The most famous Hokkaido souvenir brand, Rokkatei
Rokkatei (六花亭) is a must visit souvenir shop in Hokkaido. It is so popular among Japanese people, so that they usually open temporal shops in some of the department stores in Tokyo or Osaka, or even in Okinawa.
Rokkatei sells a lot of products; however, their signature sweet, whose name is Butter Sand, is not Halal unfortunately. It contains relatively strong liquor, because rum and raisin is the basic and integral part of this sweet.
However, by carefully checking some of their products, there were few items which can be recommended for our Muslim travelers, that are available in airports.
By reading this article, we are sure that you can confidently choose what to buy from Rokkatei.
The Rokkatei story
Rokkatei literally means “Six-flower mansion”, and their first shop was opened in Hokkaido in 1933. There are more than 65 branches available throughout Hokkaido. However, as mentioned, their products are selling so well that we can find their products almost everywhere in Japan.
Another question comes up: Why did they name “Six-flower” for their shop? This is because a term “snow” in Japanese language, in other words, is “Six-flower”. The shape of a snowflake looks like a flower with 6 petals, so that they have named their shop as this, using a symbol of winter Hokkaido.
What is good about visiting a real shop in Hokkaido?
Rokkatei’s most famous and best-selling product is Butter Sand, which contains rum and raisin. Their biscuits, chocolates and other baked pastries also contains either margarine or liquor, too. As a company that welcomes Muslim travelers, it is unfortunate to say, but we cannot recommend their items without hesitation.
Then, is there no point for Muslims to visit the shop? Well, it is completely up to you, because there are cafés in the shops in Hokkaido and you can enjoy their sweets which is sold only in Hokkaido. Yukikon Cheesecake (雪こんチーズケーキ)* is their specialty, which is a frozen type of cheesecake with cocoa biscuits, which can be bought only at shops in Sapporo, Otaru or Obihiro.
The sweet became very popular because of SNS and a lot of Japanese people visit the shop to have this sweet. To be enjoyed at the best quality, they say that the sweet should be consumed within 2 hours from the time of the sales and not sold anywhere else.
*Not Halal certified, no info on ingredients found. May include liquor, margarine or emulsifier.
Halal or Muslim-friendly products that we can buy in the airport.
Even though we could not find so many products that can be Halal or Muslim-friendly from Rokkaitei products, there is one item which can be recommended as a souvenir for your Muslim friends. It is Rokkatei’s potato chips!
It is only sold in few limited shops in Hokkaido, and no online sales can be made as the chips are fragile, so that some say that the chips are rarer than the famous Butter Sand. Luckily, this potato chips are sold in New Chitose Airport and can be bought easily by tourists.
Ingredients are as follows:
Potatoes, Rice oil, Salt
Price: 2160 yen for 12 bags, each has 60g. Single bag for 180 yen.
Expiry: About 4 months
Their surface is jagged, and salt is relatively strong. The package of the chips is Rokkatei’s signature painting, which can be a great souvenir from Hokkaido.
Ingredients
Potatoes, Rice oil and Salt
Price
180 yen
Expiry date
4 months
Information as of June 2023. Not Halal certified and there is a small risk of contamination.