The biggest specialty of the Hamamatsu area is unagi pie, a pastry with eel powder kneaded into it, and it sells well all over Japan. It is a bit too sweet for my taste, so I prefer other local specialties, but I had always wanted to visit the Shunkado Unagi Pie Factory.
The promotional truck
A big promotional truck is parked at the entrance. Apparently you can sometimes spot it driving around town.
The dough
When the hand-kneaded dough goes in, it starts out as thin as that.
The finished product
But the finished product comes out wide and flat. I was curious about the steps in between, but they do not show you that part. Trade secret, I suppose.
Inside the factory
It was spotlessly clean. A worker in white spends the whole day picking out the flawed unagi pies. The rejects seemed to end up as free samples.
The whole factory
It is highly automated. They do stick to hand work for the dough, though, which is why they can advertise it as a handmade pie.
The cafe
There is also a cafe on the second floor. They sell desserts made with unagi pie.
Dessert
It looked pretty, so I ordered it.. hmmmm.. this one did not quite work for me.
Mikan juice
Mikan oranges are a Hamamatsu specialty, after all.
Dango
These are dango you grill yourself right at the table, and they were the better choice.
On the way out I stopped by the gift shop, where you can try samples and there are value packs too. In the theater I also watched a video explaining how unagi pie is made. Not a bad course for a weekend trip.
Hamamatsu scenery with Mt. Fuji in view
I drove along the coast. It had been cloudy the day before, but maybe because the rain had just cleared, Mt. Fuji was visible far in the distance.