Must be the season of the strawberry: Try Josuian Ichigo Daifuku

As Valentine’s Day is approaching, it gets much more difficult to avoid two things: red colors and sweets. Sweets with strawberries (ichigo) are naturally extremely popular now, but of course not as much as chocolate.

My husband and I have a special memory about ichigo daifuku (いちご大福), or strawberry mochi rice cakes. I had seen this sweets in Japanese dramas, but never trier the real ones, and he decided to bring some to our date. I was very glad that there are usually around 4 pieces in one box, because I thought they tasted horrible (but in fact they didn’t)!Later on I realise why I had such a bad impression of my first ichigo daifuku: sweets made with rice flour were completely unfamiliar to my European tongue. So I just pretended that I liked ichigo daifuku. Since then my Japanese husband is happy to bring some strawberry mochi rice cakes for me as a souvenir whenever he goes to Fukuoka. Because you know, that area is famous for strawberries.

So this time I’ve got my hands on Josuian Ichigo Daifuku from Hakata, a traditional Japanese sweets shop.

It sold from January through March, in the peak of strawberry season. You can buy a box with four, six, or ten pieces. Starting from April, tomato daifuku are available! They also have daifuku with persimmon, grapes, chestnuts and with other fruits and vegetables.

Actually I don’t like anko, sweetened red bean paste, and try to avoid it eating it if it is possible. Luckily, there was only white white bean paste (白あん, shiroan) in this daifuku, and I didn’t even realise that.This time I really enjoyed strawberry mochi rice cakes with a cup of sencha, green Japanese tea.

Rephrasing Donovan’s lyrics, “you’ve got to pick up every strawberry!” in this strawberry season.

Information

Josuian 

Address: 1-24-10 Hakata-ekimae, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City
Opening Hours: 9 am – 6 pm
Regular Holidays: Open daily
Telephone: 092-475-0052
Access: 5 minutes walk from Hakata-guchi exit of JR Hakata station (Taihaku-dori/beside Hotel Nikko Fukuoka)
Distance to airport: 4,5 km from Fukuoka Airport
Official website (only in Japanese): http://www.josuian.jp

Article by Olga Kaneda