Celebrate Halloween this year with some traditional Japanese characters!
Wagashi, or Japanese confectionaries, can be a creative way to celebrate the seasons, and apparently even traditionally Western holidays like Halloween are no exception, as Gifu-based wagashi confectionary maker Tohoen will release yokai-themed sweets between October 15 and October 30.
▼ The set comes with three different types of yokai creatures and flavors.
The kappa water spirit (pictured left, above) is a chewy matcha manju with white bean paste filling; the red karakasa-obake, or “one-eyed umbrella”, (pictured center) is a soft mochi ball with strawberry bean paste filling, and the kuchisake onna, or “slit-mouthed woman” (pictured right) is a nerikiri-style mochi dumpling with red bean paste filling. Each morsel also has a different texture, so all of your senses will be involved when telling the characters apart.
Tohoen has been releasing limited-time Halloween-themed wagashi since 2014, but they typically involved traditional Western Halloween characters like ghosts and Frankenstein. This year, they decided to get more in touch with their Japanese roots and base their designs on Japanese folklore figures that could be considered Halloween characters.
How can you get your hands on these sweets? You can reserve them for 1,250 yen (US$8.67) each on Tohoen’s online store and arrange to either pick them up in person between October 15 to October 30, or you can have them shipped to your in-Japan address between October 16 to October 31. They’re only available in limited quantities, so make sure you get your order in ASAP!
Store information
Tohoen | 稲豊園
Gifu-ken, Takayama-shi, Asahi-cho 2
岐阜県高山市朝日町2
Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Closed Tuesdays
Website
Source: Tohoen via Japaaaan mag
Images: Tohoen
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