Uncovering the Unique Appeal of Unagi-imo, Born from Local Pride

There is a quietly growing interest in a unique Japanese sweet potato brand: Unagi-imo. With a name that is hard to forget, this special potato originates from Hamamatsu—a city known for its unagi (eel) culture. It was born out of one man’s passion for agriculture, combined with the distinctive characteristics of the local land and culinary traditions.

In this article, we delve into the origins of Unagi-imo, uncover what makes it truly one-of-a-kind, explore its flavor and craftsmanship, and introduce the shops where you can enjoy it for yourself.

Five-minute walk from Miyaguchi Station on the Tenryu Hamanako Railway.

For 160 years, Hana-no-mai Sake Brewery has had a brewery in a corner of the elegant stone-paved street that leads to the gate of Koushinji Temple.

Hana-no-mai Sake Brewery’s local sake made in Miyaguchi has been highly acclaimed, winning the gold medal at the National New Sake Competition for three consecutive years.

Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture is well known as a multicultural city, offering a comfortable and welcoming environment for Muslim residents and visitors alike. The city is home to a wide variety of halal-friendly supermarkets and restaurants, allowing Muslims to enjoy daily life without worrying about dietary restrictions.

For example, “Al-Hakim Halal Mart,” located near a mosque, is a popular destination for Muslims from countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Pakistan. It offers not only halal food ingredients and ready-made meals but also clothing, toothbrushes, and other daily necessities, all halal-certified.

“Matahari Café is a restaurant run by a Japanese chef who is married to an Indonesian woman, serves only halal dishes and provides prayer mats and a foot-washing area for Muslim guests, ensuring religious needs are respected.

Suzuki Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a musical instrument manufacturer whose founder, Mr. Manji Suzuki, began manufacturing harmonicas 71 years ago.

Suzuki Musical Instruments Manufacturing’s musical instruments are designed and created to bring happiness to everyone who enjoys music, including providing musical instruments to educational settings. Among these products, the main product, the Melodion, was developed by the company as Japan’s first keyboard harmonica.

Suzuki Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is the only manufacturer that still manufactures keyboard harmonicas in Japan. In addition, our ingenious musical instruments, such as recorders, electronic musical instruments, and percussion instruments, are supported by music lovers both in Japan and abroad.

” Make you happy with music.”

This month’s recommended product is “Suzuki Musical Instruments Manufacturing”♪♪

Hamanako Gourmet Park is located in front of the Hamamatsu Nishi Inter entrance.

Hamamatsu’s specialty products are lined up inside the store. Hamanako Gourmet Park is a drive-in facility that is often used by tour bus passengers, but in 2019 we opened Hamamatsu Pudding Priful on the premises to make it easier for locals to visit.

Supervised by sweets producer Mr. Hiroshi Tokoro, who developed Pastel Smooth Pudding. Hamamatsu pudding, made with carefully selected local ingredients, is a pudding that is as pleasing to the eye as it is to the taste.

In 2024, we will open Patisserie Financier, a specialty store for French baked goods, Financier, inside Hamamatsu Pudding. Hamamatsu Shusse Financier, a gluten-free baked confectionery made with rice flour, is attracting attention.

This month’s recommendation is “Hamanako Gourmet Park” where you can find Hamamatsu’s delicious food♪

“Unagiimo” is a Hamamatsu-produced sweet potato that is grown using powdered fertilizer made from the remains of eel bones and heads left over from the processing of eels.

The aged “eel sweet potato” increases its sweetness by baking it, reaching a sugar content of about 40 degrees.

Sweets such as pudding, soft serve ice cream, and dorayaki that make use of the original ingredients are very popular. You can purchase the products at the Unagiimo Store stores in Hamamatsu Station, Hamanako Service Area, Togoshi Ginza Shopping District in Tokyo, and some products can be purchased by mail order.

▲Unagiimo Store Hamamatsu Station Store

▲Unagiimo Store Hamanako Service Area Store

This month’s recommended sweets will be introduced using “Unagiimo”🍦

In 2001, Nagasaka Bee Farm moved from the Mikkabi shopping district to a new location along the shores of Lake Hamana, and this year marks the 89th anniversary of its founding.

“Nagasaka Bee Farm”, which is visited by approximately 450,000 tourists a year in a store the size of a convenience store, is known for its smiling staff, courteous customer service, and delicious honey made from local Mikkabi mandarin orange flowers. It has a wide variety of original processed products and is known for its high customer satisfaction.

From inside the store, you can see a lush courtyard where you can watch the natural activities of bees, and there is also plenty of playfulness, such as quizzes that are sure to pique the interest of visitors.

“Nagasaka Bee Farm” welcomes visitors with easy-to-understand product pop-ups and sample samples, and the “honey soft serve ice cream” that you can take out is also very popular.

The sweetness and richness of the vanilla soft-serve ice cream is so sweet that the honey is kneaded into the cream, and the final touch is “Oi-honey!!” The staff will show off the oi-honey right in front of you. This is a huge hit, with up to 2,000 units sold in one day.

This month’s recommendation is the popular store in Mikkabi-cho, “Nagasaka Bee Farm”♪

This year marks the 77th anniversary of Showa Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the only musical instrument manufacturer in Japan that exclusively deals with harmonicas.

The founder, Mr. Rikuhei Suyama, worked as a banker and trained as a harmonica craftsman, before starting a harmonica factory in Sunayama-cho, Hamamatsu City with three friends in 1947.

After that, the second generation, Mr. Yoshinori Suyama, developed a new way to preserve the tradition and let more people know about the appeal of the harmonica as a musical instrument, so that people could easily pick up the harmonica as a souvenir from Hamamatsu. I did. As a souvenir symbolizing Hamamatsu, the city of music, it is sold inside Hamamatsu Station and service areas in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Currently, the third generation of the company, Ms. Fumiko Suyama, works with her family to carefully manufacture each harmonica by hand, using the same craftsmanship that has remained unchanged since the company’s founding.

I have been devoted to harmonica for 77 years. This month’s recommended product is “Showa Musical Instrument Manufacturing Co., Ltd.”♪

“Actually, I’m currently taking samples of this product to an exhibition in Paris, France.”

We visited the Koike factory of Muto Senkou Co., Ltd. in Chuo Ward, Hamamatsu City to interview “Dyeing and inserting △ (Triangle) Fujisan”, which won the [Special Award] at Good Design Shizuoka 2023.

The factory brand “YUBANA” will introduce Mt. Fuji-shaped dyed products that are being promoted from Hamamatsu, inside and outside the prefecture, and even overseas.

“Premium White” appeared on “Manten★Aozora Restaurant” (Nippon Television Network) which aired on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 6:30 pm!

Shinohara district is located along the Enshu Nada Sea, south of Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Here you can find “New White Onions,” which are amazingly juicy like fruit and have a mellow sweetness.

It’s called “Premium White.”

Image source: Lake Hamana Farmers Market

Shipment begins in the winter, which is said to be the earliest in Japan, and since it is rarely available on the market, it is also known as the “phantom new onion.”

This time, together with Hamamatsu and Lake Hamana tourism ambassadors, Ms. Yuto Hoshiyaku Yuto and Ms. Funa Shirai , we interviewed Mr. Takahiro Muramatsu, CEO of Confirm Co., Ltd., the producer of Premium White!

We asked him about the secret behind its deliciousness and the ingenuity used in its cultivation.

Founded in 1966, Chikusen is a catering store that uses local ingredients and carefully handcrafts each dish.

The catered bento boxes, made with an emphasis on locally produced food, come in around 100 varieties, including seasonal bentos, makunouchi bentos, Enshu specialty bentos, Lake Hamana eel bentos, and hors d’oeuvres.

Mr. Kimata Akihiko, the second generation owner, has been preserving the traditional flavor for 58 years since the restaurant was founded.

We have inherited the company motto from our predecessors, “Taste is the heart, we pursue true deliciousness,” and we deliver lunch boxes to many people, mainly using delicious ingredients from Enshu.

This month’s recommendation is “Chikusen,” a long-established catering restaurant.

Catsivy Co., Ltd. was founded in 2011.

Their merchandise-related business involves the planning, manufacturing and sale of merchandise for Hamamatsu City’s mascot characters “Shusse Daimyo Ieyasu-kun” and “Shusse Hoshi Naotora-chan,” both of which are Hamamatsu City-approved products, as well as Tenryu’s PR character “Nobuyasu-san,” and Iwata City’s image character “Shippei,” which is an Iwata City-approved product. We also carry out a wide range of business activities, including the planning and design of advertising design and printing-related businesses, as well as various types of printing.

In particular, as part of a project to promote the quality of Tenryu wood nationwide, they have produced many goods using Tenryu wood, which are extremely popular as souvenirs for tourists in Hamamatsu and as items for everyday use.

The company’s president, Mr. Katsuhiko Kaneko, handles everything from planning to product production.

This month’s recommendation is Catsivy Co., Ltd.