Momiji Manju

Momiji manju is a small castella-type sponge cake baked in a maple-leaf mould with a filling inside, and it was created on Miyajima in about 1906 by a confectioner named Takatsu Tsunesuke, reportedly after a suggestion involving the island's maples. The original filling is smooth red bean paste; shops now also make chunky bean, custard, chocolate, cheese and matcha. The making is part of the sell: several shops on the Omotesando arcade run their moulding and baking machines behind the window, so the batter is poured, the leaves close, and the cakes come round on a belt, and you buy them warm. A variant worth knowing is age-momiji, the cake battered and deep fried on a stick, sold hot at a few shops on the same street. Hiroshima city shops sell the boxed version as the standard souvenir from the region.

What you actually see

• A leaf-shaped mould - a sponge cake baked in the form of a maple leaf.
• Machines in the window - batter poured and cakes moulded on a belt as you watch.
• Warm from the line - bought at the shop rather than boxed.
• Age-momiji - the fried version on a stick, sold hot on the same street.

When to go

All year. An hour. Warm ones are worth the timing.

Honest expectations

Boxed supermarket versions are dry compared with the warm ones from the machines. The arcade is crowded and every second shop sells them. Fillings beyond red bean are a modern addition and vary in quality. They do not keep long once warm.

Nearby

Itsukushima Shrine is at the end of the arcade; Daisho-in is above it.