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[Saitama ]You'll get hungry! 6 food theme parks

[Saitama ]You'll get hungry! 6 food theme parks

2023-05-30

Food theme parks, where you can see the production process of familiar foods and enjoy tasting them, are ideal for outings with parents and children or for date nights. In this issue, we will introduce six food parks in Saitama Prefecture.

Author of this article

Lotte Okashi no Gakko (School of Crackers)



Lotte Okashi no Gakko is a factory tour spot of Lotte, a confectionery maker known for "Ghana Chocolate ", "Toppo ", and "Yukimi Dakufu ".
Originally a tour facility of Lotte's Urawa Plant, it reopened in May 2022 as Lotte Okashi no Gakko (School of Okashi) with new facilities and contents added to make it not only a place to tour "but also a learning place "that transmits the joy of food and cooking.



The extensively renovated tour facility features a variety of interesting content, including digital content that can be learned through touch panels such as "Lotte's Okashi History "and "Lotte's SDGs ", a display area of Lotte snacks sold around the world, trick art, and much more!
In addition, chairs shaped like pie nuts and snow cones, and cute photo spots are also available.



The factory tour begins with a class in the "funny classroom ", which represents the world of the funny school, followed by a sneak peek into the factory's biggest attraction, the production line inside the factory.
The production line tour offers two courses: "Pie Fruit Course ""Ghana Chocolate Course ". The course of the tour changes depending on the operating conditions of the day, so it is up to your luck which course you will see on that day.
Nevertheless, both are full of hands-on content, so even young children can have fun while learning about the confectionery production process.
After visiting the production line, we will go back to the funny classroom and review the secrets of the deliciousness of Lotte's snacks through a quiz. The tour will end with a souvenir candy.
By the end of the day, you will definitely love Lotte's snacks even more! This is the perfect spot for a summer or winter vacation, or a date spot for couples.

"Facility Information "
Address: 3-1-1 Numakage, Minami-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama 336-0027
Closed: Saturdays, Sundays, national vacations, Bon vacations, year-end and New Year holidays, and factory maintenance days
Participation fee: No material (fully contracted)
Reservations: General public: Web reservations, school groups: Reservations by phone (0570-054-610)
URL:https://www.lotte.co.jp/kengaku/

Glicopia East



Glicopia East is a factory tour spot for food manufacturer Ezaki Glico.
Following Glicopia Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture, which opened in 1988, Glicopia Kobe opened in 2012 as its first entry into eastern Japan.
At this factory, you can visit the production lines of Glico's popular products "Pocky "and "Pritz ".
Pocky can be observed from finishing to packaging, and Pritz can be observed from the process of mixing the ingredients!
However, only the chocolate dipping of the Pocky is a trade secret, so unfortunately, they are not allowed to see it. This is something I am very curious about.



The museum zone displays the extra toys that came with Glico's caramels and packages of Pocky from past generations.
The number of Glico toys on display is said to be as many as 1,500! This is an exciting zone for children and adults alike.
The first Glico Caramel vending machine is also located nearby. At that time, if you put a ten-cent coin into this vending machine, you could not only purchase Glico caramels, but also watch a video on the display.
The vending machines are still in operation, and the staff here will demonstrate the process of putting in money and purchasing products back then.



Glicopia East also has an interesting photo spot unique to Ezaki Glico!
Visitors can take pictures with giant Pocky and Pritz packages and the well-known goalie symbol in a Glico pose.
Glicopia is also located in Hyogo and Chiba, but this is the only place where you can take a picture with the huge goal-mark panel. After you finish your visit, why not take one photo at this photo spot to commemorate your visit?

"Facility Information "
Address: 9-55 Nakamaru, Kitamoto-shi, Saitama 364-0013
Phone number: 048-593-8811
Calling hours:9:00~16:00
Closed: Fridays, Bon vacations, year-end and New Year holidays, and factory maintenance days
Participation fee: No material (fully contracted)
Reservation method: Web and telephone reservations
URL:https://www.glico.com/jp/enjoy/experience/glicopia/east/

Akagi Milk Industry Honjo Senbon Sakura "5S "Factory




Akagi Milk Industry Honjo Senbon Sakura "5S "The factory is a factory tour spot for Akagi Milk Industry, a specialized ice cream manufacturer based in Saitama Prefecture.
Many people may think of Akagi Milk Industry's flagship product, "Galigari-kun ", an ice cream with a distinctive, acorn-headed character.
This facility is also full of attractive contents such as successive generations of Garigarikun, collaboration goods, and a factory-only purikura (photo booth) featuring Garigarikun!
Of course, the biggest attraction is a tour of the production line, but the most popular spot in the facility is "GARIGARIKUNE Hiroba ".



The Garigarikun Hiroba is filled with fun features such as a photo spot where visitors can take commemorative photos with a life-size Garigarikun, an ice cream crane game, and a factory-only print sticker machine that allows visitors to take purikura (photo booth) pictures with Garigarikun.
The most eye-catching of them all is the GARIGARIKUN Daibutsu, with its mouth wide open. It is said that if you write a wish on an ice cream stick and put it in the mouth of the Daibutsu, your wish will come true.
Next to the Big Buddha is an omikuji, a free ice cream stick omikuji.



And here is the most popular place at Garigari-kun Hiroba! This is the free ice cream corner.
What a surprise, all-you-can-eat ice cream from Akagi Milk Industry here. There is a time limit, but you can't help but think "are you insane? "I'm not sure if I'm insane or not, but I'd like to say that it's a very generous offer.
By the way, the type of ice cream in the case varies from day to day. If you are lucky, you may be able to try a new product or rare ice cream!
This food theme park is a must-visit in the summer when you crave ice cream.

"Facility Information "
Address: 850-10 Kodama, Kodama-cho, Honjo, Saitama 367-0212
Phone number: 0120-60-6092
Closed: Please check the official website
Attendance fee: No information
Reservation method: Web reservations (may be by lottery depending on the month)
URL:https://www.akagi.com/factory/index.html

Gold Leaf Soy Sauce Park



Kinpue Soy Sauce Park is a soy sauce theme park located in Kawashima Town.
This facility was created to commemorate the 230th anniversary of the founding of "Fueki Soy Sauce (Fueki Shoyu) ", a long-established soy sauce brewery founded in 1789 and opened in 2019.
The park includes "Kinpue Soy Sauce School ", where you can take a factory tour of a soy sauce brewery, "a soy sauce brewery restaurant ", a wooden bucket photo spot, and athletic activities "eat ""buy ""learn ""play ".



At the popular Kinpue Soy Sauce School, visitors learn how soy sauce is made from what ingredients in a classroom setting.
The flow of the tour is based on the textbook distributed at the time of admission, with explanations by the guide, and includes a tour of the Maegura, Koji Kura, and Brewing Kura.
Not only can visitors observe the soy sauce production process, but they can also touch the soybeans used as raw materials and smell the aroma of the moromi, making it a fun way for even young children to learn about the soy sauce production process. Depending on the day, visitors may be able to actually stir and squeeze the moromi!
Another interesting point is the explanation of the secrets of soy sauce in terms of social studies, Japanese language, science, etc.



The attached restaurant serves delicious dishes made with their signature soy sauce, such as udon noodles, egg rice, and mitarashi dumplings.
The signature menu items are "Soy Sauce Shop's Wooden Oke Udon using homemade noodles "and "Udon to compare eating soy sauce from a brewery ". The soy sauce that comes with the udon to compare can be purchased at the store, so it is recommended for those who want to taste and purchase soy sauce in advance.
Also on the sweet menu is a soy sauce-colored "product called Kinpue soft serve ice cream "! You will have to wait until you try it to find out what it tastes like, of course. If you are interested, please visit Kinpue Soy Sauce Park to taste it for yourself.

"Facility Information "
Address: 660 Kami-Ikusa, Kawashima-cho, Hiki-gun, Saitama 350-0152
Phone number: 049-297-0917
Tour times: Weekdays: (1) 10:30 a.m. (no tour on Mondays), (2) 12:30 p.m., (3) 1:30 p.m.
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays / every hour from 10:30 to 15:30, from 00:00 and from 30:00, 11 times in total
Closed: None
Attendance fee: No information
Reservation method: Web reservation or on the day
URL:https://kinbue-park.jp

School Lunch History Museum



The School Lunch History Museum is operated by the Saitama School Lunch Association and is the only museum in Japan dedicated to school lunch.
It is a small facility located on the premises of the Saitama School Meal Association, but the museum is filled with materials related to school meals.
In addition to the panel displays, the museum also exhibits samples of school lunches by age group, books related to school lunches, and unique teaching materials used in nutrition education classes at elementary schools and other schools, making it quite a worthwhile spot.



By the way, do you know when and where school lunches started?
"With a building like the School Lunch History Museum, one might think, "Well, isn't that just Saitama? "Some may think, "But actually, the birthplace of school lunch is not in Saitama Prefecture, but at Chuaai Elementary School in Daikyoji Temple in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture.
According to the information on the monument (replica) at the entrance ", the birthplace of school lunches, ", school lunches began when lunch was provided free of charge to children from families who were struggling to make ends meet.
Past the monument is a chronological sample lunch area, with school lunches from 1889, when school lunches first began, to 2015, displayed along the walls.
Japan's first school lunch is also on display, so be sure to visit and find out what children were eating back then.



The School Lunch History Museum also has many other fun exhibits, such as tableware used for school lunches and school lunches featuring dishes from the countries that participated in the 2005 Japan-Korea World Cup.
While it is interesting to trace the history of school lunches, it is also recommended to look at the menus and tableware from your own school days for nostalgia and to look for menu items that can be used as a reference for your own menu at home.
Please note that you do not need a reservation to visit this facility. It is located in close proximity to Glicopia East, which we introduced earlier, so please try to visit as a set.

"Facility Information "
Address: 2-288 Asahi, Kitamoto-shi, Saitama 364-0011
Phone number: 048-592-2115
Hours of operation: 9:00-16:00
Closed: Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, year-end and New Year holidays (12/29 - 1/3), summer (8/13 - 8/15)
Admission: Free
URL:https://www.saigaku.or.jp/profile/library/

Meiji Nararu Factory



The Meiji Nararu Factory is a tour factory operated by Meiji, well-known for its "Chocolate Hame-iji "commercials.
The Sakado factory in Saitama is one of seven Meiji factories in Japan where visitors can tour the production lines of Meiji Milk Chocolate, Apollo, and other products.
The museum also has many corners where visitors can learn about the various research and development of chocolate through videos, see actual cacao beans, and have other valuable experiences.
The sweet aroma of the place makes it the perfect spot for chocolate lovers to enjoy a tour.



We used to be able to take a tour of the Carl's factory, but they have stopped manufacturing here since the nationwide sales ended. Well, that's a shame.
However, the photo spot where you can take a picture with the character Uncle Carl from "Carl "still remains at the entrance of the building.
Nowadays, curls are completely out of sight in the eastern area of Japan, but if you have ever eaten them, why not take a commemorative photo here?

"Facility Information "
Address: 5-3-1 Chiyoda, Sakado, Saitama 350-0298
Visiting hours: 3 times a day, Monday through Friday (9:30am, 11:30am, 2:00pm)
Closed: Saturday, Sunday, and other holidays designated by the factory
Participation fee: No material (fully contracted)
Reservations: General public ... Web reservations, school groups ... Reservations by phone (049-283-1398)
URL:https://www.meiji.co.jp/learned/factory/sakado/

summary

A food theme park where you can learn about the history and manufacturing process of the foods you eat everyday.
The tour is perfect not only for social studies for adults, but also for children's dietary education, as they can have valuable experiences such as observing the actual production process and touching the ingredients!
Most of the spots introduced here require reservations, so don't forget to make your reservations in advance. Please visit with your friends and family.

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