Bontan Ame, a famous confectionery beloved throughout Japan for its unique style and texture of caramel-like square candy wrapped in oblate, has been on the market for 100 years now. Put the timeless flavor in your pocket and experience the taste of old-fashioned Kagoshima. Available at supermarkets and retail stores in the prefecture, airports, and train station kiosks.

"Bontan Ame" is a refreshing candy made with fruit juice from local fruit such as bontan and sour pomelo.

"Hyoroku Mochi" with a combination of white bean paste, soybean flour, seaweed powder, and matcha green tea.

Sweets made from starch syrup and glutinous rice, carefully kneaded in a steam kettle

Shimadzu Noren in Sengan-en sells the company's products. Ice gifts can be shipped nationwide.

From sweets to frozen foods, and into new fields

Founded in 1903 as a confectionery wholesaler called "Matsuuraya Shoten," the company began producing starch syrup and expanded to include Bontan Ame, Hyoroku Mochi, and Nangokushirokuma. Currently, the company focuses on the manufacture and wholesale of confectionery, ice cream, and frozen foods, as well as sports, bread manufacturing, and nursing care businesses.

Enjoy Kagoshima's signature summer treat, "Ice Shirokuma," at home

In the early Showa period, cotton shops (futon stores) would sell shaved ice topped with condensed milk and fruit or red beans during the summer, which was the off-season. The shaved ice was named "Ice shirokuma" because the condensed milk had a polar bear mark on the label, and it was served in cafeterias around town and in department stores. Around 44, Seika Foods created the "Nangokushirokuma" as a cup-packed product.

Currently, they produce about 10 kinds of Nangokushirokuma in a variety of flavors, including the standard condensed milk, strawberry, mango, and other flavors, and in cup, bar, and monaka types, and they are sold at supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide. They also use the manufacturing techniques of Nangokushirokuma to produce a variety of other ice creams.

Enjoy tropical polar bears through mail order too!

Seika Foods products can be purchased from sites such as Rakuten Ichiba. One of the most popular gifts is the "Nangokushirokuma DX (Deluxe) Gift Set" (4,644 yen). This set includes the popular condensed milk and mango flavored individual servings (250ml).

Delicious and easy to eat food, with thorough hygiene and quality control

The fruits topping on Nangokushirokuma vary in size and hardness depending on the season, making it difficult to mechanize, and in order to make it look good, it is all done by hand. As it is handled by humans, hygiene management is thorough, with gloves and other equipment used, and in addition to producing products with a focus on quality, a unique manufacturing method has been used to achieve the crisp texture and easy spooning characteristic of Nangokushirokuma. Be sure to also enjoy the rich flavor of the condensed milk, unique to Kagoshima, a city famous for its sweet food culture.