Castella specialty shop DE CARNERO CASTE Ashiya looks set to open near Hankyu Ashiyagawa Station on Friday March 20

Near Hankyu Ashiyagawa Station, along the Ashiyagawa River, it looks like castella specialty shop “DE CARNERO CASTE Ashiya” is planning to open from Friday, March 20〜

↑A notice was posted at the planned opening site. In addition to castella, it seems the Ashiya shop will also sell wooden toys and other items exclusively at this location.

Screenshot from the DE CARNERO CASTE official website

“DE CARNERO CASTE” is a castella specialty shop with its main store in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, created around the concept of “a gift from the Castella Kingdom baked by a sheep girl.”

Their castella is said to be known for its refined sweetness and melt-in-your-mouth texture, made with carefully selected ingredients such as “Ayahikari” wheat flour from Mie Prefecture, honey from Mie Prefecture, and coarse sugar from Kagoshima〜

↑The exterior of the planned “DE CARNERO CASTE Ashiya” location. This is where toy shop “Signa Collection Ashiyagawa” used to be before closing on 1/12.

Here’s the map↓

The address is 4-8-104 Matsunouchicho, Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.

Area Around “DE CARNERO CASTE Ashiya”

↑It’s a street-level shop on the first floor of an apartment building with a red-brick-style exterior. To the right is the handicraft shop “CHECK&STRIPE fabric&things.”

↑If you head this way north along Narihira Sakura-dori, you’ll reach Hankyu Ashiyagawa Station. (The ticket gates are on the other side of the Ashiyagawa River.)

↑If you head the opposite way south, you’ll find “Ashiya Paré Elegance,” “boulangerie wada,” “Terrace Daniel,” and more, before reaching National Route 2.

↑Across the street is the Ashiyagawa River, near Tsukiwaka Bridge.

Menu at “DE CARNERO CASTE Ashiya”

↑In addition to simple plain castella, it looks like flavored castella such as chocolate, matcha & sweet bean paste, coffee, and spice will also be available by the slice.

They also seem to offer cute branded castella created in collaboration with other shops, artists, and characters, as well as castella for dogs〜

DE CARNERO CASTE Ashiya

Final Thoughts

The carefully crafted flavors sound tempting, but the adorable branded designs are also seriously exciting〜! It could be a great place to stop by this spring while out for cherry blossom viewing or walking your dog. I’m looking forward to the opening♪