[NEWS] Seasonal Sweets “Otsuitachi,” Supervised by Hiroe Higuchi, Executive Chef of Shima Kanko Hotel

In Ise-Shima, Mie Prefecture, there is a custom called “tsuitachi-mairi”: at the start of each month, people visit Ise Jingu to give thanks for getting through the past month safely and to pray for a safe new month.

Inspired by this custom, “Otsuitachi” – sweets created by Hiroe Higuchi, executive chef of “La Mer The Classic” at Shima Kanko Hotel, making the most of seasonal ingredients harvested in Mie's satoyama – are sold only on the first Sunday of each month.

Released on April 7: a strawberry tart, lavishly using the premium variety “Red Pearl strawberry” grown in Shima City. / Coming next on May 5: an Ise-tea roll cake – a sweet befitting the new-tea season, distinctive of Mie, the country's No. 3 tea producer.

[Upcoming releases, ingredients & themes]
* Ingredients and sale dates may change depending on supply.

May 5: Ise tea – in Suizawa, Yokkaichi, the shade-grown “kabusecha,” whose sweetness and umami increase by blocking sunlight, is famous.
June 2: Tomato – using high-sugar, thin-skinned, pleasant-textured tomatoes from Toba.
July 7: Nanbari melon – a greenhouse melon grown in Nanbari, Hamajima-cho, Shima City; characterized by juicy sweetness.
Aug 4: Fig – seasonal figs harvested in Mie at this time of year.
Sep 1: Grapes – widely grown in Nabari, Mie; this season you can also enjoy grape-picking.
Oct 6: Chestnut – using chestnuts from the Chusei district, harvested from around September.
Nov 3: Rendaiji persimmon – a rare variety, a natural monument of Ise City, cultivated for some 300 years.
Dec 1: Brandy cake – an arrangement of Shima Kanko Hotel's traditional brandy cake.
Jan 5: Sake – in Iga, famed as a rice region, sake is also made with subsoil water from the Kii foothills.
Feb 9: Meyer lemon – grown in Kiho-cho and Mihama-cho; edible skin and all, with mellow acidity.
Mar 1: Naze mandarin – harvested in the Naze district of Minami-Ise-cho; strongly sweet and beautifully shaped.

■ Shop: The Classic 1F Shop
■ Sale period: April 2019 – March 2020, sold on the first Sunday of each month
■ Pickup time: 11:00–18:00 (takeaway-only product)
■ Price: 3,500 yen (incl. tax)
■ Quantity: varies by product
■ How to buy: reservation sale (by 14:00 the previous day)
■ Product details: announced one month before sale.

[Reservations & inquiries] Shima Kanko Hotel 0599-43-1211 [hours 9:00–20:00] (hotel main line)