Hello!
On June 22nd, we held the second session of the “Petit Wagashi Workshop” , this time in Nara.
Following the first event in Osaka, we again focused on Minazuki, the traditional sweet for June.
Learning from the Previous Lesson
The first session in Osaka had its share of unexpected hiccups (please see the previous blog for details!), but this time, I made sure to learn from those experiences and proceeded with greater caution.
In particular, I focused on “keeping an eye on the clock and staying calm.”
Thanks to that, everything went smoothly as planned, and I believe the participants were able to relax and enjoy the workshop with confidence.
A Warm Atmosphere with Quizzes and Lessons
Once again, we prepared a quiz about Minazuki.
Everyone participated seriously yet with smiles, making it a natural and enjoyable way to deepen their knowledge.
During the cooling time for Minazuki, we also tried making Suhama, a semi-dry sweet made with kinako.
Since it can be shaped freely like clay, everyone enjoyed creating their own unique designs.
I was relieved and happy to hear many say, “Delicious!”—the Suhama was well received.
A Fulfilling Time Thanks to Extra Room in the Schedule
Since we had a bit more time this session, after the quiz I was able to give a detailed explanation about the ingredients used in the recipe and also hold a Q&A session.
Answering everyone’s questions and sharing the background and tips of wagashi making was a truly enjoyable experience for me as well.
Although we had extra time, the task of removing the paper molds from the Minazuki unexpectedly required some additional time and effort again. So, as in the previous workshop, we packed the sweets as they were for participants to take home and finish cutting and serving themselves.
Instead, I cut up the batch I made as a demo for everyone to taste.
Hearing everyone say “Delicious!” made me really happy.
Looking Ahead to Next Time
Hearing comments like “That was fun!” and “I want to come again!” was truly heartwarming and motivated me to keep doing my best.
Thank you so much to everyone who participated.
I look forward to sharing another joyful wagashi experience filled with smiles in the next session!