A few days ago I received a private order for my Japanese sweets. The client wanted me to deliver 15 Wagashi sweets to her. Apart from the specific request that she would like to have 4 Daffodils and the rest should be ‘Mochi’ type sweets I was given the honour to select the suitable sweets that would be favoured by western people. So the sweets I picked and packed were like this.
Comparing to the snowy weather three weeks ago it is so much more like spring now. It is not just because the temperature is higher but because the sunlight is brighter and the air is lighter. Although the forecast says there is a possibility that this weekend might become cold again, the season always moves forward by going back and forth a little. It means we are definitely getting closer to spring!
It means we are in Early Spring now. I quite often design sweets depending on which season we are in. I pick some significant signs of the season such as colour, flower or mood of the season. So what is early spring like for me? It is the season some leaves start to come out (Green) on a tree and field, but in some area it is still covered with snow (white). It is a little too early to see a view of full Sakura cherry blossom in the most places, however, but in some warmer area some trees probably starts blossoming (Pink). The smell of early spring is a grassy green smell. So what I have to do after running my imagination is put all these images together.
I needed to assemble all the elements of green, white and pink together. I was imagining a mountain in early spring. For autumn season I made Autumn Mountain Mochi and reached up to this swirling sweet of early spring version of the mountain.
In my garden, Lilac flowers have gone and the marvellous scent of Mock Orange (Philadelphus) flowers is filling up the atmosphere instead now. I know Sakura, Cherry blossom, season is over and I have to admit that I made this sweet a few weeks ago but did not have a chance to post here.
It is a ‘Mochi’ type sweet with a hint or two of Sakura Cherry Blossom essence.
So what is the Sakura essence that I added to this sweet?
The Cherry tree for fruit in my garden is in full bloom too
We are in the middle of the full Cherry Blossom season in London. There is a traditional custom called ‘Hanami’ (‘Hana’ means flower/ blossom and ‘Mi ((Miru))’ means to look/ watch) that people picnic under a cherry tree and enjoy eating & drinking whilst viewing the beauty of Sakura.
We also have a proverb ‘Hana yori Dango’ which means ‘Food comes before Flower (Beauty)’. This describes that although viewing Sakura blossom is enjoyable, it cannot beat the delight of eating delicious food.
There is a sweet during this Sakura season called ‘Hanami-Dango’. It is composed of three balls of a ‘Mochi‘ type sweet in tricolour of Green, White and Pink stuck together with a skewer. But why these colours and why in this order? There seems several theories behind this colour scheme but the one I like is like this. ‘White’ is a symbol of ‘Snow=Winter’, ‘Green’ is the ‘New Leaves’ just about coming out from under the snow and ‘Pink’ is the colour of ‘Sakura=Spring’. So all these colours together explain the season which people have longed for the arrival during the long cold winter.
I made Hanami-Dango with Tofu this year. Why Tofu? You can use water instead but by adding Tofu the Mochi Dango becomes softer and bouncier texture and the softness lasts longer. You can make this in almost the same way as the ‘Shiratama Dango’ I introduced before.
Have a safe and wonderful Weekend, Everybody! (^_-)-☆
Wow, time passes so quickly! It is already April and we are officially in Spring! This winter was so mild in England and spring has arrived early too. I heard that in several areas in Japan the symbol of Spring ‘Sakura’ Cherry Blossom has been flowering slowly this year and still not fully opened, however, it has been flowering everywhere in London. The trees in the park where I live nearby actually lost most of the flowers and leaves are coming out already. Since I was looking forward to seeing beautiful cherry blossom, it is sad that the best season is going so quickly.
Anyway, when this season comes I have to make some sweet in the Sakura theme for April.
So, this is my ‘Sakura’ Cherry Blossom sweet this year.
Despite the scares happened last week, London is still a safe and great place to live and visit. One such place I went a few days ago after delivering some Japanese sweet to Wasoukan Cafe (Notting Hill, London) was one of the Royal parks.
It is Holland Park in the Kensington area of West London and it is not that I traveled to our Neighboring contry, the Netherlands. Although it is located in the middle of rich residential area, the park is wide spread and is composed of several different types of garden.
As soon as you enter from the main gate you unexpectedly face several palm trees. I think it is quite unusual as a Royal park.
This became the post fact report, but I have been to Japan from the end of March and I just came back from there. So I will write about my visit in Japan in the next few posts regarding these topics.
Japan has four completely different seasons and each one of them has its own good side. In my opinion Spring is the best season to visit Japan. One of the reasons for this is of course the famous Sakura/Cherry blossom. You get surrounded by Sakura/Cherry Blossom scenery anywhere you go. When you see the dense but fluffy pink clusters you cannot stop feeling very celebratory and having a supreme moment of bliss.
The winter in 2014-15 was actually quite severe in Japan which brought lots of snow in many places especially in the north. When I arrived to the country, the weather seemed finally becoming milder and the cherry tree’s flower buds were just about to open … and then the cold air came down again and it became like winter suddenly. There was even blizzard in the northern part. I was glad I took my thick jacket with me as well as two lighter ones in my suitcase, however, I had to wait a little bit longer to see the buds open.
Actually the opening of Cherry Blossom is a big deal in Japan. People are looking forward to seeing the great scenery. We have a ‘Sakura Forecast’ on TV news every day in spring that shows the ‘Cherry Blossom Front’ telling people in which part of the country & when we can see the blossom.
Sakura Blossom Front (sakura.weathermap.jp)
When finally the flower buds start opening, the Sakura Forecast tells which part of Japan you can see the blossom. Surprisingly Nagoya, the city where I stayed, was the second earliest place declared that Cherry blossom’s opened this year. That is unusually early for the city and very rare. So we did have the Sakura Blossom at last after waiting for a while.
Once Sakura trees became nearly in full bloom I visited several famous spots in the area to view the scenery. They were Nagoya Castle, Tsurumai Park and Yamazaki River bank.
Nagoya Castle through pink shades of Sakura. Shame the sky was not blue …
I have been to the first two of these places to view blossom in the past, however, it was Yamazaki River that really amazed me with the scale and the beauty!
Yamazaki River at dusk. Dense pink canopy continues for several miles
People enjoy walking along Yamazaki River with many Sakura trees in full bloom
Comparing to other places where people sit down feasting underneath the light pink canopy until the late night, along the Yamazaki River people were just admiring the beautiful scenery. Some area was lit up to show the different look during the evening which created another great atmosphere. Many bats flying around over the river showed that balance of nature is well protected in this area too.
Yamazaki River at night (Photographed by Yuuta Hibino)
So, what was my thought? Excellent! Even just for seeing this view it is worth visiting Japan. It was very nice to see the city covered in pink fluff and everybody appreciating the scenery. Lots of people, including many foreign tourists, visit the spots for walking, taking photos, having picnic or just quietly viewing.
I thought we are very privileged living in this fortunate part of the world without worrying about starvation, sheltering from bombing or escaping from massacre. We also should not forget that so many people who lost family members in the 2011 earthquake/tsunami disaster were viewing the same sight under the same sky. It is important to appreciate whatever you have at any time.
Happy Sakura Viewing.
Sakura Junction 