?!

▼ Here’s the aquarium twelve-pack version.

The adorable aquarium twelve-pack includes these chocolate-filled sea creatures: An octopus, turtle, polar bear, seal, penguin, and fried shrimp. The six with koshian filling are a fugu, crab, white shark, whale, squid, and otter. We’re not sure if “fried shrimp” really counts as an aquarium animal, but we suppose its cute enough to forgive.

Both of the twelve-packs are available on Rakuten for 1,782 yen (about US$14.86) in case you can’t get to an actual Namikoshiken location.

▼ “Premium Handmade Zoo” manju, six-pack

https://instagram.com/p/7DiL-by2aA/

As we mentioned before, there are also premium versions, which are basically just packs of three or six of the chocolate-filled manju. They don’t cost any more than the koshian-filled versions, coming in at 486 yen (around $4.05) for a three-pack and (about $8.10) yen for a six-pack, but we suppose chocolate is always the premium version of everything!

▼ “Premium Handmade Aquarium” manju, six-pack

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A post shared by 惡闇霧島 (@domesticpig12)

Namikoshiken has a number of locations throughout Japan, in case you want to stop by in-person. A list of the six store is available on their website.

Main store information
Namikoshiken / 浪越軒
Address: Aichi-ken, Nagoya-shi, Moriyama-ku, Banchi 1 Chome 311 (Map)
〒463-0022 愛知県名古屋市守山区八剣一丁目311番地
Open 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Closed Wednesdays, but open during holidays/festivals
Website

Tokyo branch information
Namikoshiken / / 浪越軒
Address: Tokyo-to, Taito-ku, Ueno 7-1-1
東京都台東区上野7-1-1
Open 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
Website

Sources: Namikoshiken, ippin, Rakuten/Namikoshiken
Images: Rakuten/Namikoshiken