Toraya 'Shimokobai' Tea Ceremony Confection

While it is mid-winter here in Kyoto, we are getting ready for fruit blossoms already. In February the plum trees will bloom and the very fortunate will be treated to see plum blossoms in the snow! To me, plums blossoms are more beautiful and intoxicatingly fragrant than the over-appreciated sakura. The combination of delicate plum blossoms on a leafless, gnarled and contorted black plum tree with lichen and moss, amid snowflakes, all enveloped by the invisible yet penetrating fragrance of the blossoms is an experience with a depth of beauty that I have found unsurpassed.

I hadn’t seen a wagashi that expresses my ideal of plum blossom and snow until today when I dropped in at Toraya to have a look at their tea ceremony wagashi line-up for the second half of January. When I saw this one, I knew I had to show all you foodies out there in the 183 countries with KyotoFoodie fans.

Toraya 'Shimokobai' Tea Ceremony Confection

How to ‘Frost’ a Wagashi Confection: Shinbikiko
Flower shaped wagashi are very common but this one is covered in a kind of rice flour called shinbikiko (新引粉). Shinbikiko is similar to cornmeal in texture but is pure white. It is made with mochi rice that has been steamed, dried, ground and then roasted. The sticky mochi surface of this confection is dusted with shinbikiko creating an obvious yet delicate effect of frost.

Wagashi Frost: Shinbikiko - detail

How Did Shimokobai Wagashi Taste?
While I have complained on KyotoFoodie many times about theredundant and monotonous taste of tea ceremony wagashi, this one really got me. The sensation created by the flavors and textures was quite weird and otherworldly, but in a very subdued way. I loved it!

The filling is gooey but not too sweet white bean paste, it is very soft and creamy. The mochi covering that creates the red plum blossom is gyuhi mochi that very chewy, rather more al dente than normal mochi, like it had been stretched taut over the soft filling and allowed to dry a bit. The shinbikiko really got me though. It reminded me of poppy seeds on a muffin, but not crunchy at all, it was like damp poppy seeds, or damp cornmeal. The taste was ‘ricy’ and dry, yet damp in texture. Weird.

These three contrasting textures and flavors melting together while being chewed made it even more weird.

I found myself wishing for a whole plate to eat so that I could try to better apprehend and express the precious textures and flavors.

The 'kuromoji' traditional tea ceremony utensil is used to cut and eat namagashi.

When do Kyoto Fruit Trees Blossom?
February: Plum (ume 梅)
March: Peach (momo 桃)
April: Cherry (sakura 桜)
Due to global warming these fruit trees are often blooming earlier than they did traditionally. Forget the namby-pamby late spring sakura and seek out the ume!

SHARE! Kyoto Support Forum: Food and Drink in Kyoto

Tweet! Tweet! Find out what’s going on in Kyoto right now, follow me on Twitter.

This is miso flavored gyuhi mochi from Honda Miso and it is a masterpiece! In addition to the novel and exceptional taste, this is a foodie souvenir that you ought to be able to take back home with you when you visit Kyoto. Even if you are not into wagashi confections, you might still like this as it is similar in taste and texture to caramel — but even better!

Miso Chigiri Mochi Package - Wrapped

Miso Chigiri Mochi Package - Unwrapping

Miso Chigiri Mochi and Wasanbon Sugar

How Does Miso Chigiri Mochi Taste?
While miso and mochi together are not unheard of, before sugar was widely available miso was often used to flavor mochi sweets in Japan, this is different. This is reminiscent of caramel in taste and feel yet without a trace of actual caramel in it, which I find very intriguing.

It is made with gyuhi mochi which is mochi with air whipped into it, so the texture is bubbly soft rather than firm like mochi used for cooking.

The fragrance is pronounced and includes the pungent punch of miso, but not too much.

The taste is quite extraordinary. The combination of sweet, miso and mochi come together in a really novel and delightful way. The flavor is not at all understated, it is a pretty huge flavor for any wagashi. I think the miso gives it a lot of body. It is very caramely and ‘misoy’ and has a hint of butter too. The miso paste that is used is Kyoto’s famous white miso (Saikyo shiro miso) which has little salt and is not as pungent as darker and longer fermented miso varieties.

The mochi comes in two colors; brown and pink. The brown ones are miso flavored and the pink ones are plain gyuhi mochi. The miso flavored pieces account for about 8 or 9 in 10 of the total. I think that the pink ones add a real ‘Kyoto’ touch of understated sophistication to it. If they were all miso flavored it would be monotonous and if the pink ones had their own flavor, that would be excessive and lack harmony of flavor.

This gyuhi mochi is packed in light brown colored wasanbon sugar. Wasanbon is the powdered sugar that is native to Japan. It is usually steamed, kneaded and pulverized several times. Wasanbon is somewhat caramely in flavor with a slight burnt sugar flavor to it, yet it is extremely delicate. The pieces of mochi have a generous coating of wasanbon on them which you can brush off a bit for a different flavor variation.

Miso Chigiri Mochi and Wasanbon Sugar - detail (The pinks ones are not miso flavored.)

Where to Buy
I think that this product is only available at Honda Miso Honten. The location is just west of the Gosho Imperial Palace at the intersection of Ichijo Dori and Muromachi Dori streets. In the neighborhood is the famous Toraya wagashi confectionary and Sawai Shoyu Honten soy sauce brewery.

Honda Miso also offers white miso caramel which is also very good.

Honda Miso Honten Entrance and Noren Curtain

Honda Miso Honten Interior

White Miso Caramel

Samples are available just to the left of the entrance.

SHARE! Kyoto Support Forum: Shopping, Souvenirs and Kyoto Meibutsu

SHARE! Kyoto Support Topic: Where to Purchase Basic Ingredients for Japanese Cooking in Kyoto

Tweet! Tweet! Find out what’s going on in Kyoto right now, follow me on Twitter.

Map to Honda Miso Honten

View OpenKyoto/KyotoFoodie Map in a larger map

Classic Japanese Candy: Bontan Ame – Mochi and Pectin Soft Candy ボンタンアメ

At a little old store in Kyoto, I found this HUGE box of bontan ame and had to get it. I have never seen a candy box so large in Japan. “Now this is some American-style SUPER SIZED bontan ame!”, I thought, when I spotted it. It is equal to about 5 boxes of the regular sized bontan ame.

The package design of bontan ame is a classic and harkens back to the era when Japan was modernizing based on Western influence and technology but was still distinctly Japanese, unlike the Japan of today that too often apes whatever is popular in the West. This era, about 80 years ago is one of my favorite eras of Japanese history, the other being the Warring States period.

Bontan Ame Candy and Nostalgic Package

About Bontan Ame
This candy (ame) is made from the bontan, also buntan (ぼんたん、文旦) fruit. This fruit is similar to a grapefruit but larger. Large specimens are the size of a volleyball. This fruit came to Japan from Southeast Asia so it grows in the southern-most island of Kyushu where the climate is most suitable.

Bontan ame was has been made by a company in Kagoshima City, Kyushu since 1926. It is said to be inspired by caramel. It is made of mochi, gyuhi, mizuame (traditional sweetener) and the bontan fruit juice.

Interestingly, each piece of candy is individually wrapped and is eaten with the wrapper on. The wrapper is made of oblaat which is gelatinous, transparent film that melts immediately on contact with the tongue. Oblaat originally came to Japan with Dutch medicine, it was used to wrap up bitter medicine in a package like modern-day gelatin capsules. In bontan ame it is utilized to prevent the sticky mochi-based ame pieces from sticking to one another.

How Does Bontan Ame Taste?
The first thing you notice about bontan ame is the oblaat, the odd crunch on your teeth from what seems like crisp cellophane. This lasts for only the first bite as it melts away in an instant.

If you didn’t know that bontan ame were made with citrus, you might not realize it when taste it as the taste is not heavy on citrus. It is certainly not sour or bitter like lemon or grapefruit. I suspect that the citrus aspect of bontan ame has been purposely mellowed, even more so than the fruit itself.

To me bontan ame is all about the texture. As it is made with gyuhi mochi and citrus pectin so it is of course very soft and chewy.

Like most Japanese sweets, the taste itself is not particularly sweet. Not just citrus, not just mochi, not just mizuame; it is a taste of what Japan created after initial exposure to Western technology and culinary culture. There isn’t really anything like it being developed by ‘junk food’ companies in Japan today.

If you come to Japan and you want to try to find some bontan ame, it is available in most grocery stores and some convenience stores. Look for the distinctive package.

Bontan Ame Candy and Nostalgic Package

Bontan Ame Soft Candies with Edible Oblaat Wrapping

Bontan Ame – Early Modern Japanese Package Design

Bontan Ame – Early Modern Japanese Package Design

SHARE! Kyoto Support Forum

Tweet! Tweet! Find out what’s going on in Kyoto right now, follow me on Twitter.

May 5th is Boy’s Day, or Tango-no-Sekku in Japan. Colorful koi (carp) fabric streamers, some gigantic, are flown from house roofs and condominium verandas by families with young boys. I found these koinobori chofu at a wagashi shop in Nara the other day, I hadn’t seen anything like this before.

Usually fish shaped wagashi are ayugashi, or wakaayu, which I love and reviewed extensively in this article last summer. This koinobori chofu (more about chofu) is a clever riff on ayugashi, but is made for Boy’s Day, or officially known as Children’s Day now. The koinobori, rather than ayu sweetfish, is the inspiration for the shape. The filling is quite novel too, the gyuhi mochi filling is flavored with orange jam!

The package is great, it really looks like koinobori. The koinobori (see photos below) is basically a windsock, fish shaped, painted or printed to resemble a brightly color koi.

Koinobori Chofu

Why Koi (Carp) Shaped Streamers?
It is said that the koi, if butchered alive, or even cooked alive, does not panic and flip and flail about like the image of a fish out of water, or in hot sand, in Western culture. The koi stoically accepts the end with dignity and without panic. A koi on the cutting board or the hearth, it is still. Hey, when your number is up, your life is over — you are dead. Flailing around will not change things. So, it is much better to die a dignified death, in control rather than flipping out. This is related to the samurai ethic regarding bravery, honor and death. This behavior is what is considered ‘manly’ in Japan. (This is much more evolved than machismo, in my opinion.) Therefore, the koi is one of the important symbols for Boy’s Day.

Koinobori Chofu – detail

Koinobori Chofu

Koinobori Chofu

Koinobori Chofu – detail

Orange jam filling on the left and anko (azuki paste) on the right.

How did it taste?
This isn’t exactly gourmet wagashi but the yakikawa waffle was very tasty and quite mochi mochi (chewy). The orange jam flavored gyuhi filling was very good, the azuki filling in the other was average, nothing special.

Below are two images from last year’s Suetomi’s Boy’s Day/Koinobori article.

Koinobori

photo credit: teseb

Koinobori – detail

High quality koi-no-bori are still hand painted and quite expensive.
photo credit: qa™design

Itadakimono: The sakura cherry season is about upon us again. The ‘early’ variety of sakura are just starting to bloom in Kyoto. So, that means sakura everything, including food for about the next month or so. I was given this box of sakura and yomogi gyuhi mochi by a dinner guest the other day. Here it is.

Gyuhi Mochi with Azuki Beans
This gyuhi mochi is from Sentaro. Yomori (mugwort) is a herb that is very commonly added to mochi for flavor and medicinal effects. In this sakura gyuhi mochi, the salted sakura blossoms were clearly visible, however did not have a very pronounced taste. The taste of sakura, especially the leaves is surprisingly strong.

Interestingly, this gyuhi mochi also included azuki beans. The taste was nice, but not exceptional.

Sakura Yomogi Gyuhi Mochi from Sentaro – Package

Sakura Yomogi Gyuhi Mochi – Opened

Sakura Yomogi Gyuhi Mochi – Served

Sakura Yomogi Gyuhi Mochi – detail

Notice the sakura petals in the mochi.

Sakura Gyuhi Mochi – detail

Yomogi Gyuhi Mochi – detail

＊We have reviewed wagashi from Sentaro so many times now on KyotoFoodie that I feel compelled to tell you that they aren’t a sponsor or anything like that, in fact we have never even spoken to anyone at their store.

Ekijuto is a rare kind of mochi that was first created by a pharmacist with the intent of combining medicine and sweets. Contemporary Ekijuto mochi is flavored with cinnamon and walnut.

Miwa says: Peko bought these sweets for after dinner and was quite a surprise for me. I opened the package and found the softest gyuhi ever! It made me wonder how being so soft it could keep its shape. The taste was also very nice, strong taste makes nice contrast to soft texture. It was a homerun for me! I just regret that I didn’t know about this shop or kind of mochi before.

Peko says: This is the softest gyuhi I have encountered. It was like bubbly soft, yet remarkably the cubic shape remains intact. Enveloped in this softness are hard, pea-sized chunks of walnut. For Kyoto wagashi, I thought that the cinnamon taste was quite strong. I liked it a lot.

The 105 yen price is quite reasonable for the complex and high quality taste.

Walnut Gyuhi Mochi with Cinnamon: Cut and Served

About Ekijuto Gyuhi Mochi 益寿糖
Ekijuto was very popular in the Edo period, it is said that a Chinese medicinal pharmacy invented this confection as a kind of medicine that doubled as a sweet. (Clever marketing strategy!) Chinese herbal medicine was added to the soft gyuhi mochi. Emperor Meiji gave his young son, the future Emperor Taisho, this confection when he was in poor health.

Ekijuto mochi is one of several wagashi confections whose production was permitted by the government during the war.

Production of this unusual confection ceased for some time. In 1980, there was only one person left that could make it. It was revived by an enterprising wagashi shop, now there are several shops in Kyoto that make it.

Walnut Gyuhi Mochi with Cinnamon: Wrapping

Walnut Gyuhi Mochi with Cinnamon: Served

Walnut Gyuhi Mochi with Cinnamon: Cut and Served

Walnut Gyuhi Mochi with Cinnamon: Cut and Served Detail

Walnut Gyuhi Mochi with Cinnamon: Cross-section

English and Service
百万遍 かぎや政秋
No English menu or signs. Staff was not especially friendly when I was there.
tel: 075-761-5311
Kyoto-shi Sakyo-ju Hyaumanben-kado (京都市左京区百万遍角)
Japanese language website

Map

View Larger Map

Miwa found this very unusual ‘Eco Eco Mochi’ the other day. The producer, Sentaro, whose tasty wagashi products we have reviewed a number of times on KyotoFoodie, explains that as this mochi uses the skins of azuki beans for flavoring, which are usually thrown out as waste, it is environmentally friendly mochi. This is the first ‘eco’ mochi that I had heard of, it was reasonably priced and very tasty!

What Makes Eco Eco Mochi ‘Eco’?
When koshian, fine azuki bean paste is made, the skins of the azuki bean are separated out. Monaka, another wagashi product also produces some waste in the form of crumbs. Sentaro puts the azuki skins and monaka crumbs to use to flavor the gyuhi-mochi in this novel product.

The azuki skins are completely unnoticeable in the gyuhi-mochi. They must be well pulverized before being added. The cookie-like monaka crumbs no doubt easily dissolve though.

The orange label on the package says in big handwritten characters, ‘Eco Eco’ (エコエコ) on the right side. This is quite original and startling to see on a wagashi package.

Sentaro’s Eco Eco Kinako Mochi: Package

Sentaro’s Eco Eco Kinako Mochi: Kinako Powder

Sentaro’s Eco Eco Kinako Mochi: Azuki Gyuhi Mochi and Kinako

Sentaro’s Eco Eco Kinako Mochi: Azuki Gyuhi Mochi and Kinako

How Did it Taste?
Gyuhi-mochi is very soft, this gyuhi-mochi was almost too soft. Getting it out of the box and onto a plate was a bit tricky. The mochi must be poured into the box when it is hot and then after it cools it is slightly scored into bite-sized pieces. Finally, kinako powder is sprinkled on top.

The taste was quite excellent. It had a taste that I am not sure what I could compare it to. To me it didn’t taste like azuki. It was a full-bodied kind of taste that you don’t get from other gyuhi-mochi.

The kinako powder that you see sprinkled on top is not made from soybeans as usual, but from kuro-mame, black beans. Rural Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures produce the most famous black beans in Japan. Black bean kinako powder is considered the best. This kinako was not sweet as is sometimes the case.

Azuki Gyuhi Mochi and Kinako Served

How Eco is It?
All in all, I thought that the taste was very good and the marketing angle even better. Traditionally, nothing goes to waste in Japan. This is especially true in anything related to food. I wonder if the azuki skins really would have ended up in a landfill — or garbage incinerator, as is the case in Japan. Or, would they be used for something else, even sold to another company that just makes things with azuki skins?

I did not interview Sentaro so this may well be something significantly more eco-friendly than other mochi. But, I doubt it.

The cost of energy (and food) in Japan is high, so very little waste is guaranteed. Packaging, especially of traditional and food related products, is another story though. By Japanese standards, the packaging of this wagashi was not excessive. I think that Japan could make additional progress toward greater environmental sustainability by reinventing packaging and wrapping. Wrapping is a very important part of Japanese culture. For example, more than just ‘put’ on, a kimono is wrapped and tied on.

The beauty and care of traditional Japanese packaging should not be lost, it is special and it is a feast for the eyes. However, this is one area that the Japanese need to do some kaizen (continual improvement philosophy) on. Not in terms of visual appeal, but in terms of environmental impact. This is something that Japanese businesses are excelling at all across the country. But when will the old shinise stores in Kyoto join the modern world and do their part?

Gion Chigo Mochi covered in sparkly ice-like flakes, filled with sweet and salty miso has been a Kyoto favorite for about 100 years!

This is a very popular and historic wagashi mochi treat in Kyoto. It is simple; gyuhi mochi dusted in sparkles on a stick filled with a sweet and salty white miso.

Gion Chigo Mochi with ‘Sparkles’

Gion Chigo Mochi is made not in Gion but at a quaint shop called Sanjo Wakasaya at the Sanjo-Horikawa Street intersection, in the entrance to one of Kyoto’s largest ‘shotengai’ shopping arcades. Gion Chigo Mochi is the Sanjo Wakasaya’s famous product.

Actually, this mochi is for the Gion Festival but it is available all year.

Icy Sparkles
The sparkles that cover this mochi are made from kori mochi (氷餅), literally ice, or frozen mochi. Kori mochi is from northern Japan. To make it, blocks of mochi are wrapped in paper and hung under the eaves of houses in the winter to freeze dry.

In times past people ate kori mochi but now it is more often used to decorate wagashi. Kori mochi when crushed into flakes looks similar to ice crystals or freshly fallen snow.

The Gion Festival is held at the height of the summer heat and Japanese love this kind of icy look to provide some psychic relief from summer.

Gion Chigo Mochi is only slightly sweet and contains salt, this is a taste that traditionally Japanese found appropriate to combat summer.

Gion Chigo Mochi Bag and Pamphlet

Gion Chigo Mochi ‘Chimaki’ Package

Gion Chigo Mochi Unwrapping ‘Chimaki’ Package

Gion Chigo Mochi – Served

Gion Chigo Mochi – Served

Gion Chigo Mochi – detail

Gion Chigo Mochi – Sweet and Salty Miso Filling

World War II Rationing and Wagashi
During World War II, in the interest of rationing, the government forbade the production of non-essential and luxury products and sweets were included in this prohabition. Gion Chigo Mochi was only one of 18 wagashi products in Kyoto that were permitted production during the war. Many traditional Kyoto shops did not survive the war, though Kyoto was never subject to airstrikes.

Sanjokai Shotengai
If you want to see an old shotengai (shopping arcade) the one here, Sanjokai is a good one, though not as remarkable to a foodie as Nishiki Market Street. Shotengai were the shopping centers of Japan before big-box shopping centers began to sprout up. There are a few other interesting shops in Sanjokai but mostly it offers a look into the prosaic lives of regular folks’ shopping habits. Sanjokai is quite long, running the distance between Horikawa and Senbon Streets on Sanjo Street.

It’s chofu, a waffle wrapper with gooey gyuhi inside — and it has a ‘大’ branded on it. What the heck is this all about?

Daimonji: A festival like non other in the entire world! Daimonji, literally ‘big character’. Massive fires burned on the mountain sides of Kyoto in the form of Chinese characters and pictograms to guide the deceased spirits back to the other world.

Daimonji doesn’t just appear on the mountain sides, various incarnations of it appear on one’s plate!

Chofu and ‘Dai’

Chofu – Cutaway View

This is a generous portion of gyuhi!

Chofu and ‘Dai’

This is chofu from another wagashi store.

Another Chofu and ‘Dai’

The line on the left is the mountainside.

Chofu Bottom

Notice the gyuhi inside.

About Chofu (調布)
Chofu is similar in construction and taste to ayugashi but has a longer history. Chofu, historically was a handwoven linen cloth. People wove them, rolled them up and submitted them to the government as a tax payment. This sweet is said to resemble that rolled up peice of fabric, so it is called chofu. Only the Kyoto version has the daimonji ‘大’ branded on it.

Meet ayugashi! A river fish shaped confection with waffle for a skin, bubbly soft mochi for innards and facial and fin features branded on with hot iron.

Ayu, or sweetfish in English, is a favorite trout-like river fish in season from late spring to mid-summer. Ayu is very delicious and usually enjoyed in the shio-yaki style (salt grilled).

Ayu like the koi is an important symbol in Japanese culture as it is a fish that swims upstream, battling rushing currents, rapids and waterfalls. This symbol is often associated with children in hopes for their growth and development.

Ayugashi (ayu confection) or waka-ayu (young ayu) is a very popular confection in early summer. Ayugashi — more or less — looks like the ayu fish. The body is made of a waffle-like crepe and folder over gyuhi, then the eyes, mouths, gills and fins are branded on the waffle with a hot iron.

Peko is actually a big ayugashi fan and has wanted to do a ayugashi ‘taste-test’ on the web long before the birth of KyotoFoodie. Also, in our Make KyotoFoodie Better Survey, people asked for a ‘Do Not Miss in Kyoto’ series. So, here we go.

We purchased some ayugashi from five of our favorite shinise wagashi shops in Kyoto. They are all wonderful and if you are in Kyoto from late spring to mid-summer, check out their ayugashi. They are fun to compare and contrast. Here is a list of the shops that we tried.

Nakamuraken 中村軒
Heianden 平安殿
Sentaro 仙太郎
Daigokuden 大極殿
Tawaraya Yoshitomi 俵屋吉富

Ayugashi, Waka-ayu – Our Selection in a Basket

Ayugashi from Nakamuraken (中村軒)

Nakamuraken’s ayugashi is very famous.

Nakamuraken 中村軒
P & P say: Relatively hard, chewy and very tasty, rather filling. The waffle is very well-made and seems very machine-made. The waffle wrapper was most ‘waffly’ of the five that we compared. The gyuhi was quite firm.

We think that Nakamuraken’s Ayugashi is technically very well-made and tastes very good. While some may say that is lacks uniqueness it strives for and achieves perfection. This is a classic ayugashi. Aesthetically, the appearance is somewhat unremarkable. It is just packaged in clear plastic.

Ayugashi from Heianden (平安殿) – Package

Excellent package. Those are the rapids that the ayu has to navigate. The ‘あゆ’ on the upper right says ‘ayu’.

Ayugashi from Heianden (平安殿)

Inside the beautiful package is a rather homely ayugashi, but at least it does have a fish face and gills.

Heianden 平安殿
P & P say: The beautiful package expresses visually what people love about ayu. The ayugashi itself is sort of frumpy and a bit crumpled, not particularly well-made technically. However, this is one of our favorite tasting ayugashi. The waffle is thin and delicate, nearly falling apart in some places. The gyuhi inside is huge and very, very soft, — bubbly soft. This was our favorite gyuhi.

Ayugashi from Sentaro (仙太郎)

Nice, classic ayugashi. Technically, well made.

Sentaro 仙太郎
P & P say: Another classic ayugashi similar to Nakamuraken’s, however Sentaro’s ayugashi really looks like an ayu. We like that! It is the most realistic of the five we tried with an articulated and decorated tail. Again, very ‘waffly’ waffle, thick and firm with a nice portion of gyuhi inside. Overall, very delicious.

Ayugashi from Daigokuden (大極殿)

Ayugashi from Daigokuden (大極殿)

Excuse me, that is a fish head? I get it, I get it! It’s conceptual art! (I have a BFA)

Daigokuden 大極殿
P & P say: This is one homely ayu, but tastes excellent. See, you can’t judge a book by its cover and you can’t judge an ayugashi by its waffle wrapping, either. We reckon (Paku’s favorite word) that this is ‘on the theme of ayu‘ rather than merely trying to look like an ayu. This ayugashi is filled with gyuhi from head to tail. The waffle has a very hand-made look to it. This is another of our favorites for taste, but the appearance is a little too crumpled. By Japanese standards, this ayugashi needs some styling.

Ayugashi from Tawaraya Yoshitomi (俵屋吉富) – Package

Some poetry on the packaging and tied with a string at the top.

Ayugashi from Tawaraya Yoshitomi (俵屋吉富)

Completely unique ayugashi, in two flavors and spattered with sugar like froth on whitewater.

Ayugashi from Tawaraya Yoshitomi (俵屋吉富) – detail

Beautifully articulated little ayu faces.

Tawaraya Yoshitomi 俵屋吉富
P & P say: Tawaraya Yoshitomi’s Kamogawa Ayu are very unique and has been one of Peko’s favs for several years now. The white one is new this year and is shiso flavored and the bluish one is yuzu flavored (Peko’s fav). This ayugashi doesn’t employ a waffle, but a hard, crunchy shell. Think taco and the others fajita.

This tasty work of art is even spattered with sugary froth like that on white water. Japanese love this kind of thing – aesthetic AND functional.

The taste is both novel and delicious. While some purists may not like this one, but we think that it is a home run!

Ayugashi, Waka-ayu – Compare and Contrast

Aren’t they cute?

Ayugashi, Waka-ayu

Ayugashi Cutaway – Gyuhi Inside

Compare the ‘innards’.

Ayugashi Cutaway

Nakamuraken vs Heianden

Ayu – Sweetfish

Real ayu look like this, averaging just 15 cm.

Ayu Shio-yaki – Grilled with Salt

This is how people normally eat ayu.

About the Confectionaries and Locations

Nakamuraken 中村軒
Nakamuraken started out making mochi for farmers to eat while doing their field work. Their representative product is called mugitemochi, literally ‘wheat pay mochi’ because the farmers purchased the mochi with wheat. This mochi is still popular and very delicious, though it cannot be purchased with wheat any longer!

Nakamuraken is located in Katsura, near the Katsura Imperial Villa which is a must see for visitors to Kyoto. If you are going to visit the villa, be sure to stop by Nakamuraken. If you are not heading out to Katsura, you can find Nakamuraken’s products in Takashimaya Department Store.

English:
English website: no
English menu: no
Location and Access: Approximately 20 minute walk north-east from Hankyu Katsura Station, located just around the corner from the Katsura Imperial Villa. (There are signs along the way. Alternatively a taxi or bus can be taken.)
Address: Kyoto-shi Nishikyo-ku Katsura Asahara-cho 61 (京都市西京区桂浅原町61)
Telephone: 075-381-2650
www.nakamuraken.co.jp (Japanese language only)
Map:

View Larger Map

Heianden 平安殿
Heianden is located near Heian Shrine and Okazaki Park, a popular destination for visitors to Kyoto. Okazaki Park is where most of Kyoto’s prominent museums are located.

Heianden makes not only Japanese sweets, but also Western sweets and always uses notable Kyoto places and cultural objects as a motif on their products.

English:
English website: no
English menu: no
Location and Access: Approximately 5 minute walk from Higashiyama Station (Tozai Subway Line), south of Heian Shirine.
Address: 605-0038 Kyoto-shi Higashiyama-ku Sanjo-agaru Jingu-michi Horiike-cho (京都市東山区平安神宮道三条上ル堀池町)
Telephone: 075-761-3355
www.heianden-wagashi.jp (Japanese language only)
Map:
View Larger Map

Sentaro 仙太郎
Sentaro, established in 1886 and maintains it’s own farm lands in the agriculturally rich area of Tamba. Sentaro’s wagashi has a decided natural look to it, nearly everything in the showcase is shades of brown with occasional punctuations of green (yomogi) and pink (salted plum blossoms). Sentaro has a strict policy of not using any preservatives, artificial colors, or even much sugar.

English:
English website: no
English menu: no

Location and Access: Sentaro Honten (main store) is located on Teramachi Street about a 2 minute walk south from Shijo Street.
Address: 604-8032 Kyoto-shi Shimogyo-ku Teramachi-dori Bukkou-ji agaru Nakanomachi 576
(京都市下京区寺町通り仏光寺上る中之町576)
Telephone: 075-344-0700
www.sentaro.co.jp (Japanese language only)
Map:

View Larger Map

See previous KyotoFoodie article here.

Daigokuden 大極殿
The first castella in Japan was brought from Portugal and was very, very expensive food. The second generation owner of Daigokuden heard about castella and went to Nagasaki where the Portuguese were to learn how to make castella. He then returned to Kyoto to make affordable kasutera for common people.

Daigokuden developed the first electric oven in Japan in order to make even better kasutera. This oven is now in the Kansai Electric Power Company museum.

English:
English website: no
English menu: no
Location and Access: Approximately 5 minutes walk from Karasuma Station (Hankyu Railway) near Nishiki Market.
Address: 604-8117 Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Rokkaku-dori Takakura Higashi-iru Minamigawa
(京都市中京区六角通高倉東入南側)
Telephone: 075-221-3311
www.inoda-coffee.co.jp/miyabi/shohin/daigokuden/index.html (Japanese language only)
Map:

View Larger Map

Tawaraya Yoshitomi 俵屋吉富
Tawaraya Yoshitomi established in 1755 and is now a very well known throughout Japan. Tawaraya Yoshitomi even has a wonderful confectionary history museum that is free and open to the public. They have a new store and cafe near both Omotesenke and Urasenke School of Tea H.Q.

English:
English website: no
English menu: no

Tawaraya Yoshitomi Honten (Main Store)
Location and Access: Approximately 5 minute walk from Imadegawa Station (Karasuma Subway Line).
Address: 602-0029 Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Muromachi-dori Kamidachiuri-agaru (京都市上京区室町通上立売上ル)
Telephone: 075-432-2211
www.kyogashi.co.jp/b-1.html (Japanese language only)
Map:

View Larger Map

Tawaraya Yoshitomi Museum 京菓子資料館
Location and Access: Approximately 5 minute walk from Imadegawa Station (Karasuma Subway Line).
Address: 602-0021 Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Karasuma-dori Kamidachiuri-agaru Yanaginozushi-cho 331-2 (京都府京都市上京区烏丸通り上立売上ル柳図子町331-2)
Telephone: 075-432-3101
www.kyogashi.co.jp/b-3.html (Japanese language only)
Map:

View Larger Map

Cafe Tawaraya (茶ろんたわらや)
Location and Access: Cafe Tawaraya is a new and delightful cafe. It is located in a fairly inconvenient but very historic neighborhood. If you are a tea ceremony fan and planning to visit Urasenke or Omotesenke, or going to the Nishijin historic weaving district, stop in at Cafe Tawaraya. See map.
Address: 602-0062 Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Teranouchi-dori Ogawa-nishiiru, Hokyoin Higashi-machi 592 (京都市上京区寺之内通小川西入ル宝鏡院東町592)
Telephone: 075-411-0114
www.kyogashi.co.jp/b-2.html (Japanese language only)
Map:

View Larger Map