When my mom got the National Geographic's National Park Guide back from her friend after a long time, the book was accompanied by a nice surprise.

It was a sweets called "Kobato Mameraku" from a traditional sweets maker in Kamakura, Japan. The maker, Toyoshimaya, is a well-recognized name in Japan, for its long history from the Meiji period and its loyal adherence to the locality. (The dove shape has its origin in the numerous doves that roam the premises of the equally numerous temples and shrines in Kamakura.) In a small, rectangular-shaped paper bag with a single stamp that boasts the store's name, there are six little dove-shaped sweets. They're made of a special kind of unrefined sugar (called Wasambon) and powdered broad beans.

After playing with them for a while (i.e., taking pictures), we had them with a cup of coffee. A bad move--the subtle flavor of the broad beans was still there, but was almost overpowered by the coffee. The last time we had this traditional snack, it was accompanied by freshly prepared Maccha (powdered green tea). It still brought back, however, the memory of about half an hour we spent in a well-tended garden of the Engakuji Temple in Kamakura, sipping the green and bitter tea and nibbling on the simple yet flavorful treat. It was a nice change of pace after a typical tourist day of walking and exploring--for about $4, many temples and shrines in Kamakura let you sit in their beautiful garden and sip refreshing green tea, accompanied by some seasonal sweets. It's a fun thing to do while in Japan!

(The treat in question is next to the bowl of tea...)

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Toyoshimaya (Japanese link)
2-11-19 Komachi, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
0467-25-0810