As a big fan of sweets, my hiikun’s sense of smell for sweets works well today.
Once again, thanks to my keen sense of smell for sweets, I was able to discover a wonderful sweet shop.
Here it is…
“Ahiru Kashiten (Ahiru Confectionery) “
This stylish sweets shop is located in Hirano-Honmachi, Hirano Ward, Osaka City, and is housed in a renovated old private house.
I have been wanting to go there ever since I stumbled upon it on YouTube a few weeks ago.
And the other day, on my day off from work, I actually went there.
Under the calm atmosphere created by the old private house,
I had delicious cakes and coffee.
In this article, I would like to share with you, my dear readers, the experience that I had there.
This article is intended for the following people.
・Those who are interested in sweets stores and coffee shops renovated in old private houses,
…not downtown districts or famous department stores.
・Those who want to enjoy delicious sweets at a hideaway-like restaurant in a residential area.
By reading this article.
you will know
the charm of the Ahiru Kashiten Confectionery Shop and
what kind of place Hirano Ward, Osaka City, is.
I hope you will enjoy reading this article to the end.
Ahiru Kashiten Confectionery Shop
Ahiru Kashiten Confectionery Shop is located at 4-11-33 Hirano-honmachi, Hirano Ward, Osaka City.
This sweet store offers fresh confections, baked goods, coffee, and more.
After my first visit, I found out that
Ahiru Confectionery is their second store.
As a matter of fact,
“Aahiru Coffee Shop” does exit.
The shop, which was opened as The second “Ahiru Coffee Shop”in 2022,
is Ahiru Kashiten Confectionery Shop.
Incidentally, the “Ahiru Coffee Shop” is located a short distance away from the “Ahiru Confectionary Shop”.
It is also located in Hirano Ward, Osaka City.
The address is 2-11-15 Nishiwaki, Hirano Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture.
I will visit the shop if I have a chance.
As I mentioned at the beginning,
Ahiru Kashiten Confectionery Shop is a sweet shop that has been renovated from an old private house.
According to the information on the official website of the “Ahiru Coffee Shop“,
the building that houses the Ahiru Confectionary Shop is a private house built in the late Edo period.
It is also a building designated as a “townscape preservation district”.
They say it is a very nice building with a great sense of history.
I first became aware of this shop a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon a video on YouTube.
That is the video here.
I decided to go there immediately after watching this video.
Ahiru Coffee Shop was co-founded by two women who were classmates at a confectionery school.
They are both pastry chefs and baristas.
I was fascinated by the wide variety and colorful sweets they create.
I was also impressed by the sincerity with which these women approach their work.
The whole atmosphere of the restaurant is very good,
I had the impression that all the employees, including the female founders, enjoy working very hard and take pride in their work.
It was not just the products or the way they worked that gave me a good impression.
I was also interested in the building of the Ahiru Confectionery Shop.
I hiikun like old buildings.
In
the previously posted article about Kitahama, Osaka’s business district,
I introduced several old and historically valuable buildings in the Kitahama area.
Partly because of this,
the moment I saw the exterior and interior of the building of Ahiru Confectionery in the video above,
my level of interest in the Ahiru Confectionary Shop reached its peak.
In order to check what the earlier YouTube video,official website, and official Instagram actually say,
I decided to go there.
I was also interested in Hirano, the ward that I do not usually visit.
Hirano Ward has the largest population among the 24 wards of Osaka City.
According to the results of the 2020 Population Census,
the population of Hirano Ward is 192,152.
*For details, please refer to this page.
The JR Yamato line runs through the northern part of the ward.
The Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line runs through the center and southern part of the ward.
All of them head directly to the center of Osaka City, so transportation is convenient.
On the other hand, the ward with the least number of residents is Taisho Ward, the hometown of me, hiikun.
The population is 62,083.
I was a little saddened when I learned this.
I am not forcing you to live in Taisho Ward.
However, I highly recommend that you visit Taisho at least once.
In the next section,
I will talk about the direction to Ahiru Kashiten confectionery shop and
what the area leading up to this shop is like.
How to get there
There are two ways to get there.
I have visited the Ahiru Kashiten Confectionery Shop twice so far.
I tried both of the two ways.
Both have their advantages and disadvantages,
Please choose whichever you prefer.
How to get there, No.1. From Hirano Station on the JR Yamato Line.
First, let’s take a look at the itinerary from Hirano Station on the JR Yamato Line.
When I first visited it,
I chose this way.
It is possible to go directly from JR Osaka Station.
However, only regular local trains stop at Hirano Station.
Therefore, even if you are on a rapid train,
you will be forced to change to a local train at Tennoji.
I arrived at Hirano station after only two stops from Tennoji station.
Take the south exit of Hirano Station to the site.
First, follow the direction the arrow point.
Please go straight down the street in front of you.
On the way, the main road comes into view.
Anyway, keep going straight as indicated by the arrow.
Keep going straight.
You will see an udon shop on your right.
Turn left at that corner.
As I was walking around, I noticed one thing.
“Hirano is an area with a strong old town atmosphere.”
Not only shrines and temples, but also townhouses and merchant houses built in the Edo period are still beautifully preserved today.
That really surprises me.
The building where Ahiru Kashiten Confectionery Shop is housed is one of them.
It was fortunate that there was little damage from the air raids on Osaka during World War II.
I found out one thing later.
This area, which is the central part of Hirano Ward,
was surrounded by a ring of moats until the Edo period.
So it was called “Hirano Gou*.” *meaging “moats”.
Turn left and go straight and you will see a sign on the right that says “Hirano Nankai”.
Turn right at that corner.
When you get to the end of the road,
turn left.
The confectionery shop is just around the corner.
All that remains is to go straight down this street.
Now, you can see it.
Arrived.
The following is a summary of the pros and cons of the route from JR Hirano Station.
≪Cons≫
・It is quite far from the station to the store. About 15 minutes on foot.
・Not recommended for those who do not like to walk.
≪Pros≫
・You will never be bored walking around as you can enjoy the old town.
・It is recommended for those who are interested in old buildings, shrines and temples.
*On the way from JR Hirano station to the site, I found one interesting place.
I will talk about this later.
How to get there, No.2. From Hirano Station on the Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line.
Next, let’s take a look at the route from Hirano Station on the Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line.
When I visited it the second time,
I chose this route.
Exit 1 and 2 of Hirano Station on the Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line.
As you exit the station, you will see a bicycle shop in front of you.
Turn right at that corner.
The rest of the way is just straight ahead.
Now, you can see it.
You are already there.
I would say 7 or 8 minutes in time.
If you are walking fast, you may be able to get there in five minutes.
The follwing is the pros and cons of route from Hirano Station on the Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line
≪Cons≫
・Compared to the route from JR Hirano Station, there are few shrines, temples, old buildings, or other attractions along the street.
(I may have just missed it…)
・While I could get there quickly, the walk was a bit tedious.
≪Pros≫
・It is by far closer than JR Hirano Station.
・Recommended for those who do not like to walk or are in a hurry.
Please be assured that you can go to the duck confectionery store no matter which you choose.
In the next section,
let’s go over the sweets and drinks that I had.
Cakes and drinks I had.
Now,
let’s go over the sweets and drinks that I had.
I visited the shop twice and chose different pastries.
What I had on my first visit
Here are some of the items I had on my first visit.
I was really confused by the variety of fresh and baked sweets.
After thinking a lot,
I had the strawberry sponge cake and strawberry tart.
It is inferior to my most favorite strawberry sponge cake,
“The Shortcake (Henri Charpentier)”
in terms of the amount of strawberries.
*For a review of The Shortcake, please refer to this article.
However, they are nearly even in taste, size, and tenderness.
It is moderately sweet and goes well with coffee.
I also had a strawberry tart, “Tarte Fraise”.
First of all, it looks cute.
The cookie dough with low sweetness and excellent crunchiness
contains strawberries, whipped cream and custard cream.
You can enjoy four flavors in one bite.
When it comes to tarts, there are two types: cookie dough and pie dough.
I hiikun prefer cookie dough.
Which do you prefer, cookie dough or pie dough?
I had a cafe latte.
I appreciate the indentation at the point where I holds the mug.
It was very easy to hold.
It is good to see such attention to detail.
Of course, you can order only drinks.
One baked pastry is included with each day’s meal, as shown here.
Thank you for the meal. Gochisousamadesita!
I was going to go home,
I stopped over at Tennoji.
I stop by a nearby cafe
and began to work on this article.
What I had on my second visit
Here are the items I had on my second visit.
The first thing worth mentioning is this cheesecake.
The moment I took a bite, I was overcome with a storm of emotion.
Possibly, this is the best cheesecake I’ve ever had.
It is not too sweet and very light.
The surface looks hard,
but that is not true.
Even without applying force,
the fork goes into the cake easily.
It is absurdly soft.
The charred surface also adds a savory flavor to the entire dough.
It was extremely enjoyable to eat.
This is a baked pastry called florentine.
A cookie is coated with a sauce that is a mixture of almonds and possibly caramel.
I love this kind of baked goods.
Coffee is not bad, though,
I like to have it with tea.
As usual, a piece of baked good was served with the drink.
On this day, it was a cookie in the shape of a snowman.
Thank you for the meal. Gochisousamadesita!
It was already dark outside.
Last order is 5:30 pm.
I left the restaurant shortly before that.
Satisfaction was higher the second time than the first time.
I was very impressed with the cheesecake.
I hope to make a third visit in the near future.
What I noticed
In this section,
I will discuss what I noticed during my two visits to Ahiru Kashiten Confectionery.
Ordering Flow
As soon as I arrived,
the staff asked me to secure the seat.
Seating and orders are taken in order of arrival.
Therefore, there is no need to worry about losing your seat to someone who comes later.
The clerk will guide you exactly what to do.
The waiter will carry the food and drink you ask for, which is very helpful.
On leaving,
please do not leave dishes on the table.
Please take them to the return slot.
The clerks will explain the entire process to you in detail.
Degree of congestion
I do not know how crowded it will be in the morning.
My first visit was around 2:30 pm.
It happened to be empty,
But, after I entered the shop,
it became full in an instant.
It may be crowded at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., which is snack time.
On my second visit, it was already past 4:00 pm.
Perhaps that is why the shop was very empty.
I left shortly before last order.
I was the only customer in the restaurant at that time.
Quality of customers
The clientele was overwhelmingly female, regardless of age.
I hiiku was the only male guest on two visits.
Not only local people,
some customers seemed to have come all the way from afar to visit the Ahiru Confectionary Shop.
I heard that a certain number of men feel uncomfortable entering a sweets store alone.
You may be thinking, “I’m embarrassed,” or “Are they looking at me strangely?”.
However, I hope you will feel free to drop by without worrying about that.
Taking a short detour
There is one last place I would like to mention.
Please recall the process from JR Hirano Station to the Ahiru Confectionery Shop.
I told you to turn right when you see the sign that says “Hirano Nankai.”
After turning right, I found an interesting place on the way to the end of the street.
Here it is…
You will see a park-like area on your right.
However, it is awfully long and narrow for a park.
Moreover, something like a railroad track is painted on the ground.
What is this place?
In fact, there used to be a railroad station here.
Hirano Station, Nankai Hirano Line.
Let’s go a little further.
You will see a rest area on your left.
The white wall in the back depicts a train that once ran on the Nankai Hirano Line.
As the sign here says,
From April 26, Taisho 3 (1914) to November 28, Showa 55 (1980),
Nankai Hirano Line ran from Hirano to Tennoji Ekimae (Abeno Ward, Osaka City)
and Emisucho (Naniwa Ward, Osaka City).
However, on November 27, Showa 55 (1980),
The Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line (then Osaka Municipal Subway) was extended beyond Tennjoji to Yaominami.
Therefore, the 66-year history of the line came to an end.
Unfortunately, the Hirano station building is no longer there.
It was demolished about two years after the line was abandoned.
The abandoned railway tracks were then developed into a park.
Tennoji Ekimae stop on the Hankai Electric Railway Uemachi Line.
In the past, trains used to run from here to the Nankai Hirano.
Here is a route map showing the location of the Nankai Hirano Line and the Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line.
By the way, about 6 months before the Nankai Hirano Line was discontinued,
I hiikun was born on May 27, Showa 55 (1980).
If I had a time machine,
I would go back to the time when the Nankai Hirano Line was running.
And I would like to take the Nankai Hirano Line to see the streets of Osaka at that time.
You can watch videos about the Nankai Hirano Line on YouTube.
You can also see a valuable front view.
If you want,
please search for “Nankai Hirano Line” and watch the videos.
Summary
This time,
I have talked about the charms of the Ahiru Kashiten Confectionary Shop and a little bit about the charms of Hirano Ward.
How was it?
Ahiru Kashiten Confectionery was even better than I had imagined.
Needless to say, all the cakes, cookies and coffee I had were delicious.
I am very satisfied.
I also enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the restaurant.
In a renovated private house built in the late Edo period,
I had a wonderful time.
The customer service of all the staff is excellent.
Although the shop was crowded on my first visit,
they were smiling and seemed to be enjoying themselves as they interacted with customers.
That impressed me so much that I decided to visit it a second time.
In spite of visiting only twice,
I learned that Hirano Ward is a very historic and nice place.
I was amazed to see not only shrines and temples,
but also old merchant houses and private homes remaining in the same condition as when they were built.
I saw several such buildings on my way to the Ahiru Confectionery.
I hear that there are other such places in the ward.
So, I would love to visit this place if I have the chance.
My Readers, too,
please visit the Ahiru Confectionery and Hirano Ward.
I heartily recommend it.
Thank you very much for reading to the end.
See you in the next article.
For the latest information about the store,
please refer to the official website andofficial Instagram.
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