Anmochi Zoni

anmochi zoniNew Yearwasanbonwhite misoKagawa

Kagawa · Takamatsu

34.3424°N, 134.0465°E

Kagawa's New Year soup contains a round rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste, in white miso broth, with daikon and carrot cut into rounds. Sweet bean paste in miso soup is the part that stops people, and it is entirely deliberate.

The reason is sugar. Sanuki was one of the few places in Japan producing sugar cane, and refined wasanbon sugar was a valuable export that ordinary households could not justify eating. Putting an bean paste inside the New Year mochi was a way of having it once a year, hidden inside something else, at the one meal where it could be justified. The daikon is cut in rounds for family harmony and the carrot for colour. Some restaurants in Takamatsu serve it year-round rather than only in January.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Varies by establishment | Many places serve it only around the New Year

Closed: Varies by establishment

Entrance Fee

¥500–900 per bowl

Best Season

January | Year-round at a few Takamatsu teahouses

Visit Duration

30–45 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

Eaten across Kagawa at New Year, and served year-round by some restaurants and teahouses in Takamatsu and the surrounding towns. The soup is white miso with a round mochi filled with sweet red bean paste, sliced daikon and carrot. Kagawa's wasanbon sugar production is the historical reason for the sweet filling. Individual establishments' hours, rest days and prices vary — confirm before travelling, and note that many places serve it only around the New Year.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Sugar is the explanation.** Sanuki grew cane and refined wasanbon, which households could sell but not afford to eat. The bean paste inside the mochi was the once-a-year exception. **Ask before assuming it is on.** Many places serve it only over the New Year. A handful of teahouses in Takamatsu keep it on the menu all year and those are the reliable option. **The vegetables are cut in rounds.** Daikon and carrot sliced into circles, for family harmony. It is not a plating flourish. **It divides Japanese people too.** This is not a foreigner-versus-local reaction. Plenty of Japanese visitors find it startling, and Kagawa people find that funny. **Try it alongside udon.** The prefecture's two contributions to the table are wheat noodles and this. They are usually eaten on the same trip and rarely in the same meal.

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