I went to Osaka and bought maple leaf tempura at "Kajika-so". I first heard about maple leaf tempura from a small restaurant in Kitashinchi, where a Madame who is a fan of Bunraku and lives in Minoh mentioned it. She said she would bring some for me, but due to the pandemic, it didn't happen. I was curious about what maple leaf tempura was. Before returning to Tokyo, I found maple leaf tempura at Osaka Itami Airport. I thought it might only be available during autumn, but it turns out they sell it year-round. I bought some and tried it as soon as I got home. It turned out to be maple leaf-shaped "karinto" (a type of sweet snack). The pamphlet in the box showed that there are various flavors available. I'm intrigued to try more. Thank you for the meal.

I tried the specialty dish of Momiji tempura in Minoh for the first time in a long while. I bought it myself for the first time. I chose the plain flavor, and it brought back nostalgic memories with its texture and taste. This shop was the cleanest, so I decided to buy from here.

At Minoh Park, there are many shops selling maple leaf tempura. This shop had a variety of unique options like cream, red bean paste, and chocolate. It was hard to tell if they were actually maple leaf tempura based on appearance or color. If you're not satisfied with the taste, there's no need to try the maple leaf tempura. I bought some just for the experience, but it was nothing special.

Image Blog ⇒ "http://kouji328.blog59.fc2.com/blog-entry-4264.html" Osaka day trip sightseeing, this time aiming for autumn leaves in Minoh. From Hankyu Umeda to Ishibashi transfer to the final destination Minoh. A couple and a foreigner sightseeing for autumn leaves. Along the road towards Minoh Falls 2.8km ahead, there are shops on both sides, and there are few shops that do not sell the specialty "autumn leaf tempura". It seems to be a profitable time. But even though you can see them frying from the sidewalk, they only sell packaged "autumn leaf tempura". I found a shop called Kawashika-so where they sell freshly fried tempura! 5 pieces for 200 yen. Two older sisters, one girl in the back, and another girl in elementary school. Mother and three sisters? They are wearing jerseys with "Kawashika-so" written on them, diligently frying autumn leaves in a pot of oil. Autumn leaf tempura costs 300 yen for 60g / 400 yen for 80g, boxed 500 yen for 100g / 1000 yen for 200g. Unusual flavors of autumn leaf tempura are also available for 200 yen each - black pepper flavor, caramel flavor, consomme flavor, yuzu pepper flavor, plum bonito flavor, and beetle larvae for 500 yen. Minoh beer is also sold for 600 yen. I bought some and ate them right there. The thick coating with white sesame mixed in was crispy like Karinto, and it was delicious when eaten freshly fried. The presence of the maple leaf itself may not matter, but it was surprisingly delicious. This is all thanks to it being freshly fried. There's nothing better than freshly fried, right? I thought, if I find freshly fried tempura for sale on the way to the waterfall, I'll eat them all... but it's 100 yen for one freshly fried piece? The closer you get to the waterfall, the more expensive it becomes. I'm glad I bought them at Kawashika-so. On the way back from Minoh Falls, which was far from autumn leaves, I bought packaged ones at "Kyukoku Kosen-do" and "Kyukoku Kudaki-do" to compare and eat at home the next day. The most famous "Kyukoku Kudaki-do" is carefully drained of oil and it's clear that it requires the most effort, but I only eat a few pieces at most, and personally, I prefer the crispy "Kyukoku Kosen-do" which was fried fragrantly. Of course, in terms of cost performance, the freshly fried "Kawashika-so" was the best. 78 points ***************************** WEB: "Autumn leaf tempura" is said to be a specialty product of Minoh City, made by frying maple leaves in oil that the monk Yakushi Gyoso, who was training on Mount Minoh about 1300 years ago, was impressed by the beauty of the autumn leaves at Minoh Falls and offered to travelers visiting the Shugendo temple. Every autumn, leaves of a variety called Ichigyoinji maple (a soft-stemmed edible plant) that have turned red are harvested, washed with water, pickled in salt for over a year, and then salted again before being coated with sesame and fried in rapeseed oil.

I finally tried the maple leaf tempura I've been wanting to eat! The sisters at the restaurant were twins and both very kind, they even chatted with us which was fun. The maple leaf tempura was crispy with a gentle sweetness, incredibly delicious. ❤️

Minoh specialty, maple leaf tempura♪ I've always been curious about this dessert, and finally tried it. It's interesting to see actual maple leaves being fried. It was crispy and enjoyable, even though it's not something I would usually crave.

These days they also sell churros and you can even have coffee, but if you come here, you should definitely try the momiji tempura. When I was a kid, I was surprised to learn about it, but freshly fried, it is both crispy and fluffy, and quite delicious.