Treat Street

My friend Flora wanted to know if there were any other good Japanese sweets besides manju. It just so happens that today I went to Asakusa Temple, where there are lots of traditional Japanese treats (Japanese sweets are called wagashi). After going through the giant gate, we tried a version of dango, which is balls of mochi (a marshmallowy paste made from mashed rice) on a stick dipped in sweet flour or sauce. The next thing we sampled was a puffy, salty popcorn-like sweet. We don't know what it is called but it is delicious. Our next stop was okashi. Okashi are crackers made out of rice. They come in lots of flavors. Our favorite flavor was plain. Another thing we tasted was fried mochi with red bean paaste inside. The cooks were cooking them on the spot. They were delicious. Last but not least, we tried another dango at a different shop. Every treat on "treat street" was great!