kotobukiya

There is a tiny shop near our station called Kotobukiya, which opened last year.

I have been wondering how their sweets were and finally stopped to get some.

While googling around for info, I noticed that some people call these "koto-man" which apparently is short for "kotobukiya manju".

From a far, they look like tiny dorayaki, which are like slightly sweetened pancakes sandwiching sweet bean paste, but when you eat them, you will realize they are more like manju, with a denser pancake on the outside sealing the filling inside.

Apparently, this koto-man was all the rage during the mid-Showa period (about 1955) in Ikeda, selling almost 5000 a day! The original shop in Ikeda closed down at the end of the Showa period because the maker wanted to retire and had no one to take over his business.

I'm not sure if this Kotobukiya is of the same family, but it does seem like it.

The fillings at Kotobukiya change with the seasons. At this shop, they had about 8 different types. I was hoping to get some filled with kuri (chestnut) and satsumaimo (sweet potato), but since they only had satsumaimo 160 yen (about US$1.60), I also got matcha (green tea)...150 yen (about US$1.50).

These koto-man are filled generously and have just the right amount of sweetness to them. Great with coffee or green tea...I'll be back.

Kotobukiya
1-3-8 Ishibashi
Ikeda, Osaka
Phone: 072.763.4380
*a minutes walk from the Hankyu Ishibashi West exit
UPDATE:2012, this shop is no longer here