toco toco — Season 1, Episode 5: Wagashi Asobi, Japanese traditional confectioners

Episode synopsis

Motohiro Inaba and Rio Asano take us to the publishing house “Cotonoha” situated in the sweet and retro neighborhood of Nagahara. “Machi no Techo Ikegami-sen” is a magazine published by “Cotonoha”. Ikegami line is a railway line that runs through Tokyo from Gotanda to Kamata on the south side of Tokyo. “Machi no Techo Ikegami-sen” is a magazine that introduces culture and shops around the Ikegami line. It featured the Japanese sweets shop “Wagashi Asobi” in one of their publications. The particularity of the Ikegami railway train is that contrary to most of Tokyo’s trains that are long, it’s relatively small as it’s a 3-car train. “Machi no Techo Ikegami-sen” is a magazine that talks about the neighborhood’s history. The Shochiku movie studios were once located in Kamata (end of Ikegami line) where directors such as Ozu Yasujiro used to shoot. This magazine is sold in shops, bars, and book shops along the train tracks and on “Cotonoha’s website”. Then, Motohiro Inaba and Rio Asano invite us to their atelier “Wagashi Asobi”. They make two types of sweets: the dry fruit yokan and the herb-aroma rakugan.

About toco toco

toco toco is a program where Japanese artists and creators introduce places in Japan that inspire them. No scripted text or guidance, guests speak naturally and are free to choose any place they like. “toco toco” is the onomatopoeia to describe the sound of footsteps in Japanese, for the walks we go on together with our guests.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Yusuke Shigeta, digital artist
• E2Soryo Matsumura, tea ceremony master
• E3Michihito Fujii, film director
• E4Hima://Kawagoe, illustrator
• E6Professor Sakamoto, 8-bit musician
• E7Kyoka, electronic musician and artist
• E8Arisa Katayama, Walking Bicycle project leader
• E9Riyoo Kim, ceramic artist
• E10Fuyuki Kanai, illustrator and performer
• E11Ayaka Matsuno, cookie artist
• E12Montblancs, comedy duo
• E13Take0920you, video games youtuber