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Photo by Dovile Ramoskaite (https://unsplash.com/@dovilerm) on Unsplash

Wagashi: Understanding Japan's Traditional Sweets in Tokyo

Last updated August 26, 2026

A wagashi shaped like a maple leaf appears on shelves weeks before the trees actually turn, because the point was never to copy autumn but to announce it. Japan's traditional sweets run on their own private calendar.

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