It’s Really All About The Sticky Rice Balls
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.
If you’d like to visit Rikugi-en Garden the next time you’re in Tokyo, a map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
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Jonelle Patrick View All
Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!
Jonelle Patrick's Only In Japan 
I nominated your blog for the Liebster Award because I love it. ^.^ I want to try that dango. http://nattan323.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/liebster-award/
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…
I could go for some dango right now! Describe away! Tell us more,
“Hana yori dango,” after all, right? （・ω・）
I think I’m more in the dango yori hana camp myself, preferring miso dango any day over flowers! (Although of course I loved the dorama. heh.)
Oh no! Did I get the phrase backward?? “Hana yori dango” > > “More than flowers, dango.”