A Few Sweet Ways to Experience Wagashi

It comes in timid pastels and spherical outlines as well as loud, vibrant colors and bold angularities. Wagashi, or Japanese confectionery, has a long history and is often accompanied by tea as well as seasonal decorations. Sometimes it is presented on a large leaf while other times the wagashi’s shape and hue echo parts of a plant. Or the design might be floral – an entire flower or individual petals. Get acquainted with the wonders of wagashi through courses, events, a visit to a restaurant and more.

Courses, Workshops and Parties

The Simply Oishii Japanese Cooking Class is taught by Miyuki Suyari in English, which she majored in while studying at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. A variety of courses is available, including sushi, okonomiyaki and Japanese sweets lessons. Within the Japanese sweets section there is a wagashi course where for 2.5 hours participants will learn how to make several styles of nerikiri wagashi. But the fun doesn’t stop there! Workshops are what’s up as well (and yes, there is a wagashi party for kids). For the wagashi course, Miyuki accepts customer-specific requests. The fee is ¥6,000 per individual, 2-6 participants are allowed, and reservations are necessary.

http://www.simplyoishii.com/

Add Some Flavor

Want to add some character to your home-made wagashi? Introducing Gudetama, a Japanese character that happens to be a lazy egg. It’s heart-warmingly cute, but he may just want to make you want to crawl back into bed. To get an idea of how it might look in a sweet, check out the “Gudetama Raindrop Cake Wagashi” video by decocookie, whose subscriber population is a little over 700,000.

If you want your wagashi to have a more traditional Japanese feel, look no further than the 3-minute video “Wagashi Sakura Jelly Edible Flowers Raindrop Cake.”

Sit Back and Learn from the Masters

Feeling lazy and want to watch the experts make wagashi a meter away from you? Then head on over to Tsuruya Yoshinobu to enjoy the show while sipping on green tea alongside fellow sweets-lovers. A sneak peek is available below.