Yamada Shoten in Hirosaki Chuo Ichiba (Hitosaki-shi Dote-cho) started selling university potatoes on September 19 this year.

The store's university potato is a seasonal Hirosaki specialty that has been loved by citizens for about 50 years. Unlike the general method of making fried potatoes with brown sugar or starch syrup, sprinkle with white sugar. It is also characteristic to sell by weight.

After graduating from junior high school in the city, the shop owner, Shuzo Yamada, started a yam stand in Tokyo in 1960 after going through a picture-story show in Muroran, Hokkaido. He sold to Ueno, Okachimachi, and Tabata, but returned to his hometown in 1964 (Showa 39) with the birth of his eldest son.

“I thought I would start a yam shop in Hirosaki, but the stalls aren't efficient because of the snow in winter. And when the yam is cool, it doesn't taste good,” says Yamada. It was the college potato that caught my eye. The college potatoes, which can be eaten deliciously even when cold, were said to have been perfect for business in northern countries.

Initially, while moving in several locations in the Dotemachi shopping district during the day, we sold university potatoes. We opened our current store in a corner of the market that opened shortly thereafter. “In the beginning, I had a hard time adjusting the sugar concentration and temperature,” says Yamada. Now, every year, citizens are waiting for the sale of university potatoes. Recently, children and grandchildren who went to work outside of the prefecture and grandchildren were told that they wanted to eat that college potato, and many customers came to buy it in large quantities.

The price is 150 yen for 100 grams. It will be sold until the end of April (before the Sakura Festival).