The most famous souvenir from Fukuoka.
Torimon (通りもん) is probably the most famous and typical souvenir from Fukuoka, or even from Kyushu region. Whoever goes to Kyushu region would consider buying one because the sweet is just that famous.
The sweet is made by a company, Meigetsudo (明月堂). The company’s biggest success, Torimon, has been awarded one of the most known awards for 22 years in-a-row! By reading this article, we are sure that you want to buy and try this sweet.
Torimon history
The sweet was first made only in 1993, so it is rather a new one. Meigetsudo has started its business as a Japanese confectionary in 1929, however, as time went by, they started making Japanese-Western sweet. After World War 2, they sold western sweets like twist corn or fruits salad, which became their huge hit.
However, because other confectionaries also became successful, it became imminent for the company to make another hit. They tried to make a second-to-none, great Japanese-Western sweet.
Luckly, there were so many customers who liked their Japanese sweet. They asked the company to restart producing them, however, it helped them to come up with a new product using their method of making Japanese sweet, which in consequence became Torimon.
How is the taste of Torimon?
Torimon is made based on the recipe of Japanese sweet, so it has white bean paste inside. But once you put the sweet into your mouth, you will know that it is different from usual Japanese sweet. It has a buttery flavor! The bean paste is made with butter and cream.
Even the beans are at the best quality. They can only use the same size, same color beans. Well, it will be all mashed, so how beans look like does not matter, right? Well, it matters. By carefully choosing the beans, they will be mashed evenly, and the texture will be smoother.
Another feature of Torimon is that the taste becomes better as time goes by, which actually sounds weird.
Usually, Japanese sweet gets dried and outer layer will come off. But Torimon, probably because of butter and cream, it becomes moist, and the taste gets better. According to Meigetsudo, it was possible only after a perfect combination of ingredients and recipe were met, that is why the sweet is called as “a masterpiece”.
What are the ingredients of Torimon?
Torimon is made from the following ingredients:
Ingredients
White beans, Sugar, Flour, Butter, Maltose, egg, liquid sugar, sweetened condensed milk, powdered skim milk, cream, honey, trehalose, baking powder, Flavoring
Price
6 for 930 yen, 8 for 1,240 yen
Expiry date
3-4 weeks
As you can see, there is no restricted ingredients on the label. As Meigetsudo does not produce items with meat, the risk of contamination is quite low, too.
Where can we buy Torimon？
It is available in major souvenir shops in Fukuoka. There is a small possibility that you may encounter this sweet at Tokyo Station, only if there is a temporal shop opened.
You can buy them online store at Meigetsudo. As of June 2023, Amazon does not handle the product.
As they use butter and cream, it will be easier for foreigners to enjoy this Japanese sweet.
The product is not made as Halal or Muslim-friendly, so there is a small risk of contamination, which we cannot be responsible of. We are here to translate the label and not judging if the item is Halal or not. Please consume the product at your own risk.