From the Archives: 和菓子薫風 Wagashi Kunpuu, Sendagi, Tokyo

A few months ago I gushed over a very special shop in Tokyo and I couldn't help but re-post this here. So, here ya go!

Save for a few quick sightseeing episodes, my brief visit to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka for John Gauntner’s annual SPC afforded me little spare time for anything but sake. Which was good. I was seeking immersion and immersion I got.

So what did I do with my free time the day before the class started? I went looking for sake, of course.

Wagashi Kunpuu, being just a couple years old and quite small, has no web presence in english, yet somehow I stumbled across this video, featuring their chef/owner, Sachiko Tsukuda, making really beautiful wagashi and serving them with some interesting looking sake.

I must drop in.

So after a morning of swimming through the tides of gawkers and tourists in the Asakusa district I walked west to Yushima station and rode the metro north to Sendagi station. From there it was a short walk down quiet streets to the wagashi shop with the beautiful name: Kunpuu.

After a brief introduction I made some broken small talk with the other guests and shared some sake kasu biscotti. They were very nice, and the kasu taste was not too strong. Yum.

She served this with a nice, lively muroka nama genshu junmai ginjo from Wakayama Prefecture’s Sekai Itto. This brewery’s little bit of history includes being the birthplace of naturalist Minakata Kumagusu. The sake was characteristically very aromatic, delicate in flavor but had a nice smooth body. A good pairing.

Sachiko-san made her way out and asked me what I would like to drink, to which I indicated that I’d have what my neighbor was having.

After some more friendly chat and (on my part) gesticulation, we moved on to try a variety of very nice dorayaki. The last one being a citrus infused one. Sachiko-san paired this with a delicate ginjo with a pure citrus nose and bright clean body. Very nice indeed. This was, I believe, Tatsuriki junmai(65% seimaibuai) but using 100% Gohyakumangoku rice. It was shinshu, stamped 12/2013, so it was quite lively indeed.

The last wagashi I tried was a bowl of adzuki bean, a crisped dorayaki cake and sake kasu ice cream. Here, the kasu flavor was heavy and took some getting used to. Thinking ice cream, I was expected a sweetness, butfound none. Once my anticipation of sweetness disappeared, I found the savory notes and alcohol more appreciable.

She paired this last dish curiously with a yamahai nigori futsuushu, that was ricey nose and body, but with enough acidity to be a good foil for the rich ice cream.

My mind was fairly thoroughly blown. This kind of combination of sake and sweets may be novel, but is certainly not a novelty. There are ways to do it and do it well. Sachiko-san is really onto something here. Her shop is really special.

As luck would have it, as I was gathering my belongings to head out into the chilly evening air, I was later invited to a DIY wagashi activity at the shop later that night. Of course I took her up on the offer.

And after taking a quick nap in a coffee shop, I headed back to the shop where myself and 7 others got to assemble our own wagashi and then sample them with a selection of more premium sake.

We tried a few kinds of sake with our wagashi, but the paring that really impressed me was one of contrast: A sweet potato wagashi that was very sweet paired with a typically dry style of sake, tanrei karakuchi. My camera died at that point, so I have no record, sadly, of that one. But boy did it work.