Sweets
Wagashi (Japanese sweets)
和菓子
38 varieties
Bean paste, steamed or pounded rice, agar made from seaweed, and sugar that was once a rare luxury — from this small set of ingredients an unusually wide range of shapes has emerged. Some lines were refined as accompaniments to the tea ceremony, others offered at seasonal festivals and rites, still others sold to travelers at post towns and temple gates. The same paste and rice, it seems, grew into very different sweets depending on a place's climate, water, and calendar of observances.
Yokan and agar jellies6
- AnmitsuあんみつTokyo Chuocubes of agar jelly with fruit, beans, and bean paste in syrup
- Kuzukiri葛切りnoodle-like strips of kudzu starch jelly
- Kuzumochi葛餅a heavy, translucent jelly-mochi made from kudzu starch
- Mizu Yokan水羊羹a lighter, more translucent yokan with a higher water content
- Neri Yokan練り羊羹a dense, firmly set, long-keeping form of yokan
- Yokan羊羹a firm, sliceable block of sweet bean paste set with agar
Dry confections11
- Arareあられsmall, bite-sized pieces of glutinous rice cracker
- Iwa Okoshi岩おこしOsaka City, Osakaa harder, denser puffed-rice bar sweetened with brown sugar
- Kaminari Okoshi雷おこしTokyo Taitopuffed rice and peanuts pressed into a bar with sugar syrup
- Karintoかりんとうcrunchy fried dough sticks coated in a sugar glaze
- Konpeito金平糖small sugar candies studded with tiny nubs
- Nanbu Senbei南部せんべいAomori Hachinohea thick, plain wheat-flour cracker baked in a round iron mold
- Okakiおかきlarger pieces of glutinous rice cracker, baked or fried until crisp
- Rakugan落雁a dry, pressed sweet of sugar and grain flour, molded into shape
- Senbei煎餅thin rice crackers baked or grilled until crisp
- Suhama州浜Kyoto City, Kyotoa dense, kneaded dry sweet of roasted soybean flour and sugar
- Yatsuhashi八ツ橋Kyoto Kyoto (Sakyo Ward)a thin, hard-baked rice cracker curved like a koto bridge
Mochi and dango8
- Ohagi / Botamochiおはぎ・ぼたもちlightly pounded rice coated in sweet bean paste
- Daifuku大福a soft mochi pouch wrapped around sweet bean paste
- Dango団子small balls of rice flour, steamed or grilled on a skewer
- KibidangoきびだんごOkayama City, Okayamaa soft mochi confection associated with the Momotaro legend of Okayama
- Kusamochi草餅mochi kneaded with mugwort, often filled with sweet bean paste
- Mitarashi Dangoみたらし団子Kyoto Kyoto (Sakyo Ward)grilled rice dumplings glazed with a sweet soy sauce
- Sanshoku Dango三色団子Kyoto Kyoto (Fushimi Ward)three-colored dango skewered in pink, white, and green
- Warabimochiわらび餅a jelly-like sweet made from bracken starch
Steamed buns and baked sweets8
- Dorayakiどら焼きtwo small pancakes sandwiching sweet bean paste
- Imagawayaki / Obanyaki今川焼き・大判焼きround batter cakes baked in a mold and filled with sweet bean paste
- Joyo Manju薯蕷饅頭a manju with a wrapper leavened using grated mountain yam
- KasuteraカステラNagasaki City, Nagasakia tall, dense sponge cake introduced from Portugal via Nagasaki
- KintsubaきんつばOsaka City, Osakaa block of set bean paste coated thinly in batter and pan-fried
- Manju饅頭a bun of dough wrapped around sweet filling, steamed or baked
- Onsen Manju温泉饅頭Gunma Shibukawaa steamed bun colored and flavored to suit a hot-spring resort
- Taiyaki鯛焼きa fish-shaped batter cake filled with sweet bean paste
Other styles5
- Monaka最中crisp wafer shells filled with sweet bean paste
- Nama Yatsuhashi生八ツ橋Kyoto Kyoto (Sakyo Ward)a soft, unbaked version of yatsuhashi, often folded around sweet filling
- Nerikiri練り切りa soft, moldable bean-paste sweet worked into seasonal shapes
- Oshirukoおしるこa soupier bowl of sweet red bean broth with mochi
- ZenzaiぜんざいShimane Izumoa bowl of sweet red beans, thick and only lightly soupy, with mochi
View all Wagashi (Japanese sweets) on the map
Before you go
- How to shop in a depachika (department store food hall)A guide to browsing prepared foods and bento, choosing wagashi as a gift with a good shelf life, sampling etiquette, end-of-day discounts, asking for cold packs and wrapping, and finding your way around a depachika floor.
- Enjoying a bussanten (regional products fair)A guide to what's sold at a bussanten (regional products fair), how to find one, when it gets crowded, shelf life and taking food home, and how to fit one around a trip.
- At Kissaten, Cafes, and Kanmi-DokoroThe difference between jun-kissa and chain cafes, the morning-set custom, and kanmi-dokoro staples like anmitsu and zenzai.
The dishes behind chain flavors
The flavors of national chains are said to trace back to dishes from particular places. Pick a chain to see the dish behind it.
Saryo Tsujiri — Uji-matcha sweets café from Gion, Kyoto
Saryo Tsujiri is a sweets café run by the long-established Uji tea merchant Gion Tsujiri, carrying Uji's matcha culture into a café format.
Funabashiya — fermented kuzumochi specialty shop from Kameido, Tokyo
Funabashiya's kuzumochi uses a distinctive fermentation method, part of the sweets culture that grew up around Kameido Tenjin shrine.
Toraya — centuries-old wagashi maker known for yokan
Toraya's yokan carries forward a wagashi tradition in Kyoto that traces back to the Muromachi period.