The Sugar Road in Ureshino

The Nagasaki Highway, nicknamed the Sugar Road, connected Nagasaki's port to northern Kyushu and served for centuries as the main inland route for goods arriving through Dejima, Japan's sole point of contact with the Western world during the Edo period. Sugar traveled this road from Nagasaki to Kyoto and Edo, shaping food culture along the way and giving rise to confections like caramel and castella cake. In Ureshino, the Nishi family opened a sweets shop in the 18th century whose creations, including ikkoko, a crispy-exterior pancake, became regional specialties still sold today.