dango are super cute Japanese sweets made by shaping rice cakes into adorable little balls 🍡✨. If you’ve ever had mochi ice cream, just imagine that chewy “mochi” part—that’s what makes up these delicious treats! If you’re a gamer, you might have even spotted them in Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch 🎮✨. The dango in that game look so real, don’t they? The Secrets of Sanshoku Dango 🌸🤍🌿 There are many types of dango, but this colorful one, which is even a emoji “🍡,” is called Sanshoku Dango (meaning “three-color dango”). It has a history of over 400 years, so it’s a truly classic treat! While there are…

Today, we’d like to introduce you to the charms of “Mochi Ice Cream,” a unique dessert born in Japan. With its intriguing texture and delicious taste, it’s now capturing the hearts of people worldwide.✨ What Exactly is Mochi? A Traditional Japanese Food First, let’s talk about “Mochi.”Mochi is a traditional food that has been cherished in Japan for centuries. It’s an incredibly soft and chewy dough made from glutinous rice, a special type of short-grain rice. Its unique texture is perfectly described by the Japanese onomatopoeia “mochi-mochi.”While it’s a bit difficult to put into words, you can imagine the pillowy softness of a marshmallow combined with the pleasant chewiness of…

“Saitamaya is a long-established wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop located in Higashi-Mukojima, Sumida-ku, Tokyo. Just a few minutes’ walk from Higashi-Mukojima Station, the shop is known for its nostalgic, traditional storefront that has been cherished by the local community for many years. Inside, you’ll find a variety of Japanese sweets, including mame daifuku (rice cakes filled with sweet red bean paste and black soybeans), kusa dango (mugwort-flavored rice dumplings), and dorayaki (sweet red bean pancakes).On this visit, I picked up mitarashi dango (grilled rice dumplings with a sweet soy glaze) and hanabira mochi, a traditional confection enjoyed during the winter season. The mitarashi dango has a wonderfully chewy texture, and you…

Nestled in a charming, old-town district of Sumida, Tokyo, Ichiya is a traditional Japanese confectionery shop just a four-minute walk from Hikifune Station on the Tobu Skytree Line. Tucked away along a narrow path beside the train tracks, it might be a little tricky to find on your first visit—but that only adds to the experience of discovery. Inside, you’ll find a minimalist yet sophisticated space, with a clean white interior. Behind the counter, skilled artisans carefully craft each piece of wagashi. Ichiya specializes in daifuku (soft rice cakes filled with sweet bean paste) and dorayaki (pancake-like confections with a red bean filling). The daifuku selection ranges from the classic…