In Kitanotenmanbu shrine in Kyoto, the beautiful fresh green garden of maple leaves is exhibited now. It’s more famous for plum blossoms and red maple leaves, but of course fresh green leaves are also beautiful.

Funayashu-getsu is the sweet shop next to Kitano Tenmangu shrine. They are making the seasonal sweets and sweets related to Kitano Tenmangu shrine.

 

The sweets you can be rich if you swap it for something!?

 

“Warashibe Cho-ja” is the flagship sweets of Funayashugetsu. It’s made of rice cake, sugar, special beans, and bean powder (kinako), which are more casual than the fresh sweets used in the tea ceremony.

The name “Warashibe cho-ja” means the old story that a pour guy swapped a piece of straw given by a Japanese Buddhist god several times and became rich at last. Starting from a straw, it became an orange→a gorgeous cloth→a horse→a large house at last.

So, it might be.. if you bring this simple sweet to your friends or trading partners, you can gain something and become rich!

It’s very charming and interesting name, isn’t it?

 

 

 

 

Fresh Ayu (sweet fish) and plum forest

 

They are making the seasonal sweets and the one related to Kitano Tenmangu shrine as well. Now “Waka ayu” shaped like sweet fish in the river and cool bracken starch dumplings looked delicious.

↑Reference: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8B%A5%E3%81%82%E3%82%86

I guess foreigners like “Waka ayu” because its shape is pretty and easier to understand what it is. The taste is also nice.

One of my guests in the tea ceremony said she had seen the sweets of carp, but I guess it might be “waka ayu”. It’s the sweets only around June, the beginning of summer in Japan. Japanese children also love their cute shape.

On the other hand, the round pink sweets which represents plum blossoms in Kitano Tenmangu shrine is popular in the beginning of spring in Kyoto.

 

 

 

 

The friendly sweets shop in Kyoto

 

I always be nervous when I visit the sweet shop in Kyoto first time because sometimes it’s difficult to ask if I can write this on my blog or something to the authoritative big shops. But the owner of Funayashugetsu talked with me very friendly.

We need reservation to buy the fresh sweets for tea ceremony here, but they also have the friendly Wagashi (Japanese sweets) making class. I was a bit surprised that they teach how to make fresh sweets shaped Doraemon (animation character in Japan), not seasonal flowers.

I’m sure small children likes that.

It’s really friendly and nice sweet shop.

 

 

Funayashu-getsu Kitano shop

898 Majiki-cho Kamigyo-ku Kyoto（The north east corner of Kitano Tenmangu shrine）

TEL　075-464-2618

Business hour: 9:00～18:00（Tuesday～17:00）

URL: http://www.funaya.jp/company/