Ohagi is a traditional Japanese dessert that typically features a ball of glutinous rice surrounded by a sweet red bean paste. Takeno To Ohagi is admirably focused; they sell seven rotating varieties of ohagi, and that’s it.
I tried three types — standard red bean (the classic), nuts, and raspberry.
The red bean was simple, but tasty; the creamy, beany exterior contrasts quite nicely with the very chewy glutinous rice interior. The level of sweetness is restrained, but feels right. It’s good.
The nut variety was my favourite of the three. It has a nice nutty flavour from the variety of nuts on its exterior (I definitely tasted almonds, hazelnuts, and pistachios, and I think there were a couple more as well), and the darker rice has an even more satisfying chewiness. Like with the red bean, it has the perfect amount of sweetness.
The raspberry was my least favourite. I liked it, but the raspberry flavour was a bit muddled. This was the only one of the three that I wished could have been a touch sweeter.
Location: 1 Chome-21-１１ Sakurashinmachi, Setagaya-ku, Tōkyō-to 154-0015
How to find it: There’s no English, but the distinctive wooden boxes they store the ohagi in are visible through the windows from the street.
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