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Sweet Art: Nara's Historic Wagashi Shops
Served before the tea at a tea ceremony to balance the bitterness of the tea, wagashi confectionaries can be intensely sweet. Made to reflect the seasons, each one is a work of art, almost too beautiful to eat .
- Honkekikuya
- This beautiful 400-year old store displays the original molds used for shaping sugar into a myriad of beautiful shapes. They also have newer creations inspired by the Yamato Koriyama area's goldfish. Edible Gifts Yamato Koriyama
- Nakanishi Yosaburo
- In the heart of Naramachi, this store has supplied Nara's top tea houses and hotels for 150 years. Look out for the sweets shaped like migawarisaru (scapegoat monkeys). Edible Gifts Naramachi
- Mimuro Shiratamaya Eiju (Nara)
- For around 160 years, this shop has specialized in monaka, a thin, crispy rice wafer filled with sweet bean paste. Edible Gifts Sakurai
- Nakai Shunpudo
- The specialty of Yoshino is kuzukiri, made from kudzu starch and fresh water. The chef will show you the magical process as the mixture transforms into a delcious sweet right before your eyes. Edible Gifts Yoshino
- Nakatanido
- You can't miss this store making yomogi mochi; they draw crowds every day as the mochi rice is pounded with frantic speed into a soft dumpling seasoned with mugwort, then stuffed with bean paste. Edible Gifts Nara Park
- Kakigori Kashiya
- With great attention to detail and only the finest ingredients, this quaint Naramachi wagashi shop and cafe crafts edible works of art. Japanese Cafes Naramachi
