Chomeido Ameho “Ame Monaka”

Based in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, Chomeido Ameho is a long-established Japanese confectionery shop founded in 1912 that has been making sweets for more than 100 years. Its signature product, “Ame Monaka,” is a celebrated confection perfected by the first-generation owner over the course of two years. Instead of the sweet bean paste usually found in monaka, this unusual Japanese sweet is filled with smooth mizuame syrup. The pairing of light syrup and crisp, fragrant monaka wafers creates a one-of-a-kind flavor. It has also received numerous awards, including the Honorary Gold Prize at the National Confectionery Exposition and designation as a Recommended Fine Product of Niigata Prefecture.

In addition to the shop in Tonomachi, Nagaoka City, the product is also widely available at souvenir shops in stations and airports, as well as supermarkets. Gift assortments with the shop’s other popular signature sweets, “Nagaoka Castle” and “Akina Ame,” are also available. Particularly popular is the bean paste monaka “Nagaoka Castle,” which comes in matcha, shiso, and milk flavors, and it is fun to compare it with Ame Monaka.