Have you ever wanted to know how to make Hamamatsu’s famous confectionery, “Eel Pie”? At the “Eel Pie Factory” located on the outskirts of Hamamatsu City, you can tour the factory for free.

After the factory tour, you can try original sweets made with eel pie at the attached cafe or mobile cafe. Adults and children alike can enjoy free admission.

You might be able to find out the secret of Hamamatsu's popular confectionery, eel pie! ?

Would you like to see the manufacturing process of Hamamatsu’s popular confectionery, eel pie?

Eel Pie Factory, located on the outskirts of Hamamatsu City, will make that dream come true. You can tour the factory here for free.

First, from the parking lot, follow the signs to the entrance.

When you enter the building, from the right you will see a shop, a writing table where you fill out the reception form, and a reception desk.

After writing the participant’s name on the reception form, hand it to the reception staff. You can receive a mini eel pie as a souvenir to commemorate your visit.

There are two options for visiting the Unagi Pie Factory: a free tour and a factory tour with an explanation from a concierge.

Free tours do not require reservations, and participants can tour at their own pace. You can watch the process as much as you like.

If you would like to have some explanations from the staff, we recommend the factory tour, although reservations are required. The concierge will provide easy-to-understand explanations of the eel pie manufacturing process, including how to knead the dough.

I was told that “three craftsmen make 900 balls of eel pie dough a day at peak times.” The granulated sugar (sugar) that goes inside is also custom-made!

Since its inception in Hamamatsu City in 1961, the manufacturing process for eel pie has remained unchanged from the making of the dough.

And the number of folded pie layers is a whopping 9,000! Stretch it, fold it, stretch it again, fold it again, and repeat to make 9,000 layers. The crispy texture can be said to be the result of careful dough making.

You can watch the eel pie come out of the oven after it comes out of the oven, and watch it being coated with the secret sauce through the window glass. It’s a work scene that you’ll want to watch forever.

After looking at the 1st floor, please go to the 2nd floor. Don’t miss the eel on the handrail of the stairs.

Observing the work scene from the 2nd floor...Where is the conveyor belt going?

On the 2nd floor, you can observe the work from above.

The manufacturing process can be roughly divided into the following steps: preparation and finishing, baking, inspection, and packaging and boxing. It seems that many people can’t help but look at it.

Each eel pie is individually wrapped and carefully inspected by workers many times before being rolled onto a conveyor belt one after another.

Items to check include length, color, and shape. Items that pass this check will be sold in bulk as a value bag.

There are 6 production lines in total, and the number of products produced per day is 200,000 pieces! Some people sit on benches under the window glass and take a close look at the work being done. It is popular for its cute way of putting bookmarks in the box.

The products are packed in boxes and transported to the end of the second floor, where they are stacked regularly into containers using a large UFO catcher-like machine.

When the containers are loaded to a certain height, the shutter at the back will open and take you to the warehouse. The products are then moved to the shipping port, where they are loaded onto delivery trucks and transported.

After observing the work, get some trivia about eel pie

After touring the manufacturing site, head to the Unagi Pie Theater.

Here we are showing a video in which the eel pie character “Unun-kun” introduces us to the eel pie artisans and the manufacturing process.

When I visited, in addition to these, they were also showing a making-of movie of a commercial starring Atsushi Tamura.

The video was shown repeatedly and it took less than 30 minutes to watch the whole thing. If you’re tired from touring, you can take a short break here.

*Please check the theater screening times in advance. Please note that eating and drinking is strictly prohibited.

In the passageway adjacent to the theater, you can learn trivia about eel pie.

By the way, don’t you think the shape of this passage is a little strange? This represents an eel’s bed, and what is pasted inside is a thin piece of bamboo.

Eels have a habit of sleeping in long, narrow places, so I envisioned the “bamboo tube fishing method” taking advantage of that.

As you exit the aisle, there is a photo spot where you will be greeted by three large eel pies. How about standing in front of or next to your favorite pie and taking a photo?

Along the wall to the right of the golden eel pie V.S.O.P. is a white eel pie piano. The music stand is a custom made product with an eel pie neatly placed inside the resin.

Don't miss the eel pie cafe and shop!

Next to the photo spot is the “Eel Pie Cafe” where you can enjoy original eel pie sweets and meals made with ingredients from Hamamatsu.

Various parfaits using eel pie are very popular! You can also enjoy Japanese-style omelet rice, topped with Maisaka-produced whitebait until you say, “Stop!”

Please also take a look at the lampshade with an eel pie design.

Souvenirs are available at the shop at the bottom of the stairs.

Oh yeah, there are no eels on the handrails on the stairs down. Only the stairs to the top are attached. This is truly eel rising!

The shop is stocked with not only the ever-popular eel pie, but also the “midnight sweets” eel pie V.S.O.P., where you can enjoy the scent of high-quality brandy.

For a limited time (scheduled until the end of September 2022), “Unauna Pie” that appears in the popular manga “Yuru Camp△” is also on sale.

In addition, there are whitebait pies, Enshu miso buns, and assortments that are perfect for gifts.

The eel pie gelato is delicious! Mobile cafe “Ukun-go”

After the factory tour, take a break at the mobile cafe “Unun-go”. The basic menu is three types of eel pie gelato.

Blending eel pie and homemade milk gelato right in front of your eyes. It takes some time to make because it’s made to order, but it’s said to be delicious and worth the wait.

I ordered the limited-time Shizuoka benihoppe milk version. It had the same texture as the eel pie, but the sweet and sour taste of the red cheeks matched perfectly with the sweetness of the eel pie.

Finally, how to get to the Unagi Pie Factory from the Tomei Expressway “Hamamatsu Nishi” IC.

First, get off the IC and turn right at the Hamamatsu Nishi IC intersection. Continue south for about 8.5 km and turn left at the “Technical Industrial Park Nishi” intersection (there is a rather large information signboard at the corner of this intersection).

Then, continue for about 1 km and turn left at the T-junction with an information board (if you miss the turn, you will find yourself on a gravel road). If you continue along the road, the Eel Pie Factory building will appear in front of you.

The entrance to the parking lot is on the left side of the building.

When you visit Hamamatsu, why not go to the Eel Pie Factory, which can be enjoyed by both adults and children?

If you would like to learn more about eel pies, we recommend the factory tour, which is free but reservations must be made over the phone, or the oven-made eel pie tour, which is paid and requires reservations online.

Eel Pie Factory official website (external link)

「https://www.unagipai-factory.jp/」