Iwata Daigaku Imo

Iwata Daigaku Imo is a street-food stall on Kashiya Yokocho, Kawagoe's Candy Alley, specializing in a distinctive round-cut version of daigaku imo, candied sweet potato traditionally associated with Tokyo's university district but reinterpreted here using Kawagoe-grown satsumaimo. Rather than the typical wedge-cut daigaku imo found elsewhere, the stall slices its sweet potatoes into rounds before frying and coating them in a light honey-based glaze, giving each piece a thinner, crisper edge and a shorter bite suited to eating while walking. The stall also sells a small assortment of imo-based hard candies, in keeping with Candy Alley's broader identity as a lane of traditional sweet shops dating back generations. There is no seating -- this is a walk-and-eat format, with the stall's open counter facing directly onto the narrow lane of Kashiya Yokocho, among dozens of similar small confectionery and snack vendors. The atmosphere is lively and informal, especially on weekends when the alley fills with visitors moving between stalls, and the smell of frying sweet potato and roasting sugar carries down the lane. Prices are low, in the range of pocket change for a portion, making it an easy stop to combine with several other Candy Alley vendors in a single visit. The stall closes on Wednesdays and keeps modest daytime hours, so it is best visited earlier rather than late afternoon.