Sesshu Hirakawa Hermitage

A 10-minute walk from JR Soja Station. This long-standing Japanese confectioner was founded in the first year of the Meiji period. Their well-known hallmark product, Sesshu Monaka (a wafer cake filled with red bean paste), draws its name from a tale about the painter Sesshu. Legend states that when he was a young monk in training, he drew a picture of a mouse using his tears. The shell is an adorable mouse shape made from local Okayama mochi-rice and the red bean paste interior is made from luxurious high-quality Hokkaido adzuki beans. The treat keeps well and is a popular souvenir. Also recommended is another of their leading products, their Tenchu cylindrical mochi bean-jam cake. It draws its appearance from the huge rocks of Mt. Tenchu which appeared in the poetry of poet Akiko Yosano.