Demachi Futaba

Specializing in Japanese confectionery for almost two hundred years, Demachi Futaba is a cozy and popular Japanese sweets shop in Kyoto. The same recipes and techniques have been used to produce all of their sweets since the day of the shop's founding, with consistent quality throughout the years. Demachi Futaba is so famous that there's bound to be long lines of people waiting for their turn to purchase the sweets — it is unusual and rare to not see a crowd outside the store. While there are at least ten different types of confections offered daily, the most famous one is the signature item, the Myodai Mamemochi — a sweet dumpling rice cake stuffed with Hokkaido red bean paste containing cooked black beans. While you're at it, get a couple of other sweets as well. The Ohagi, which is steamed sticky rice wrapped in mildly sweet red bean paste made into a ball, is a wonderful sweet that goes well with Japanese green tea. Seasonal sweets are also available at Demachi Futaba like the Kurimochi, only available in fall. Not only is this store a one-stop shop for all things local sweets made from the truest traditional methods, but Demachi Futaba can also be an educational experience. So pick up a thing or two about Japanese confectionery culture while you pick up your next snack.