Photogenic Sweets! Enjoy Wagashi And Green Tea At Mahorodo Sogetsu

Mahorodo Sogetsu - Exquisite Japanese Sweets

Mahorodo Sogetsu is a wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop that began business in 2015 and is located near Gotokuji Temple in Setagaya, Tokyo. Mr. Yamagishi, the owner, became independent after training for many years at famous wagashi shops before opening his own business.

“Mahoro” in the name Mahorodo Sogetsu means “a comfortable place” in Japanese and is a word from old Japanese. Additionally, “sogetsu” means blue moon.

The blue moon is the second of two full moons during a month. It is said that “good things will happen and you will become happy when you see (a blue moon)” because the blue moon phenomenon seldom occurs. He thought of this name while placing his feelings of wanting to offer a comfortable place for customers while protecting Japanese tradition into its meaning.

Just like the feelings and sounds of the gentle words placed into the shop’s name, it is a shop with a gentle atmosphere.

Dine In While Enjoying the Calming Interior Colors

Matcha green tea and chestnut rice cake set (600 yen plus tax)

Though there are many wagashi shops where only takeout can be ordered, the sweets purchased at Mahorodo Sogetsu can be eaten inside. You can also order from a drink menu that consists of green tea, hojicha (roasted green tea), matcha green tea, and coffee to have together with your wagashi.

As Mr. Yamagishi’s mother is from Shizuoka, a tea famous for tea production, the flavors of the teas are chosen with particular care.

The green tea and roasted tea are produced in Shizuoka while the matcha green tea is ordered from Kyoto. Please try tasting your wagashi together with your particular cup of tea. Drinks cost from 300 yen plus tax.

The walls are a shade of white mixed with just a little bit of grey. It creates a calming ambiance that isn’t too bright.

The tables and chairs appear to have been custom-made. Pleasant music selected by Mr. Yamagishi will play inside the shop.

A Meticulous Seasonal Lineup

Photo courtesy of: Mahorodo Sogetsu

At Mahorodo Sogetsu, time-limited wagashi (Japanese sweets) are offered in accordance to the seasons. In the photo is a staple type of autumn wagashi called Tamagiku (Chrysanthemum Ball) (300 yen plus tax) made in the shape of a chrysanthemum. Made with fine, high-quality bean paste, it is a wagashi that is visualy appealing just as it is delicious.

Photo courtesy of: Mahorodo Sogetsu

Kuri Mushi Yokan (Steamed Chestnut Jelly) (280 yen per piece plus tax) uses homemade honey preserved chestnuts and red bean paste. Homemade red bean paste is a specialty of Mahorodo Sogetsu and is also sold wholesale to neighboring shops.

Aside from these sweets, there are also several other types of sweets that fill the shop that Mr. Yamagishi has put his heart into, all of which are more delicious than standard wagashi, and are made to be easy to eat.

The selection of seasonal jou-namagishi (sophisticated wagashi that represent the four seasons of Japan) change in as little as a month, so please inquire the shop for more details.

Recommended Japanese Sweets

Photo courtesy of: Mahorodo Sogetsu

Aomame Daifuku (Green Soybean Mochi with Red Bean Paste) (170 yen per piece plus tax) is the shop’s most popular product. There are even days where this sweet is sold out by the evening. The Aomame Daifuku is a wagashi that Mr. Yamagishi has a deep emotional attachment to as he first encountered it at the wagashi shop that he was trained at.

Salty green soybeans and homemade red bean paste that isn’t too sweet. The balance in flavors is exquisite.

This dorayaki (red bean pancake) (190 yen per piece plus tax) is lightly smeared with butter and then baked. Normally, dorayaki is often coated with cooking oil, but when butter is used, it has no oily smell and a more delicious batter.

Next to the showcase are color tenugui (hand towels) that are perfect for wrapping souvenirs. There is also an aomame daifuku design among them. Please check out these designs!

How to Get to Mahorodo Sogetsu

You can reach the shop by walking from the Odakyu Line at Gotokuji Station and Kyodo Station or from the Tokyu Setagaya Line at Miyanosaka Station. This time, we will introduce a route from Gotokuji Station that will also include a fun stroll through the streets.

Turn left after exiting the ticket gate of the Odakyu Line at Gotokuji Station and walk straight for five minutes. As you will be walking through a lively shopping district with supermarkets, salons, small wagashi shops, and coffee shops lining the roads, we also recommended walking while making stops at these shops.

Walk along the road for a while after exiting the shopping district and the railroad crossing of the Tokyu Setagaya Line will appear on your right-hand side. Cross the railroad crossing and turn left once more.

Walk for three minutes along the Tokyu Setagaya Line railway track on the left side of the road and you will see Mahorodo Sogetsu to your right.

Hand-painted menus posted on the glass windows can also be seen from inside trains on the Tokyu Setagaya Line that runs in front of the shop. There are also many customers that come to visit after happening to see the menu from inside the train.

Additionally, when you continue straight along the railway tracks, a shrine called Setagaya Hachiman Shrine will be to your right. It is a shrine where the god of winning luck and improving luck is enshrined. We also recommend slightly stretching your legs by visiting the shrine, then stopping by Mahorodo Sogetsu afterwards.

Would you like to spend a soothing time at Mahorodo Sogetsu together with carefully crafted wagashi?

Made in cooperation with: Mahorodo Sogetsu
* This article contains information from the time of coverage in September 2017.

Mahorodou Sougetsu

103-38-19 Miyasaka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-0051 Windsor Palace 103