A 15-minute walk from JR Kamo Station, you will see a shop with a stylish exterior that looks like it has been cut out of an old shopping street. This is AMEYA AISU, an ice-cream shop established by the fifth generation of Aoki Ameya's founder, Yasushi Dedication, who has been in the business for more than 130 years.
Revival of the long-sought-after 'adzuki ice cream'.
Stepping into the stylish shop, I saw an ice-cream pod with ice-cream in front of me. When I was puzzled because the stand was too high for me to see what was inside, the mother who was tending the shop asked me to climb up on the stand and have a look.
Fearfully climbing up, the view changed dramatically! Looking down, there is a colourful variety of ice cream to choose from.
When asked for a recommendation, the answer was 'azuki ice cream'. In fact, this product was sold at Aoki Ameya until a few decades ago. In setting up the shop, the local residents were keen to include azuki ice-cream in their ice-cream shop.
When you hear about it, you can't not ask for it. This time, I ordered azuki ice cream, cookie cream and blood orange.
The azuki ice cream has a smooth texture. Although it has a strong azuki taste, it melts easily in the mouth and disappears. According to the mother, it took a lot of effort to bring out the traditional taste of azuki ice cream.
It was more than 50 years ago that they originally served azuki ice cream. At the time there was no recipe and it was passed down from parents to children, so when it was decided to bring it back no one knew how to make it.
It was a trial and error process, adjusting the quantities of ingredients to get as close as possible to the taste of those days. We finally managed to get close to the taste of those days by redoing things over and over again.
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Also serves as a bar in a shopping street.
Ice cream is not the only thing this shop has to offer. There is also a selection of alcoholic beverages such as beer and gin.
Beer on tap, plus 16 craft beers from Australia, Belgium and other countries. There is also a selection of Dedicated's favourite gin. It's also nice to enjoy a relaxing drink at the counter during the day while chatting with the owner.
Aiming to create a shop that will last 100 years, just like Aoki Ameya.
On 8 August 2018, AMEYA AISU opened as an ice cream shop. The ice cream was so popular that locals would talk to us asking if the azuki ice cream was coming back. After many years, the nostalgic taste has been revived.
Mr. Dedication was constantly talking about "proposing a new lifestyle". The combination of ice cream and alcohol, the lunchtime drinking style, and the enjoyment of eating food from shops in the shopping arcade at the bar are all new lifestyles.
Underlying this is the spirit of 'derivation of culture', which is also the shop's catchphrase. We hope that in the process of digging deeper into food culture, a different culture will be born, and that customers will come to the restaurant and feel inspired to start up something new. The catchphrase was given in the hope that a new culture will spread through the shop.
Says Mr. Dedication, "It should last 100 years, and then 100 years from now, the grandchildren's generation should open a second shop." The new AMEYA AISU has finally been established after more than 130 years of Aoki Ameya's existence. It is more important to continue for 100 years than to open a new shop. Therefore, "First of all, we want to aim for a shop that can continue for 100 years", he says.
Aoki Ameya is a familiar shop for Kamo citizens, and I sincerely hope that AMEYA AISU will also become a shop that is a natural part of the shopping street and takes root as part of the culture.
Instead of the English notation "ICE", it is written in Roman characters "AISU". The "A" is the "A" of Aoki.
Shop Information
AMEYA AISU
○Residence: 3-5 Nakamachi, Kamo City
○ Opening hours: 10am - 7pm (until 4pm on Sundays).
○ Closed on the days falling on the sixth and seventh (subject to change on Saturdays and Sundays).
○Tel: 0256-64-8797
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