Kamakura chocolate house Maison Cacao opens its first permanent Hokkaido store, inside Daimaru Sapporo
Maison Cacao opens its first permanent Hokkaido store inside Daimaru Sapporo's basement food hall on October 21, with a new filled-chocolate line that includes a flavour made from a rare Tokachi raspberry sold only at that store.
Maison Cacao Co., the Kamakura-founded chocolate brand led by Shingo Ishihara, said it will open its first permanent Hokkaido store inside Daimaru Sapporo's basement "Hoppe Town" food section on October 21, 2026, according to a company release.
The store launches alongside a new filled-chocolate line, Chocolat Cielo, sold in boxes of 10 for ¥3,240 in three flavours: a classic bitter-and-white chocolate blend with hazelnut praline, caramel chips and Guérande salt; a white chocolate and macadamia version; and a raspberry flavour made with Carlbeck, a rare Hokkaido-grown raspberry variety from Tokiiro Berry Farm in Tokachi, which the company says is exclusive to the Sapporo store. The name "Cielo" means sky in Spanish; the release describes the product as a thin chocolate shell around an airy cream filling, distinct from the brand's signature nama-chocolate. Customers spending ¥5,400 or more will receive a Sapporo-exclusive tote bag featuring the brand's horse motif, while supplies last, the company said.
A regional-exclusive flavour sourced from a named local farm is the standard depachika (department-store basement food hall) move for a brand entering a new market without the cost of a standalone shop -- the store, not a separate product, is the news, and the Tokachi raspberry flavour exists specifically to give Hokkaido shoppers a reason to buy here rather than order online.