OSAKA - Maple leaf tempura, a traditional snack in a western Japan city said to date back 1,300 years, has been delighting tourists visiting for the famed fall foliage.
Souvenir shops and teahouses selling the snack line the path from Hankyu railway's Minoo station to a waterfall in Minoo park, Osaka Prefecture. The leaves, which are slowly fried to a crisp texture, now come in a variety of flavors including brown sugar and roasted soybean flour.
According to the city's tourism association, the snack originated when En no Gyoja, regarded as the founder of Shugendo mountain asceticism, praised maple leaves reflected in a waterfall and served them to travelers.
Hisakuni Kousendo, which began selling the snack in 1940, mainly uses edible maple leaves grown in its own woodland.
After being salted for more than a year and desalinated, the leaves are coated in batter made with flour, coarse sugar and white sesame, then fried at 160 C for about 20 minutes while being turned with chopsticks. The oil is drained overnight to create a light texture.
"It is fragrant like 'karinto' (deep-fried brown sugar confectionary), with a gentle sweetness," said the store's third-generation owner Kahori Hisakuni, 57.
Around 15 years ago, local business operators proposed at a meeting that the tempura leaves could come in a variety of flavors, prompting the shop to offer brown sugar, soybean flour and chili pepper varieties.
Production methods differ by flavor, with ingredients either mixed into the batter or sprinkled on after frying.
Frying at the shop is the job of Hisakuni's 83-year-old mother-in-law and predecessor, Setsuko. While the snack is sold throughout the year, sales peak during November's foliage season, when there as many as 300 visitors a day.
"I want people to enjoy (the snack) together with the scenery of Minoo," Hisakuni said with a smile.
