Kanda Awahei: The Kanda Senbei Shop That Coined “Gekikara” (Fiery Hot) and Its Sixth Generation | Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks #14

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Founded in 1884, Kanda Awahei is a long-established senbei (rice cracker) shop in Kanda. In the 1980s it launched its “gekikara” (fiery-hot) senbei, and the word “gekikara” went on to win the silver prize in Japan’s Buzzword of the Year awards. Just a few days before our visit, Maya Amamiya, the sixth generation, had begun working in the shop. Photographer ELLI paid a visit. (From the July 2026 issue of Hon no Machi, “Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks” installment 14)

Maya Amamiya, sixth generation of Kanda Awahei, with senbei — Maya Amamiya, the sixth generation (photos by Eri Ito unless otherwise noted)

“Now that my daughter has started second grade and doesn’t need me around as much, I began looking after the shop this week.”

—Maya Amamiya, sixth generation

In this series, ELLI visits shops in Kanda and Jimbocho. For installment 14, she went to Kanda Awahei, a long-established senbei shop in Kanda, and spoke with Maya Amamiya, daughter of fifth-generation head Takashi Suzuki, who has just made her debut as the sixth generation.

The Shop Where the Word “Gekikara” Was Born

About the Shop: Senbei Made Entirely by Hand

Exterior of Kanda Awahei — The front of Kanda Awahei, hung with a noren curtain written in Rokusuke Ei’s own hand

Awahei’s luxurious senbei are made entirely by hand, starting with grinding the rice into flour for the dough, and have been produced at the company’s workshop in Aoto, Katsushika-ku, since 1884. The Kanda shop has been here since 1967—close to 60 years now.

Works written by Rokusuke Ei — Rokusuke Ei, who adored Awahei’s senbei, wrote the shop’s noren curtain himself. Several of his works also hang inside the shop

The Signature Item: “Gekikara Extra-Hot Mustard Senbei”

Besides classic soy sauce senbei, you can enjoy many flavors, such as sesame, eel and ginger senbei. The ones to watch, though, are the “Shichimi Sansho Senbei,” whose selling point is its heat, and the “Gekikara Extra-Hot Mustard Senbei,” devised by fourth-generation owner Akira Suzuki in pursuit of something even hotter. They really are hot, so be careful if you’re not a fan of spicy food.

Certificate for the silver prize in the Buzzword of the Year awards for “gekikara” — “*Gekikara*,” winner of the silver prize in the 1986 Buzzword of the Year awards

Senbei inside Kanda Awahei — The shop has many regulars, and customers kept coming throughout our visit

Assorted senbei gift boxes — Assortments of many kinds of senbei are popular as gifts

Affordable senbei assortments — There are affordable assortments, too

About the Shop: The Fifth-Generation Owner’s Wife and the Sixth Generation

Sayoko, wife of the fifth-generation owner, and Maya, the sixth generation — Sayoko, wife of the fifth-generation owner (left), and Maya, the sixth generation

Running the shop together with Sayoko, wife of the fifth-generation owner, Maya already looks completely at home in the role—a reassuring sight.

We look forward to seeing what fresh breezes Maya, the cheerful sixth generation, will bring to this long-established shop.

Shop Information

Kanda Awahei
Address: 2-13-1 Uchi-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3256-1038
Founded: 1884
Hours: Weekdays 9:00 a.m.–7:30 p.m., Saturdays 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Closed: Sundays
▶Shop page (map and related articles)　▶View on Google Maps
*Address, phone and hours are from the Hon no Machi member shop list (October 2026 issue). Please check with the shop before you visit.

Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks　All installments

#1　Luncheon
#2　The Adirondack Café
#3　Hasebe
#4　Toyodaen & Daisen
#5　@Wonder
#6　Book House Cafe
#7　Kissa Hotaka
#8　Mamekobo
#9　Banuken
#10　Asanoya
#11　Yamagataya Paper Shop
#12　Kissa Poupée
#13　Ochanomizu Hotel Shoryukan
#14　Kanda Awahei (this article)
#15　Daiki Shoe Store
#16　Sakaiya Sports
#17　Fuji Record Sha
▶See every installment and a map of the shops ELLI has visited on the series page

Eri Ito (ELLI)
Photographer. She writes the series “Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks” for Hon no Machi, visiting a different shop in Kanda, Ochanomizu and Jimbocho every month.

This article introduces installment 14 of “Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks” (photos and text by Eri Ito), published in the July 2026 issue of Hon no Machi, the community salon magazine of Kanda, Ochanomizu and Jimbocho.

Founded in 1980, Hon no Machi brings you the latest from Book Town every month, together with Jimbocho’s bookstores, publishers, cafés and galleries.

▶Back issues of our series are being published on our note page (in Japanese)

日本語で読む — Read this article in Japanese