Tokyo: this world-class metropolis is a veritable gourmet wonderland.

Discover the stories behind the ingredients that make this city so delicious, so "oishii."

Our focus today is "wagashi," traditional Japanese sweets.

Skewered dumplings, buns, jelly...

Wagashi comes in a variety of flavors and shapes.

Ingredients also vary, from sweetened bean paste called "anko,"

to "kanten," an agar made from seaweed.

Visual beauty, that expresses the four seasons of Japan, is another important characteristic of wagashi.

Wagashi has been called a comprehensive art form, that satisfies all five senses.

It also plays an important role in the tea ceremony.

Today, traditional wagashi is exploring new horizons with innovative ideas.

Let's take a trip into the history and delicious flavor of wagashi!

Trails to Oishii Tokyo.

Hi, I'm Michael Keida.

This time our theme is wagashi, or Japanese sweets.

Now, I'm a big fan of wagashi, but I only know "yokan" and "mochi," not so much.

So, this time I'm gonna go find out more.

Michael begins at a wagashi shop founded in Kyoto in the 1500s.

Here, he'll learn the basics.

The store shares wagashi culture by conserving historical materials and tools and through exhibitions.

What wagashi have you eaten?

I've had yokan jelly.

I see. Yokan is made from red beans and kanten.

Interesting.

Types of wagashi include yokan, "monaka,"
and more not shown here.

"Manju," "daifuku," and "dorayaki," for example.
There are many kinds.

Has that always been the case?

Yes, but varieties increased in the Edo period
alongside domestic sugar distribution.

The Edo period began in the early 17th century.

When the Shogunate was established, the cultural center moved from the greater Kyoto area to Edo, now Tokyo.

Society became more stable, and culinary culture spread to the common people.

Sugar production also spread throughout the country, which led to an increase in the variety of wagashi.

These are beautiful.

They're called "namagashi."
They're often served with matcha tea.

The selection changes about every two weeks.
Wagashi are very seasonal.

It's early fall now, so you'll see
chrysanthemums and chestnuts.

People love fall motifs.

Wagashi expresses seasonal transitions.

The gallery attached to the store showcases the beauty of the seasonal wagashi sold here.

Amazing.

That reminds me of snow.

Right. Lots of New Year motifs
and winter flowers like plums.

You'll see cherry blossoms and peach flowers
as the spring season arrives.

Such a wide variety.

Cherry blossoms represent spring.

They are the most common motif here.

There are over 100 different varieties.

- The Kawashima is stunning.
- It is.

It's a work of art.
It has an '80s art deco vibe.

Maybe it's a flowing river,
or a river dotted with areas of sand.

We like to leave it open to interpretation.

In summer, kanten jelly and "kuzu" give a nice cool feel.

In winter, more calming colors are used.

These are wagashi sample books, valuable materials not available to the public.

They were used as design books and product catalogs.

The oldest book has a design drawn in 1695.

What's popular this season?

The maple leaf is a standard fall motif.

The same shape is designed differently
to represent the changing of the season.

The middle design shows
color changing from green to red.

The one on the left represents autumn,
when the leaves are fully red.

Wagashi artisans work to reflect the fleeting colors of the changing seasons in their pieces.

But how do they do it?

- This may sound rude, but it looks fun!
- It is!

Wagashi artisan Sato Hisao has been making wagashi for 40 years.

He takes yokan dough dyed three different colors, and wraps sweet white bean paste inside.

Anything tricky about the process?

Yes. Warm hands can hurt the ingredients,
so you have to move quickly and precisely.

I see.

It's finished with a mold made of hard, durable cherry wood.

Wonderful.

Very beautiful.

Enjoying the feel of the season, before it actually arrives, in this way, is a key part of the Japanese sense of beauty.

Kyoto was the capital for a millennium, and Japanese culture flourished deeply here.

It's also home to the largest number of wagashi stores in the country.

Michael's next stop is Imamiya Jinja Shrine, in the northern part of Kyoto.

This store on the road approaching the shrine was founded in 1,000 AD.

It's thought to be the oldest wagashi store in Japan.

- Hello.
- Welcome.

- What are you making?
- Mochi.

Rice cakes!
I've never seen this type before.

- What's that powder?
- It's "kinako." Roasted soybean flower.

- I see.
- We sprinkle it on pounded mochi and grill them.

Thanks!

After they're dipped in white miso sauce, they're ready to serve.

"Itadakimasu."

A rich miso flavor with sweetness.

The mochi texture is different from what I'm used to.

Because this is freshly pounded.

Simple but delicious.

There was a plague in Kyoto in the 9th century.
Kind of the COVID of the time.

At the time, all anyone could do was pray.

The emperor had Imamiya Jinja Shrine built
to help ward off the plague.

Legend has it people were cured
after eating mochi dipped in white miso sauce.

That's said to be its origin story.

The mochi food is deeply intertwined in history.

That connection is part of why people still love it today.

Next, Michael visits a store specializing in wagashi for everyday consumption.

- Hello.
- Welcome.

These look great.

Thank you.

- You have many kinds.
Is this red beans and rice?
- Yes.

For sale at a wagashi shop?

It's the same ingredients,
so it's often sold at wagashi shops.

However, Kyoto has a variety of different shops.
"Jonamagashi," "kyogashi," mochi, manju, etc.

Some don't sell this. We sell it because
we offer a wide variety of wagashi.

In Kyoto, there are many types of wagashi shops.

Some make those served at special celebratory occasions, others sell rice cakes, others buns.

This store offers all kinds.

Nishimori trained at various long-running stores.

He now makes black bean daifuku.

He strains and smooths out "koshi-an," sweet bean paste, which is made by sweetening cooked beans,

and wraps it in a rice cake kneaded with carefully-selected black beans.

It's so soft.

It's got so much stretchiness to the texture.

"Itadakimasu."

It's some of the softest, but chewiest mochi I've ever had.

And the sweetness of the anko in there just really starts to penetrate.

But there's the nice texture of the black beans in there as well.

Amazing.

Thank you.

He pairs different types of sweet bean paste for different types of wagashi.

Whole bean paste retains the texture and aroma of the beans.

It's made by cooking beans without crushing them.

What's the importance of wagashi in Kyoto?

There's high-end wagashi, like at tea ceremonies.
But it's quite ingrained in daily life.

For example, there's "ohagi," eaten during the equinox.

I love ohagi. This looks great.

It's tasty.

There are many types, so just choosing which to eat is part of the fun.

Wagashi has long been linked to annual events and festivals.

The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is held to pray for a good harvest and to appreciate the moon.

During this time, people offer dumplings.

In the greater Tokyo area, round dumplings are piled up.

In the Kyoto-Osaka area, they're made to look like potatoes and wrapped in a sheet of sweet bean paste.

In Okinawa, steamed red beans are sprinkled over the surface of the rice cake.

Regional differences are another part of the charm.

Arashiyama is one of the most popular sightseeing spots in Kyoto.

Michael visits a store specializing in namagashi served at tea ceremonies.

- Hello.
- Welcome.

Could you tell me what kind of wagashi you sell?

The type for tea ceremonies and special occasions.
Most of them are not baked or grilled, but fresh.

Any seasonal specialties?

Now, many motifs of chrysanthemums and moon viewing.

- Beautiful.
- Thank you.

How do you shape the chrysanthemums?

Here, you can experience wagashi making for yourself.

Michael gives it a try.

The main ingredient is doughs made with white bean paste.

Press the middle of the yellow dough with your finger.
Make a slot that doesn't go through, but is deep.

Place the red dough in this hole and close it.

Pat and stretch the dough in the palm of your hand.

Place the white bean paste and wrap it.

While turning the dough with your left hand, raise the edges.
Wrap the paste in the dough, holding it with your right.

I can turn with both hands, but
turning it with just the left cramps my hand.

We have to get used to it.

It's a basic technique in our business.

While moving this bamboo spatula up and down,
turn the dough and make a chrysanthemum pattern.

- So the left hand is like a turntable.
- Exactly.

And the right hand curves.

Straight down the bamboo spatula from the top.
Tilt to the left and return to the top.

Repeat.

It may be difficult, but just repeat straight and tilted,
straight and tilted.

- Again and again.
- Straight... and tilted?

Good job! Excellent.

Repeat the process all the way around.

Michael's beautiful chrysanthemum is complete.

He also made several other autumn motifs.

It's teatime. He'll enjoy his art pieces with some matcha.

- "Itadakimasu."
- Enjoy.

I'll start with the ones I'm least satisfied with.

The bean paste is packed well.

Wagashi tastes best when it is freshly made.
Eating it right after it's made is luxurious.

Are there differences in wagashi
between Kyoto and Tokyo?

Kyoto's expressions are more abstract.

Take maple leaves. The shape is not symmetrical.
Kyoto wagashi is intentionally imperfect.

Japanese painting is about subtraction.
By contrast, Western paintings are about adding details.

In that sense, wagashi is designed by subtraction
and is close to the idea of Japanese painting.

Minute details, in how beauty is expressed differently in east and west, is another part of wagashi's charm.

This next long-running shop provides wagashi for tea ceremonies and famous temple events.

President Yamaguchi Shoji introduces wagashi culture to the world,

through workshops at cultural centers abroad and desserts at banquets.

I heard you offer an unusual way to eat wagashi.

Wagashi with coffee.

With coffee? Do they match?

Wagashi is usually paired with green tea or matcha.
But coffee also has many flavors depending on roast.

Offering wagashi that match the roast make it
taste great with coffee as well.

I love coffee. I know it pairs perfectly with
toast and chocolate, but wagashi?

Pairing wagashi with coffee. Michael's never tried this before!

First up, lightly roasted coffee from Kenya and sweet "senbei" wafers.

"Itadakimasu."

That's so delicate.

The crisp of this wafer...

it's just got a really nice crunchy flavor, and almost a roasted sugar flavor in there that, uh...

it's not overpowering in sweetness.

And then, this...

the fragrance and the kind of sharp flavor of the coffee really cuts through.

Really nice pairing.

How did you come up with the idea?

I was invited by a French chef to work in France.
After work, coffee was served with my wagashi.

There was even a time when it was paired with champagne.

It was fun. Such experiences opened my eyes.

This soft, moist dough contains sweet red bean paste.

It's paired with a medium-roast coffee, with a good balance of sour and bitter flavors.

And how about this deep-roast Ethiopian coffee?

It's served with a wagashi filled with dark chocolate and white bean paste.

It's a collaboration between Yamaguchi and Jean-Paul Hévin, a famous French chocolate maker.

- Excellent.
- Glad you like it.

The sweetness of the white bean paste and the
bitterness of the chocolate wrapped in a soft rice cake.

It's a perfect pairing.

The dark-roast coffee at the end makes
it a complete combination.

- Good.
- Amazing.

The taste can be changed by altering the amount of cacao,
or by using white or milk chocolate.

- In that case, the coffee could be lightly roasted to match.
Various pairings are possible.
- True.

I want everyone to try coffee and wagashi together!

Michael's eyes have been opened to an even wider number of wagashi possibilities.

His final stop is a tearoom that takes wagashi even further.

Here, you can enjoy five different wagashi, like a multi-course meal.

- Fantastic.
- Thank you.

The first "dish" is almond paste topped with lime cream.

"Oishii."

Yeah, this tea has a bit of a bitterness to it.

Like I said, it has a bit of an herby fragrance to it.

It really matches well. This is a perfect marriage.

Here, they select the tea that goes best with each wagashi, and brew it before your eyes.

The second treat is custard cream paste, topped with strained red bean paste, and a shine muscat grape.

It's served with sencha green tea, which has a refreshingly astringent, bitter taste.

Since fall starts in September, I'm now serving
wagashi that evoke a gradually deepening autumn.

The third item is served with aromatic roasted green tea, with sweet chestnuts and rum.

Seasonal ground cherry wrapped with white chocolate
paste and apricot-flavored soft rice cake.

How beautiful.

Thank you.

I didn't know what to expect, but I actually really love tomatillos,

and it's basically got that sweetness, but tart wrapped in a mochi-type of shell,

that coats it with like a sweetness, that helps balance out the tart in it.

Dish four is a radish sorbet, atop an ice cream made with yogurt and kuzu.

It's served alongside Japanese black tea, flavored with sour hibiscus and rich sweet brown sugar.

The whole room smells like "hojicha" now. It's so nice.

Last but not least, yokan made of eggplant and
mascarpone with chocolate cream and red currant jelly.

There's so many different flavors kind of packed in there, it just starts building up and up and up,

and there's a little bit of a sweetness from the fruit and the chocolate.

And there's a couple different... A little bit of crunch, a little bit of soft textures in it.

And as your palate goes up, this hojicha just kind of brings it back down to a nice even base.

It leaves you ready for another bite at the dessert.

Wagashi: from treats served with matcha at tea ceremonies, to those enjoyed in everyday life,

wagashi has evolved in its own unique way in each region.

Delicately expressing the changing seasons and pleasing the senses,

these desserts are works of art, that represent the ancient Japanese sense of beauty.

In Tokyo and Kyoto, every ingredient has its own story.