The birthplace of hot spring steamed buns steamed with hot spring steam was actually in Atami?!

Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture is known as a nationally famous hot spring area. Atami Onsen has over 500 hot springs, and about 9% of them are hot springs with temperatures of 42 degrees or higher. It is characterized by hot water gushing out with an average temperature of about 63 degrees.
In Atami, there is a shop called Enmeido, which is said to be the birthplace of hot spring manju steamed with hot spring steam. Sweet bean paste wrapped in a fluffy and chewy skin. When you visit a hot spring area, one of the things you'll want to buy as a souvenir is hot spring steamed buns. This time, we will explore the roots of hot spring manju.

"Onsen Manju" was born from the high-temperature hot springs that gush out of the water.

Right next to the shop is Inari Shrine, and in front of it is the self-spouting Enmeinoyu, where you can touch the hot spring water. When we entered the store, we were greeted by Keiko Iwashita, the fourth generation owner, and Keiko's mother.

In the early Taisho era, Atami was still a young hot spring town. Mr. Yoshio Iwashita, the founder of Enmeido, saw the steam rising in the backyard of his home (around the current Eiko Atami Chuo Nursery School) and decided to use the steam from the hot springs to entertain customers coming to Atami. He said he came up with the idea of ​​selling demonstrations of steaming manju.
The method of steaming handmade manju with hot spring steam was popular with people who came for hot spring treatments and tourists alike, and the method quickly spread, and many hot spring manju shops opened in Atami Onsen.

It is said that there are several craftsmen who trained at Enmeido and went on to become independent as part of the noren division. By the way, Mr. Yoshio Iwashita founded the Atami Credit Union (merged with Suruga Bank in 2000), so it seems that he had business acumen. After entering the Showa era, we moved to our current location.

It is said that Shoyo Tsubouchi, who moved to Atami City in his later years, also enjoyed eating Enmeido's hot spring manju. It is no exaggeration to say that it is one of the most well-known hot spring manju shops in the country, as it is loved by members of the imperial family and many celebrities.

Even though we don't have a website, we are flooded with phone orders from all over the country! We make 1 pieces a day by hand.

Enmeido's hot spring steamed buns, which make about 1 a day, do not use preservatives. We learned about the manufacturing method.
The homemade tsubuan (coarse red bean paste) or koshian (smooth red bean paste) made with azuki beans from Tokachi, Hokkaido, natural sea salt from Izu Oshima, and sugar is wrapped in a dough made with brown sugar and wheat from Hateruma Island, Okinawa, and steamed for about 10 minutes in hot spring steam. Previously, steaming was done in a bamboo steamer, but this process is now mechanized. Now that mechanization has made it difficult to steam using hot spring steam, but the traditional method of adding Atami hot spring water to the bean paste and dough remains the same.

And one more thing. There are several water sources in Atami, but the location where the shop is located uses spring water from Tanna Tunnel, so even if you just drink water, it is very mellow. It is thought that this is also a deciding factor in the deliciousness of steamed buns.

Although Enmeido doesn't have a website or SNS, let alone sell online, they receive orders from companies in Tokyo and Osaka to celebrate important occasions or as a thank you gift. For celebratory events such as school entrance ceremonies, they receive large orders for red and white steamed buns branded with ``Congratulations'' stamps. Even such large orders are handled with care by a skilled craftsman, Keiko, and her mother, all of whom care about the store's beliefs. You can also have your company's logo branded on it, and there were branded irons with the logos of well-known companies that you often see in the media.

``We don't really advertise, but we do get calls to place orders, probably because of word of mouth,'' Keiko says with a laugh.

``Since we sell from just one piece, we hope that people will stop by on their way around town and make it a memorable memory of their trip.We are grateful that people can use it for important events such as weddings and coming-of-age ceremonies. No matter how busy I am, I make each item with all my heart and care. I am encouraged by talking with customers and seeing their happy faces.''

One grandchild even said, ``My late grandmother loved Enmeido's steamed buns, so I wanted to put them in her coffin.'' You can see that she is truly loved by many people.
Many people came to buy Enmeido's manju, not because it was the birthplace of hot spring steamed manju steamed with hot spring steam.

It's delicious not only with green tea, but also with coffee or dry sake.

Enmeido's hot spring steamed buns can also be purchased at JR Atami Station. Why not stop by for a souvenir from your Atami sightseeing trip?

Let's visit the artificial geyser ``Oyu Geyser.''

Atami Onsen has a long history, dating back to 749 when Manmaki Shonin of Hakone Gongen prayed to Yakushi Nyorai to save fishermen and seafood, and moved the underwater hot springs to Atami. There is also a record that during the Edo period, Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu also visited Atami Onsen for hot spring treatment, and that he had hot water from Atami Onsen delivered to Edo Castle.

It is said that during the Edo period, feudal lords from all over the world stopped by Atami to take advantage of the hot springs. Many cultural figures visited Atami, and Japan's first hot spring treatment center was established during the Meiji period, and the name of Atami Onsen spread throughout the country as a place for hot spring therapy.

In Atami City, you can see geysers that erupt either naturally or artificially. Be sure to also visit Oyu Geyser, one of Atami's seven hot springs, which is just a 1-minute walk from Enmeido.
Oyu Geyser was once so famous that it was ranked as one of the three major geysers in the world. It is said that hot water and steam gushed out so violently that it seemed as if the ground was shaking. After the Great Kanto Earthquake, the geyser's gushing water declined, so it has been redeveloped into a geyser that artificially spews hot water for 5 minutes every 3 minutes.