I received a souvenir from Kyoto, "Itsuya" uba-dama. "Itsuya" was established 40 years ago at the foot of Nishiyama in Kyoto, in Katsura. It is a relatively new traditional Japanese confectionery shop in Kyoto. Uba-dama is a traditional Kyoto confectionery. The name comes from the higasa plant. In summer, it blooms flowers, ties bag-shaped fruits, and when they burst, round shiny black seeds resembling the fruit are produced. This confectionery, coated with sweet bean paste and covered with agar, was named after this fruit. It is similar to "Kikuya Shigetomi" in Midori-ku, Nagoya, which I know. It is my favorite traditional Japanese confectionery that I always eat on New Year's Day. Now, let's taste "Itsuya" uba-dama and compare it to "Kikuya Shigetomi" Shigeki Manju with my family. The result is that Shigeki Manju wins by a landslide. Uba-dama is not bad at all. The sweet bean paste with a good mouthfeel is delicious. However, the agar coating around it is not good. My wife exclaimed, "It's not delicious!" and rejected it. This experience made me realize once again the deliciousness of Shigeki Manju from "Kikuya Shigetomi". In that sense, it was a valuable souvenir. Thank you for the meal.

I was looking for a Kyoto wagashi shop to thank someone for a gift, and I found this place. They also offer online shopping, so I thought it must be a decent shop. I bought uba-dama and warabi mochi. For some reason, they were frozen, but the staff assured me that they can be stored at room temperature. I was skeptical and asked twice, but they insisted it was fine to keep them at room temperature. Since I had never tried them before, I bought chilled mitarashi dango for myself at home for 324 yen. When I got home, I put it in the freezer, and 30 minutes later, I opened it, but it was still frozen and couldn't be eaten. Finally, after 4 hours, I was able to eat it. The mitarashi dango had a sweet and rich flavor, with bonito flakes in it. The dango was not watery even though it was frozen, and had a chewy texture. I wonder if it really needs to be chilled. It seems like it may be a hit or miss depending on personal taste. It's not too expensive, and it seems like a good option for Kyoto wagashi, but I can't say for sure if it's exceptionally delicious. Update: I received feedback that the warabi mochi was delicious, so I wanted to add that to my review.

Delicious warabi mochi! In the summer, warabi mochi is the best! It's even better when chilled. Kinako powder is also excellent! I got this recommendation from a foodie friend, and it was definitely a great choice! It was so delicious that I will definitely buy more next time!

This sweet treat, which won the gold award at the nationwide confectionery competition, features a round uba gashi filled with plenty of matcha paste. It's like a bomb full of matcha exploding in your mouth! It's a traditional Japanese sweet that pairs well with Japanese tea or matcha. Thank you for the delicious meal.

The famous Kyoto wagashi "Ubadama" in a matcha version - Matcha Ubadama @750. It was rich but not too heavy, and delicious. ( *´꒳`* )

In July 2017, I had plans to visit Katsura Rikyu, but arrived early so I decided to have lunch at "Kuishinbo Yamnaka" and then stopped by "Izu Miya Honten" to buy some Japanese sweets on my way back to Katsura Rikyu. I couldn't decide between "Uba-dama" and "An Warabi", but ended up buying "Chestnut Uba-dama". It cost 648 yen for 5 pieces. Uba-dama is a traditional Japanese sweet with sweet bean paste coated in black sugar. There were three flavors: basic, matcha, and chestnut. The chestnut flavor had a generous amount of chestnut paste coated in black sugar with sesame seeds on top. The chestnut paste was not too sweet, so I could have eaten as many as I wanted. It was delicious, especially since chestnut is my favorite ingredient. Thank you for the meal!

Before visiting "Katsura Rikyu," I enjoyed a luxurious "Hamburg Lunch" at a Western-style restaurant 2km away. On the way back to "Katsura Rikyu" to meet at the visitor's entrance at 2:10 PM, I stopped by the 40-year-old Kyoto confectionery shop "Izumiya Honten." Since there was no parking lot, I parked the car on a narrow road behind and stayed in the car while my friend went to buy, including mine. The takeout item was ◆ An Warabi Small 500 yen → 50 yen discount service item for 450 yen (excluding tax) with today's expiration date. I immediately put it in the refrigerator when I returned to Osaka and enjoyed it lightly chilled in the evening (^o^)／ Inside the bucket with a foam lid, there were 5 pieces of "An Warabi," where smooth sweet bean paste wrapped in chewy and bouncy warabi mochi with a thin skin, sprinkled with fragrant kinako. It had quite a sweetness, but it was a unique delicacy where you could enjoy the marriage of warabi mochi and sweet bean paste. My friend seemed to have bought "Ubataama," a sweet bean paste wrapped in brown sugar, and other Japanese sweets, which I'm sure were delicious as well. After that, we headed to visit "Katsura Rikyu" and spent about an hour admiring Japan's finest garden. We returned to Osaka by 4:30 PM in the evening. Bon appétit! (●^o^●)

I received three wagashi (Japanese sweets) from Izumiyaya ✨ Kyoto's famous garden. They were all delicious. The first one was a gold award-winning sweet with azuki beans and chestnuts. The second one was a wagashi with chestnuts wrapped in roasted barley flour, shaped like an egg. The third one was a foil-baked sweet with milk dough and egg yolk paste. All of them were delicious!

Founded in 1967, this famous confectionery shop is known for its "Momiji Manju" at the prestigious "Jissoin Monzeki" which is a supplier to the Imperial Household. I visited this shop to see the famous "Momiji Manju" and took the Arashiyama tram to get there. Unfortunately, the maple leaves for the "Momiji Manju" were only half-colored and photography was not allowed. However, I was able to take photos of the garden with beautiful autumn leaves. I bought some wagashi as souvenirs, including the "Kuro-Mushi Rikyu" which is a steamed black sugar dorayaki-like confection. The skin was soft and chewy, and the sweet bean paste filling was delicious. It's a perfect souvenir as it has a good shelf life.

I went to the Kyoto confectionery shop "Izumiya" for the first time in 2 years and 2 months. I received steamed chestnut yokan (162 yen), ohagi kinako (162 yen), and Kyoto specialties (189 yen) on 07/03/13. It had been 4 months since my last visit, and this time I received a goldfish set (2 goldfish for 210 yen, peach water manju for 147 yen), a bamboo basket for 63 yen, and two tricolor dango for 137 yen. The decorative fan with the words "Don't say it's hot!" was cute. On 02/27/13, I visited the main store of Kyoto confectionery Izumiya. I have been to the Aeon Mall Hana store several times before, but this time I received a tiger tea ball (168 yen), bamboo forest moon (179 yen), Kyoto Sansan (179 yen), chewy yaki (136 yen), and Kyoto specialties (189 yen) totaling 850 yen in a service box. I wanted fresh sweets, but they only had frozen ones, so I decided not to buy them. I will write my impressions after trying them. NO.0633

In my neighborhood, there are quite a few traditional Japanese sweet shops, and their ohagi is really delicious so sometimes I feel like eating it. Today, I went to buy ohagi as planned, but there was a customer at the shop asking a lot of questions, so I happened to look down and saw a red sash on the gold award-winning an warabi. It was priced at 500 yen excluding tax, which made me think I could buy three ohagi with that money. Unusually, I made an instant decision to buy it. When I asked the staff if I could have it, they said they keep it frozen for storage, so I should eat it 1-2 hours after returning home. I waited eagerly for 2 hours. I savored each piece as I ate them, and the taste was so refined that I couldn't even evaluate it. The ingredients were azuki beans, sugar, maltose, soybean flour, processed brown sugar syrup... I was surprised by how they could achieve such a unique taste and texture that I had never experienced before.

Received gift... series... received from an acquaintance. My husband brought it back when he went out. It was quite heavy, so I thought it might be jelly or water yokan. When I looked inside, it was indeed water yokan - a set of "cool sweets"!! Upon closer inspection, it contained water manju and jelly. The jelly was called "goldfish", and there were four types of water manju: red bean paste, yuzu paste, matcha paste, and peach paste. I understand the water manju, but what is a goldfish?? Chilled in the refrigerator before eating, the taste was... just a simple agar jelly. The sweetness was moderate. Inside, there were ingredients like kidney beans, red beans, chickpeas, and plum, arranged to look like goldfish. Maybe it's all about the appearance? The water manju was delicious when cold. This one is more about taste. Well, it's not bad... Thank you for the meal.

I received these Kuzumanju (matcha & yuzu bean paste) as a gift from my parents while I was out. They are from "Izu Miya" in Katsura, which has its main store there. This shop also has a branch in Aeon Mall Gojo, and you can often find them at events. These Kuzumanju are perfect for this season, with a cool appearance and a cute bite-sized portion. The kudzu skin is quite thick and has a chewy, jelly-like texture. The matcha bean paste is surprisingly strong and bitter in flavor, while the yuzu bean paste is light and refreshing in sweetness.

I purchased a set of three different types of Japanese-style puddings: strawberry milk pudding, matcha brown sugar pudding, and mugwort kinako pudding. They are labeled as "ぷりん" in hiragana instead of the katakana "プリン" because they have a Japanese-style theme. When I tried them, they had a texture closer to mousse but firmer than mousse. Nowadays, soft and smooth puddings are more common, so these puddings have a more traditional texture. Each pudding has two layers, with strawberry on top of milk, matcha on top of brown sugar, and kinako on top of mugwort, allowing you to enjoy different flavors. I enjoyed them very much. Thank you for the delicious meal.

This is a review of the traditional Japanese confectionery shop called Izumiya, located in Kyoto. Their specialty is a water-based sweet called "goldfish", which is perfect for the summer with cute goldfish swimming inside. The sweet is made of various beans like green peas, azuki beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans, all trapped in agar jelly. The agar jelly comes in different flavors like plum wine, matcha, and others, each with a unique taste and aroma. Priced at 210 yen each, it's affordable and worth trying. The shop also offers other famous sweets that I would love to try. Izumiya is located at 56 Katsura Chiyohara-cho, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto. Phone number: 075-381-5051. Opening hours are from 9:00 to 19:00, and they are open every day.

There is a famous traditional Japanese sweets shop called Nakamuraken in the area of Katsura. However, for those living in Katsura, it may seem too mainstream to bring as a gift. So, I went searching for a delicious Japanese sweets shop around Katsura. The shop I found is located northeast of the Chiyoharaguchi intersection. If you head towards Chiyoharaguchi from Kyoto city, you will see it on your left before reaching the intersection. The shop itself is quite narrow and long. We bought Kashiwamochi with red bean paste and miso paste (158 yen) and Katsura Onna Mochi, which looks similar to Mugi Daimochi (168 yen). The Kashiwamochi with red bean paste has a thin skin and plenty of red beans inside, with a fairly sweet taste. It reminded me of Kusa Mochi. The Kashiwamochi with miso paste is similar, with a thin skin and a decent level of sweetness. Next, the Katsura Onna Mochi. I couldn't help but compare it to Mugi Daimochi, but it doesn't have the same chewy texture. Although it has plenty of red beans, the skin is slightly thinner. Overall, the Kashiwamochi may appeal to those who enjoy a generous amount of red beans. It's cheaper than Mugi Daimochi and the thin skin provides a better integration of the mochi and red beans. For those who are not satisfied with Mugi Daimochi, it may be worth trying this shop, as it is not too far from Nakamuraken.

I purchased "Kyoto Matcha Ubadama" from Kyoto Confectionery Store Iizumiya Honten on my way back from a business trip the other day, and I had it when I got home today. When I bought it, the staff told me, "It tastes even better when enjoyed with delicious Japanese tea." However, the tea I have at home is not that great... This was my first time trying "ubadama," which is a sweet bean paste wrapped in agar, similar to yokan. Since it's matcha ubadama, it has matcha bean paste inside. It goes really well with tea... It feels like I enjoyed a delicious Japanese confectionery after a long time. Thank you for the meal.

I received a return gift from my junior (o^-^o). The container is so cute! I had never heard of the store before, so I quickly searched on Tabelog (laughs). ● Yuzu Mochi When I opened the lid, I saw diced mochi peeking out! It's hard to tell by appearance, but when you eat it, it has a chewy texture. If I were to compare, it's soft like warabi mochi. I think it was made with wasanbon sugar, which was included separately. It was sweet enough on its own so I didn't need to add it. ★ I looked at their website and it seems like they are also in department stores. Stores in department stores often have delicious items, so I would like to try other products as well (o^.^o). Thank you for the treat!

The warabi mochi here is so delicious that even those who are not fans of warabi mochi will appreciate the attention to detail! You can immediately taste the softness from the use of real warabi powder. I introduced it to a friend once and they were so impressed and moved by it. The artisans start preparing the mochi early in the morning, and once they sell out, that's it for the day. You must try it at least once. It makes a great gift, as it is very well-received. Highly recommended!