As someone who has a big sweet tooth and a major love of food, I was really excited to learn that near where I was staying in Kyoto was the birthplace of mitarashi dango.
Mitarashi dango is a traditional Japanese dessert composed of rice flour dumplings on a stick and covered in a sweet brown sugar and soy sauce glaze. The place that invented the mitarashi dango is called Kamo Mitarashi Chaya, a teahouse located near Shimogamo Shrine.
It is said the teahouse and dango are named after the Mitarashi Pond in the Shimogamo Shrine, and that the bubbles from the pond inspired the round shape of the dango. It also is said that the reason they always put five dangos on a stick is because each one represents a different part of the body, with the head being the separate one on top. Similar to aburi mochi, it is believed that when you eat mitarashi dango you are protected.
When I went to try mitarashi dango, I noticed that the area where Kamo Mitarashi was located was a less touristy, rural area of Kyoto, and there were no other foreigners that I noticed. It made me very aware that I’m a visitor in this country and that I need to make a positive impression and be respectful of the local customs.
For the first time since I had arrived in Japan, I was fully immersed in Japanese culture, away from any other tourists. Being surrounded by quiet locals, away from the hustle and bustle, made Kamo Mitarashi radiate an aura of tranquility.
When I walked in for the first time, I completely missed the adorable knick knack shop they have to the left of the entrance. It had all kinds of little packaged snacks and Japanese candies, perfect for souvenirs.
After getting seated and looking at the menu, I realized that it was all in Japanese. I nicely asked them if they had an English menu, and they were able to accommodate my request by providing me with a paper that had the items and their descriptions in English. The menu mostly consisted of Japanese sweets and savory soups.
I ended up ordering mitarashi dango and an assorted tray of desserts called ogara shiratama. Ogura shiratama was not something I had ever heard of before, but it had a little bit of everything and it looked amazing, so I ordered it. While I was waiting, they brought me some green tea.
Two minutes after ordering, the mitarashi dango arrived at my table. I was surprised by its quantity and size because when I had dango before, it had medium-sized spheres on one stick.
This dango, however, ended up being three sticks with five small orbs. Although this visual difference is what first caught my eye, the comparison between the taste of the random dango I have had and the original was what I was most invested in.
As I took my first bite, I could instantly taste how much more refined this dango was. It was deliciously warm, fresh and sweet. The savory dough paired with the sweet, sugary sauce was a genius match made in heaven!
Honestly, the one stick was enough, but I was worried I wouldn’t have enough room for my other dessert that was on the way. So I asked them if I could take the rest home, and they packaged it up for me. The next dessert finally came! It was the ogura shiratama.
Ogara shiratama is a plate filled with desserts like vanilla ice cream, warabimochi in kinako powder, red bean paste, shiratama, green tea rice flour dumplings, brown sugar syrup and tangerines. Everything mixed together was fantastic! I tried many different combinations of the separate desserts and found that everything worked well together. It was amazingly sweet, cold and flavorful.
Out of all the desserts I’ve tried on my trip, the ogura shiratama was the most noteworthy and exquisite. This dessert alone is worth coming back to Kyoto for.
