Kawagoe Penny Candy Alley

 marketplace, quarter - to be replaced, candy shop, interesting place

"Kashiya Yokocho" (Penny Candy Alley) is a famous alley in Kawagoe with a stone-paved alley embedded with colorful glass that is lined with 22 traditional style Japanese candy shops. The candy shops lined along this alley pass down the simple and nostalgic taste of days gone by. Once anyone steps foot in one of these stores, they feel like a child again. This place is where all generations, both children who are unfamiliar with traditional candy and adults who feel nostalgic, become excited. It is said that the beginning of this Kashi Ya Yokocho was in the early Meiji Period when Suzuki Tozaemon started to make candy in this prospering town in front of Yojuin Temple. In 1923, after Tokyo was damaged in the Great Kanto Earthquake, this area became the main producer and supplier of candy. There were more than 70 shops in the early Showa Period but due to the war and changes in lifestyle the number has decreased. But even as time changes, the atmosphere of the alley and spirit of the store owners when they call out to potential customers, fills people with a feeling of comfort. In 2001, the simple and nostalgic scent of Kashi Ya Yokocho was chosen as one of the "100 Scent Sceneries" by the Ministry of the Environment.

www.koedo.or.jp/foreign/english/sight/sight_high.html