A 1-hour shelf life!? Seeking an unknown sweetness, I visited Koda Confectionery in Setana Town!!
(This is a continuation of the Mt. Ota climb. Please see the previous part here↓)
A reward after climbing! Enjoying the exquisite 'Rock Choux' at Koda Confectionery in Setana Town
The other day, I went hiking at Ota Shrine in Setana Town, Hokkaido. With an elevation of about 777 meters, it's not a particularly high mountain, but it was a challenging climb with many steep slopes, chain sections, and ladders.
Climbing through the fresh greenery felt great, but by the time I descended, my legs felt like sticks and my body was exhausted...
The perfect sweet reward that made me think, 'This is soaking right in!' for my tired body was the cream puff from Koda Confectionery, also located in Setana Town.
The famous 'Rock Choux' that draws in tourists
Koda Confectionery is a sweet shop loved by locals, but its signature 'Rock Choux' is such a masterpiece that tourists even travel from far away just to get these cream puffs!
When you enter the shop, your eyes are drawn to the rows of sweets. With cookies, daifuku, rusks, and rice crackers, everything looks so delicious that it's hard to choose, but my goal this time was definitely the cream puffs!
On this day, in addition to the classic 'Rock Choux,' they were selling three types: 'Crispy Pie Choux' and the rare 'Roasted Green Tea Rock Choux'.
I couldn't decide which one to eat, but they all looked so appealing that I ended up buying all three (lol).
The bliss of sweetness that soaks into a body tired from mountain climbing
The sweetness of the cream puffs truly soaked into our bodies, which were exhausted from climbing Mt. Ota.
What surprised me most was that the expiration date of the 'Iwa-shu' (Rock Cream Puff) is one hour! You can really feel the shop's dedication to having you enjoy the taste of it freshly made. The cream hidden inside the slightly firm dough is, in a word, exquisite!
As the name suggests, the pie cream puff is filled with plenty of melting custard cream inside a crispy pie crust.
The balance between the elegant, mildly sweet cream and the fragrant dough was exquisite, and I devoured it in no time.
The Hojicha (roasted green tea) Iwa-shu also has a mature flavor where the fragrance of the roasted tea spreads in your mouth, allowing you to feel a Japanese flair. I was so eager to eat them that I felt like I would end up overeating, rather than just replenishing the calories burned during the climb (lol).
The payment was decided by rock-paper-scissors...!
And for some reason, I ended up paying for the cream puffs that day because I lost at rock-paper-scissors...
I shouldn't be weak at games, but for some reason, I always lose at times like this (lol).
I would pay any amount for such delicious cream puffs, but as expected, the cost for eight people was a fair amount...
That concludes this look at the famous 'Iwa-shu' from Koda Confectionery in Setana Town. When you visit Setana Town, why not soothe your tired body with the exquisite cream puffs from Koda Confectionery after working up a sweat climbing Mt. Ota?
Of course, even if you don't go mountain climbing, it is well worth visiting just to eat these delicious cream puffs!