Journeys in photographs and words.
Three tsubura mochi and adzuki tea on a red tray
Three tsubura mochi and adzuki tea on a red tray

Taneya's confectionery beside Himure Hachimangu Shrine, in a Japanese-style house with a kamado stove and a sunken hearth. I ate freshly baked tsubura mochi, small rice cakes filled with bean paste; the adzuki tea was complimentary.

Himure Village, Miyauchi-cho, Omihachiman, Shiga

Sources: taneya.jp

This moment in the journey

Freshly baked tsubura mochi

Next, a Japanese confectionery on the approach to Himure Hachimangu Shrine. Under a wooden sign, benches draped in red felt run the length of the long eaves. Tsubura mochi, baked fresh and sold only here, are small round rice cakes filled with sweet bean paste, crisp and fragrant on the outside.

I sat in a tatami room with a sunken hearth, steam rising from the kamado stove nearby, and picked at three mochi served in a boat-shaped dish. The complimentary adzuki tea went well with their gentle sweetness.

Watch this scene on YouTube2:20

Read this scene in the full journey

A wooden sign for monaka hanging under the eaves
A wooden sign for monaka hanging under the eaves
Walking along the long eaves past red-draped benches
Walking along the long eaves past red-draped benches
Picking up a tsubura mochi with a toothpick
Picking up a tsubura mochi with a toothpick
A tatami room with a sunken hearth and an iron kettle
A tatami room with a sunken hearth and an iron kettle
Steam rising from the kamado stove
Steam rising from the kamado stove
Holding the cup of adzuki tea beside the mochi
Holding the cup of adzuki tea beside the mochi