Wagashi Japanese Sweets☆
Lovely Bite-size Monaka with Tea at Mitomi

● A New Trend: Wagashi Specialty Stores

I’m sure you’ve seen many wagashi shops carrying a variety of traditional Japanese sweets around Japan. But the most recent trend in the world of Japanese confections (perhaps signaling the arrival of unprecedented fad of wagashi?!) are specialty wagashi shops focusing on a particular wagashi, let that be daifuku, taiyaki, ohagi or other favorites. We visited one of such trend setters, a cute monaka specialty store that looks great on Instagram♪

● Monaka and Tea Shop Mitomi

Mitomi is located in the Uehonmachi neighborhood in Osaka’s Tennoji Ward. It’s a small café/shop that specializes in monaka—made with sweet bean paste sandwiched between wafers—and tea.
The popular shop had been featured in magazines since its opening in October 2019 and I was excited to visit them♪ About 5-minute walk from Osaka Metro Tanimachi & Sennichimae Line’s Tanimachi 9-chome Station, I found the little shop nestled in a residential area.

The austere yet stylish exterior blends in well with the neighborhood. It’s so sleek, you can’t tell it’s a wagashi shop at first glance.

Inside was a simple space with a large counter and a wooden antique shelf and bench. The simplicity and the sharpness were so slick, it made me a bit nervous!! Lol

Sample monaka sat neatly on the counter.
I knew they were a bite size and had seen pictures on Instagram, but they were smaller than I expected!
Little wagashi pieces are so adorable♡

● Commitment to Quality, Packed in One Bite

Monaka comes in five flavors; three were staple and two were seasonal when I visited.
The first staple on their menu was Azuki beans & Brown rice, a standard made with azuki bean paste. Roasted brown rice sat on top of the azuki bean paste made with the finest azuki beans from Hokkaido.

The other two staples were: Milk bean paste & Framboise with pistachio toppings and Matcha bean paste & Dainagon beans & Roasted brown rice. The latter uses matcha green tea from Wazuka-cho, a small town in Kyoto famous for its tea farm. I definitely wanted to try the matcha one because I’m a big matcha fan.

Seasonal menu included Sake lee bean paste & Strawberry & Gold leaf as well as Purple yam paste & Yuzu. I’d never heard of bean paste made with sake lees. Purple yam paste was topped with imo kenpi (deep fried sweet potato strips coated with sugar). They were so cute.
By the way, the bean paste are made with azuki beans (the first one) and white beans (others).

Toppings on all five monaka were unique and exquisite, something I’d never seen in other shops. They all looked too beautiful to eat but, at the same time, I was getting excited to see what they taste like♪

● The 15-minute Rule

You can eat the Japanese beauty at the store or have the option to take it home. For dining in, you can order a set of three for 540 yen or five for 972 yen, including tax.
It was hard for me to decide, so I chose to have all five!

All monaka are made to order. After a few minutes of wait, freshly made monaka were in front of me. So tiny and so colorful. They were so cute♡

There is one rule you need to know when enjoying monaka from Mitomi: eat them within 15 minutes!!
Apparently, the moisture in the bean paste would dampen the wafers over time. So, if you want to have a full delicious experience of monaka including its texture, you need to eat it fresh.

Look! You can see how small their monaka is in my hand.
These tiny round mini monaka tugs at the heartstrings of every girl♡

At the recommendation of the shop owner, I ate the Azuki bean & Brown rice in one single bite.
Yummm! The bean paste had a subtle sweetness and the texture of crunchy roasted brown rice gave it a nice kick♪ And they were right about eating them fresh—I loved the texture of crispy wafers!

Who knew sake lees and dried strawberris go well together?! I found sake lee bean paste to have a gentle aroma of sake. It was easy to eat.
I enjoyed the crunchy imo kenpi topping with the purple yam paste and felt the refreshing aroma of yuzu at the end. The presentation of the texture, flavor, and aroma were all well thought out and calculated. Each bite was impressive.

Mitomi’s commitment to quality is seen also in their tea.
I had hojicha tea they get from Wazuka-cho, the same place where they get their matcha green tea for matcha bean paste. The fragrance of the tea was gentle, and the warmth permeated my body. The combination of hot tea and monaka was truly a bliss.

Before I knew it, I was done! This was the first wagashi experience where it was beautiful to look at and delicious to eat, I was able to savor all ingredients, AND it sharpened all of my five senses. Gochisosama deshita—thank you for the treat!

● DIY Souvenir Sets

For those who don’t think 15 minutes is enough, I recommend the DIY sets to go.
You can choose one flavor and make eight delicious monaka at home.
And if you’re looking for a nice idea for a gift or souvenir, this is a great candidate for sure!

I wasn’t going to let this chance go. Yep, I got one for myself. I chose my favorite flavor, Milk bean paste & Framboise. Milk in the bean paste gives it a flavor of a Western confection within which the sweetness of the bean paste matches perfectly with the tartness of framboise and the aroma of pistachio.
I understand why this one is popular among girls and little children! I’d recommend it even for those who don’t like wagashi much because it’s just so easy to eat.

Use a spoon to scoop the bean paste from the jar, put it on the monaka wafer, and top it with framboise and pistachio. Voila! It’s done!

I bet it’d be fun to do this together with family and friends!
Be sure to check out Minami’s website because you can order this online♪

Mitomi is perfect for those who want to eat cute, delicious Japanese sweets or those who is looking to buy a perfect wagashi souvenir. Visit them when you’re in Osaka!