Feel The Winds of Yesteryear in This Port Town
The port town of Hiketa is at the eastern tip of Kagawa Prefecture, on the border with Tokushima Prefecture. Since the Muromachi period (1392-1573), the port bustled with ships awaiting favorable winds to sail. The port area still retains its old townscape.
After you arrive in Hiketa, visit the Sanshu Izutsu Residence, a historic merchant home from the Edo period (1603-1867). Built 350 years ago, the residence and nearby buildings were used for soy sauce and sake production; nowadays, the edifices are used as tourist information center and museum, with food and other activities available. Try making dried higashi confectionary from high-quality wasanbon sugar—a type of sugar only produced here in Kagawa and eastern Tokushima Prefecture.
During the Edo period white sugar was still not imported, so the sugar produced by the Takamatsu Domain in Sanuki province (Kagawa prefecture) was one of the few production sites of Japan, and the Hiketa port in Higashikagawa city earned a tremendous profit from it. Nowadays, Mitani Seito and Baikoudo are the last two companies producing Wasanbon through the traditional handmade process in whole Kagawa prefecture. In Japan, the Wasanbon and Shiroshitato of Kagawa prefecture still own its reputation and is loved by the Japanese.
After you arrive in Hiketa, visit the Sanshu Izutsu Residence, a historic merchant home from the Edo period (1603-1867). Built 350 years ago, the residence and nearby buildings were used for soy sauce and sake production; nowadays, the edifices are used as tourist information center and museum, with food and other activities available. Try making dried higashi confectionary from high-quality wasanbon sugar—a type of sugar only produced here in Kagawa and eastern Tokushima Prefecture.
During the Edo period white sugar was still not imported, so the sugar produced by the Takamatsu Domain in Sanuki province (Kagawa prefecture) was one of the few production sites of Japan, and the Hiketa port in Higashikagawa city earned a tremendous profit from it. Nowadays, Mitani Seito and Baikoudo are the last two companies producing Wasanbon through the traditional handmade process in whole Kagawa prefecture. In Japan, the Wasanbon and Shiroshitato of Kagawa prefecture still own its reputation and is loved by the Japanese.
