The Leaves Are Nice, But It’s All About The Sticky Rice Balls

Posted byJonelle PatrickPosted inAwesome Stuff To Do, Food, Just...Beautiful, Seasonal Goodness, Traditional Stuff I LoveTags:, , , , ,

Yeah, yeah, I know – leaves glowing in autumnal splendor, fall evening clear and crisp, moon shining bright, pond like a mirror, and the photos are sure to wow the folks back home. But let’s go bottom line: it’s really all about the miso dango.

I’ve waited ALL YEAR for the Rikugi-en garden in Komagome to open up at night again for leaf-viewing, just so I can eat these gooey balls of delishitude on a stick. Skewered up and stuck in an old-fashioned rice-straw wreath, the freshly-pounded rice balls slowly melt into warm blobs of goodness, then are slathered in either miso or soy-based sauce. (I mention the latter only as a courtesy. Miso, all the way.)

Sorry, I just realized it’s slightly cruel to be describing these to you online, so here are some leaf pictures as slight compensation. Sadly, I can’t deliver them warm, with miso sauce.

A Japanese maple in full regalia
Colored lights shine up into the trees across the big pond.
My favorite bridge.

If you’d like to visit Rikugi-en Garden the next time you’re in Tokyo, visit my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had. 

•

Would you like to be whisked away to Japan, wherever you are?

It’s the year 1784 and the shōgun rules with an iron fist . . . except within the walled pleasure quarter of Yoshiwara. Inside the Great Gate, samurai law does not apply, and it’s women who pull the strings

“The Samurai’s Octopus…is a truly remarkable book, one that surprised and charmed me at every turn of the page. You’re in for a treat.”
—James Ziskin, Anthony, Barry, and Macavity Award-winning author of the Ellie Stone mysteries

Tell me more!

•

If you enjoyed this, subscribe! It’s free!

•

Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had

Published by Jonelle Patrick

Author of The Last Tea Bowl Thief

5 thoughts on “The Leaves Are Nice, But It’s All About The Sticky Rice Balls”

    1. Oh, wow! Thank you! ^^;; I’ll get right to work on nominating my 11 bloggers and answering your questions! The only pitfall is that whenever I go over to your blog, I end up still reading an hour later…

      Reply

Leave a comment