In partnership with Kawasaki City, Jarman International team member Steven Liu joined a guided tour of the Kawasaki Daishi area on October 12th, discovering its rich history and flavors. Despite its proximity to the first and second most populated cities in Japan–Tokyo and Yokohama, respectively–Kawasaki offers a refreshing escape from the frenetic pace of city life.
Steven’s tour included an exploration of Kawasaki Daishi Heiken-ji Temple, where an English-speaking guide shared insights into the temple’s nearly 900-year legacy.
Walking through the temple grounds, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of reverence for the centuries-old traditions preserved here. The temple’s atmosphere, filled with the scent of incense and the low hum of Buddhist chants, transports you to a different time.
The tour also led Steven to Matsuya Sohonten, a shop that has been open since 1872 along the retro Nakamise shopping street, where he tried his hand at making their specialty called tontoko candy.
Watching the candy being stretched and cut into small pieces was both mesmerizing and mouthwatering. The precision and rhythm involved in cutting the candy is no easy task–you have to chop it with a steady, rhythmic motion, and this level of mastery takes practice. I even had the chance to put on the shop’s uniform and try stretching and cutting the candy myself. Let me tell you, it was much harder than it looked! Getting the rhythm right while ensuring the candy was evenly cut was a real challenge, but it made me appreciate the skill and craftsmanship involved even more.
Kawasaki City currently offers the Kawasaki Night View of Factories Cruise, where visitors board a yakatabune (traditional leisure boat) to witness one of Japan’s largest industrial zones lit up by thousands of lights.
Through a partnership with Kawasaki City, Jarman International is excited and honored to support the development of a greater variety of tours that showcase the historic, spiritual, and retro charm of this area to international visitors.