New York has endured so many heat waves this year, but as we headed into September I was well into my usual behavior of “borrowing” hoodies from my nearest and dearest to stave off the evening chills (current count: 3. I am the worst). It’s been 2.5 years since my last visit to Japan and even more years since I last spent a summer here because as I relearned, September in Nara is still very much a swamp. 90+ degrees, piercing sun, and humidity you can drink. Autumn feels very far away despite all of the shops and restaurants serving chestnuts and sweet potatoes.
Deer, chilling
I walked through the grounds of Todaiji (the home of the largest Buddha in Japan) on Sunday and saw many deer seeking refuge in the shade of the temple buildings and the gutters along the side of the road. I grew up in the Nara streets and parks, running after the deer and climbing the trees. It’s deeply familiar to me, especially now when it is so quiet due to Japan’s continuing restrictions on non-Japanese visitors1.
I wrote earlier this year about how my summer food is kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) more in theory than in practice because of its scarcity in New York, but in Nara, all of the cafes beckon with illustrations and advertisements of their kakigori constructions. The cafes beckoned and I listened - I dove into the winding streets of Nara to find the version that pulled me the hardest.
A stand for the simplest of kakigori - a mountain of shaved ice and DIY syrup
Kakigori - Wa和 / You洋
The varieties of kakigori are many2, but I will draw a stark dividing line between 洋You (western) and Wa (Japanese) style kakigori. I am firmly on team 和Wa. Western style kakigori dolloped with cream, ice cream, chocolates, mangoes, and cream cheese are of no interest. I can appreciate a little bit of condensed milk, but I prefer the straight up flavors of black sugar, matcha, and ume sour plum without the richness of dairy when the temperatures climb. The popularity and availability of so many other varieties seems to indicate that I am very much the minority. Absolutely no shade on team chocolate!
A simple kakigori without a swirl of mascarpone espuma or mont blanc puree might seem ascetic, but the wa varieties of kakigori bring interest in the form of toppings like shiratama dango and even kuzumochi with the added bonus of being absolutely refreshing thanks to the lack of dairy richness3. Kuzumochi is especially so special and local to Nara, it is a supple, slippery, and chewy mochi of sorts that is made with kuzu (arrowroot powder). This kuzu4 is usually sourced and associated with Yoshino, a mountain town in Nara that is famous for its cherry blossoms5. Kuzu is quite precious and pricy6 compared to cheaper starches like katakuriko (potato starch) and products labeled “kuzumochi” are often cut with katakuriko. Luckily, there are shops that proudly advertise and use 100 percent kuzu in their products.
Sakura - 佐久良
The shop that I wandered into this time for my kakigori fix is Sakura, a shop that has proudly been selling Yoshino kuzu and related products for six generations in a building that goes back at least 160 years. When you walk into the small shop, you will see a counter displaying bags of Yoshino kuzu powder, boxes of prepared kuzu mochi7, kuzu kiri (noodles made with kuzu powder that are boiled, chilled, and dipped in black sugar syrup), and dried candies made of kuzu powder. Should you choose to enjoy any of these items in the store, you will be guided to one of several tatami mat covered rooms that are cozily decorated with an array of paintings, glasses, and other bric-a-brac.
Sitting at my table on the tatami covered floor, I chose the kuromitsu (black sugar) kakigori. Know that there are other options, including one with matcha and another with a milky kinako (soybean powder). The picture does not do it justice, as the fuwa fuwa (fluffy) layers of ice hid several slippery kuzu mochi and a pile of delicately sweetened azuki. The three chewy shiratama dango on top were (better than) the proverbial cherry on top8.
Sakura’s perfect kuromitsu (black sugar) kakigori
Tomorrow I’ll be in Kyoto, but will try to carve out some time to try some of the other kakigori in Nara. So many colors! Tell me. Which would you try?
Japan lifted its pre-departure 72 hour PCR requirement two days before my flight and no longer has a quarantine, but I still needed to upload my vaccination information into a terrible app (rated 1.5 stars on the Apple store!) that kept crashing every time I tried to upload the PDF of all of my vaccination cards. The maze through four (at least
) stations to show my vaccination status on the app and receive various check-the-box forms was a caricature of bureaucratic idiocy, but my mother Michiko pointed out that there were 13 stops during her visit in December. If you are still reading, know that I am a terrible Grinch and complain about too many things when really, there are so many upsides.
Kakigori is serious business - this site ranks kakigori throughout Nara.
This is a lot coming from someone who eats a minimum of three ice cream cones a week - but sometimes it’s too hot for ice cream and ice cream adjacent foods!
I did not know this, but apparently kuzu is also grown in the American south.
Yoshino is full of ryokan to host the crowds eager to see the cherry blossoms and fall foliage. I must plug here the ryokan owned by my mother Michiko’s friend, Kaoru, which has been running for 17 generations (and counting!) which is the only ryokan that I have ever stayed at in Yoshino for this reason. It is the Yukawaya Onsen (please do not be turned off by their absolutely janky website!) Yoshino is also famous for its chagayu - or rice porridge made with houjicha (roasted tea), sansai (mountain vegetables), and kakinohazushi (pressed sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves).
Kuzu is a yakuzenshoku - a food with medicinal properties - that Michiko (and other likeminded folk) will serve when you are sick. It is a “warming” food (like ginger), so during the colder months Michiko would often dissolve a tablespoon or so of kuzu powder in an equal amount of water (to dissolve without lumps) and then add about 120 ml of hot water. Sweeten to taste and enjoy.
Making your own kuzumochi is not difficult, as long as you are able to source 100% kuzu powder (I see it on Amazon, but have also seen it at Japanese supermarkets like Yamadaya). Essentially, you dissolve kuzu powder in water, heat until thickened, and then chill. Video here. Serve with black sugar syrup or maple syrup (my lazy hack) and/or kinako (soybean powder).
This glorious kakigori (and my choice of hot/cold tea) cost me all of 1100 yen, which at the time of this writing is less than $8USD (including tax, and there is no tipping in Japan).
Thank you so much for sharing this! Nara is on my list of must-visit places when I go to Japan in 2023/2024 :D
I really enjoyed reading this. I’m definitely on team ‘wa’ for flavours. I lived in Niigata for several years, and I still miss sasadango.