Visit Nara

At the top of Sanjo Dori Street, this yomogi mochi store attracts a crowd with regular displays of rice pounding. The sweets are made of a mix of glutinous rice pounded into a smooth, stretchy paste, and yomogi (Japanese mugwort) leaves which impart a very faint herb taste and green hue. The inside is sweet bean paste. When the shop staff start the high speed pounding, so many people stop to watch the exciting and potentially dangerous show, that a staff member is dispatched to keep the audience out of the way of passing traffic. You can buy a freshly made yomogi mochi cake for ¥130 to enjoy as you stroll the streets around Naramachi.