When it comes to wagashi, or traditional Japanese sweets, it's hard to argue with ichigo daifuku as one of the stronger fan favorites. Ichigo daifuku use a small round mochi cake as a casing, and stuff them with a whole strawberry as well as anko, sweetened red bean paste. The chewy sweets might just be a piping hot cup of green tea's best friend when it comes to desserts.

Ichigo daifuku fanatics and those looking to try the popular strawberry mochi cake in Japan are in luck this January, as venerated confectionery store Kameya Mannendo is releasing a new batch of ichigo daifuku using some of the tastiest strawberries in Japan.

Established in 1938, Kameya Mannendo has been dishing out premium traditional Japanese sweets for decades, and now they're giving ichigo daifuku an injection of fine dining with their new batch of Luxury Fruits Daifuku. The new Luxury Fruits Daifuku are filled with the prized Benihoppe (red cheek) strawberries of Shizuoka Prefecture, which are known to be some of the juiciest in the country and are famous for their plump size and ideal balance of sweet and tart flavor. The new ichigo daifuku also come packed with an especially smooth Koshi-an red bean paste from Hokkaido.

The new Luxury Fruits Daifuku look to be a great way for those traveling Japan this winter to get a taste for the popular traditional treat, and will be available at Kameya Mannendo stores in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefecture for 270 yen a piece from January 5th to 31st.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.