Besshiame Honpo is a confectionary shop in Niihama. There’s also an udon restaurant attached to the shop.

Besshiame means “Besshi Candy”, a specialty of the shop. These dairy-based boiled sweets come in a range of flavours – mandarin, strawberry, tea, coffee, cocoa, and peanut. They’re wrapped individually in a colourful twist of paper, creating a nostalgic impression. They were given the name in commemoration of the Besshi Copper Mine, which was closed in 1973. For decades, the sweets were a popular item both with visitors to Ehime and with local people. Now, they’re generally purchased as souvenirs.

The confectionary shop was founded in 1868 in the first year of the Meiji period. In 1926, the first year of the Shōwa period, the company started making the milk candy which would later become Besshiame.

Today, the company still sells Besshiame, but they’ve introduced some new, more upmarket traditional Japanese confectionary such as yōkan, a jelly-like sweet, and cheesecake with a Japanese twist. Various biscuits and rice crackers are also available. All of the products are visually appealing and packaged to enhance their charm. They make nice souvenirs and they’re also convenient as sweet snacks during your trip in Shikoku.