Aroma of Plum Blossom; Taste of Foxtail Millet
It’s already late March. In Kyoto, if you want to feel that winter has gone and spring has come, what is better than plum blossom viewing? As for the famous plum blossom spot in Kyoto, it is definitely the Kitano Tenman-gū shrine, which is nicknamed as “Tenjin-san” (the God of the Sky). Due to the unusual coldness this year, the plum blossoms at the Kitano Tenman-gū shrine bloom later than usual. This year even has the latest blooming record in the past decade. The plum blossom garden there is open from February to March.
Plum blossoms inside the Kitano Tenman-gū shrine and the plum blossom garden are in full bloom, so it is the best timing to see now. I do not know well about the species of plum blossoms, so I can distinguish them by colour only… sounds superficial. However, different colours have different forms, so the feelings shown are also different. As a layman, this is interesting enough to me. There was no space on a tree branch with all the full bloom plum blossoms stuck together. How stunning it was! The admission ticket had a coupon of tea and confectionery attached, so you can have some refreshments while viewing plum blossoms. With the coupon you can have a plum kelp tea and Japanese confectionery of 2 kinds, pink and white.
In the area around the Kitano Tenman- gū shrine, there is also one famous spot apart from the shrine: a shop named “粟餅所‧澤屋” (Awamochidokoro, Sawaya). Established in 1682, the shop has over 300 years history, which is famous with its foxtail millet cake. In Japan, we can see rice cake commonly, but for foxtail millet, it sounds new. However, foxtail millet and glutinous rice have both been used to make rice cake since long time ago. And started from the Edo period, foxtail millet cake became a kind of dessert. With the change in society and culture over decades, the production of foxtail millet had been decreasing. Also, the process of making the foxtail millet cake cannot be done by machines, everything is hand-made. So the amount of foxtail millet cake is less than rice cake. Nowadays, as a kind of Japanese confectionery, Awamochidokoro, Sawaya is one of the most famous shops in Japan.
There were 5 pieces with 2 flavours per dish for one person, 3 pieces for red bean paste flavour in circular shape and 2 pieces for roasted soy bean flour flavour in stick shape. Similar to the usual rice cakes, foxtail millet cake was also very soft; but the difference was foxtail millet cake was lighter than rice cake. So even though there were 5 pieces for each person, I did not feel too full. Also, the sweetness was well-managed. A dessert which is light and not too sweet is definitely perfect for ladies!
Foxtail millet cake is not commonly available as rice cake. So when you visit the Kitano Tenman-gū shrine or the surroundings, don’t forget to visit this long-established famous shop of foxtail millet cake!
株式会社KINSHA