If you have been following my blog or instagram, you might know how much I like Japanese traditional sweets, wagashi. And among them I especially love all kinds of mochi, be it daifuku, dango, warabi mochi and so on. So, naturally when I stumbled across "Aito Denki Mochi" through a Japanese TV show, I knew I had to visit there!
By the way, mochi are usually vegan, so if you are vegan you can enjoy them, too! Just know that you cańt order ice cream or parfait as they are not vegan.
About Aito Denki Mochi
The thing that makes the shop special and prompted my interest was that their mochi are supposed to be eaten within just 5 hours.
Why? The reason for this super short best-before date is that first of all, they are the softest when they are fresh. In order to keep mochi soft for longer, usually the amount of mochi rice is reduced and preservatives are added. At Aito Denki Mochi, just like 100 years ago, they use 100% mochi rice and refrain from using preservatives, which I personally find amazing.
Due to that, the mochi is extremely soft and filled with dainty anko (sweet bean paste). Their speciality is nama daifuku, or "raw daifuku". Daifuku are mochi filled with anko.
According to Aito Denki Mochi ´s homepage, nama daifuku has been existing for 107 yearsh.
Depending on the kind of mochi rice, the amount of water and how it is boiled, the consistency and taste of mochi differes. The denki mochi this shop provides originated in the year 1916 in the city Minami Sōma in Fukushima prefecture and in order to make them the softest mochi with the richest taste, a speical way of boiling the mochi rice and stamping the mochi has been used, without using any additives at all.
The name "denki mochi" comes from the house wives who 100 years ago bougth small, electric mochi making machines for their kitchen called dendō mochitsuki ki.
They have a huge variety of different mochi, and it waas really hard for me to decide which ones to get!
My Thoughts
First of all, how pretty is the interrior of this place? It looks very modern and stylish, combining the modern Tokyo lifestyle with tradiional, delicous sweets. You can do take out, but if you eat in you will eat standing at this counter-like place at the wall, which is quite nice for taking pictures actually.
I ended up choosing the nama daifuku and mitarashi mochi to eat in, and to take out the yomogi nama daifuku and the denki mochi.
Nama Daifuku
As I never had nama daifuku before, I had to try them! There are two different kinds.
One of them is like a regular daifuku with anko, the other one was with yomogi in the dough, a healthy herb often used in traditional sweets and it gives them a nice, green color. I had yomogi daifuku before, but this one had a much stronger yomogi taste. Still, due to the anko it was sweet and had the perfect texture. The anko melted in my mouth like butter and the mochi was elastic and soft.
Mitarashi mochi
I also had to try the mitarashi mochi. I only knew mitarashi dango, which is dango in a sweet sauce made from mainly soy sauce and sugar. But honestly, with mochi it tasted even better!
Denki mochi
Lastly, I had the denki mochi which was just plain mochi, without any filling, sauce or even sugar inside. Still it was delicious due to the perfect texture alone. But I think it is probably supposed to be eaten with anko.
If you love mochi like me, then this shop is a abslolute must-visit! I love how pure and delicous the mochi are. It is not far from Harajuku (Yoyogi Kōen Station), so next time you go shopping, think about stopping by Aito Denki Mochi!
If you go there, feel free to share your experience in the comment section below!
Access
Price span:
190¥-2000¥
Opening Hours:
Tuesday - Sunday: 10:30 - 16:00
(Closed on Mondays)
Address:
Japan, 〒151-0063 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Tomigaya, 1 Chome−3−4 川端ハイツ 1F
Homepage:
https://www.denkimochi.com (Japanese only)