Honke Chichiya

Honke Chichiya sells onsen manju - steamed buns associated with Japan's hot-spring towns - from three small shops positioned around Kusatsu, including locations near the Yubatake hot spring field and its public foot baths, the town's central gathering point. The shop's range centers on two versions: a traditional tea-flavored manju that has anchored the business for generations, and an original two-tone bean-paste creation developed as the shop's own variation on the standard onsen bun. Alongside the manju, Chichiya Baum has become a companion product - a castella-style sponge cake finished with a coarse-sugar crust, sold as a souvenir that pairs the softer manju tradition with a firmer, longer-keeping format better suited to travel. Positioned at the points visitors pass walking to and from the hot springs, the shops are built around the town's foot-traffic pattern rather than requiring a special detour, selling directly to people already moving between the baths and their lodging. It is a narrow, single-category business - steamed buns and one companion baked good - rather than a broader confectioner, which fits the role Kusatsu's hot-spring-town shops generally play: a specific, portable treat tied to the walk through the Yubatake area rather than a general bakery.