I typically buy Tokara wagashi from Fresh Flours down the street. This is the best wagashi (Japanese sweets) in the area in my opinion. They're always beautiful and reflect the season. They're fresh and handmade so each piece is a unique experience. Delicious with a frothy bowl of matcha. read more

Tokara - a display of dishes in a glass case - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This is a fairly limited review as I've tried only two things from Tokara. When I buy something from Tokara, I'm not seeking value. I'm paying for an ancient art - elegance, artistry, delicacy, and simplicity that adds up to volumes. It's not cheap. A little piece of mochi is $5.50. But where else will you find this?? If it's easy, everyone would be making it! Tokara has "unusual" access to their goods. Look at their website for subscription, pre-ordering, open house and other businesses that carry them. I quite literally have to hunt for them! Today, we lucked out that I was betting on it being cherry blossom season that they might have some cherry blossom specialties on hand, and they did! I found: Sakura Robe - Silky thin layered mochi wrapping a white bean paste - Rice flour, wheat flour , sugar, red coloring, white bean. See photo, it's beautiful! I previously found a piece at Fresh Flours across the street. I believe it's called Young Grass. Not sure though. Anyway, their pieces are very pretty and delicate with mild flavors; please don't expect American sweetness. read more

Tokara - Sakura Robe, $5.50 - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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The most delicious and authentic mochi you could ever eat in Washington. Fresh, great texture and delicate, if you really appreciate mochi you will notice there's not many places like this. I've seen a some folks complaining about this place onlinr but it's because they are used eating overly sweet candies. This is not the place for that type of sweet. The owner is also very kind and lovely, it was a nice found! You can order through Uber eats Wednesday or Fridays and pick up or call and reserve a box to be picked up on Sunday. All details in her website. read more

Tokara - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Tokara is so so lovely. Wagashi is thoughtfully and beautifully made, a delicate delight. read more

Tokara - Amazing wagashi - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Tokara is a local legend! If I could give this 10 stars, I would. The Wagashi is absolutely amazing, and she is the kindest person. Please go support such a truly unique local business. Great quality of food and great service. read more

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Ok guys, this is a refined place that offers mildly sweet traditional tea treats to be eaten while drinking bitter matcha green tea at tea ceremonies. It is supposed to balance between the two, so if you are expecting something from American Snickers, forget it, however enjoy the ambience of the treat. Great thought and care goes into making these, and if we were in Japan, they would cost a lot more than this, so these are a bargain, and you just saved air fair and get to stay in the comfort zone of your own city. I would definitely say they are a labor of love, just try to make even a simple one and you will see. We are lucky a city to even get to try these at any cost. I wish they had a number on the container so I could reference that to her website and know what I am eating, flavoring is subtle, so it can be hard to tell, yet I would like to me more educated in my palate for what I am experiencing. What it really comes down to is this is experiencing a food poem, rather than simply fueling the body or feeding your feelings. Refined, low low sweet, delicate, pleasing to the eye, thought provoking, nostalgic, a very old traditional tea sweet from ancient Nippon. I have yet to visit her place, however I pick them up from various shops around the city, go early before they run out. Check her website for locations on where to buy limited quantities. read more

The wagashi is amazing! My girlfriend is Japanese and she said it's just like the wagashi she used to get in a Japan. I can't wait to have it again! read more

Just a beautiful experience from the sweets, to the matcha, to the ambience of the space. I don't think they are open regularly, but my friend and I made it for an open house event as part of the Phinney Art Walk, and what a treat! I felt transported and also the staff were so gracious and welcoming. Hopefully I'll be able to visit another open house or will try ordering through their Uber eats or pick up at the local bakeries they supply. A special little gem! read more

Tokara - Beautiful business card - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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I started going to Tokara's Open House last year even though I had been a resident of Seattle for 5 years prior to that. It was such a beautiful, serene, and mysterious place and only open once a month! However, one day I decided that I should make a reservation and then went to pick up my order. Tokara-Sensei is a very gracious and kind host. Her studio at Phinney Ride is small and cozy. She even offered me green tea. I enjoyed having a conversation with her and exchanging tea notes. After that, I made it a goal to make it to almost every single one of her open house if I could. Her handmade traditional Japanese sweets are pleasant to the eyes and palate. While most people complain that the sweets are "bland," to me, they are just the right texture and flavor. The flavors must not overpower the palate with sickening sweetness like what most of the Western confections offer. Moreover, the designs of her handmade confections change every month so I'm always looking forward to what she has to offer on the upcoming open house. I highly recommend Tokara to anyone who wants to try traditional Japanese sweets. They are great with matcha or green tea and must be consumed as soon as possible to enjoy the optimal flavor and texture of such beautifully fine confections. read more

Tokara - Tokara's "Tsuki Usagi" (Moon Rabbit) with a bowl of matcha. - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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I felt like the desserts were tasty but lacking in flavor. It was very simple flavors and so I feel it was a bit overpriced to get 3 small desserts. However, there is artistry and handiwork that is invested to make the shapes of the desserts so beautiful. I don't know if I would try the things i got again but it was nice trying this place out. The owner was kind and offered me some free tea while I picked up my box. It's just a tad inconvenient with the space and the limited hours you have to pick up the items as well. read more

Tokara - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I had been by Tokara countless times. I always looked at the sign, which lists the next open house (typically on a Sunday) and kept on going by, making a mental note to come back. And so it went - over and over again. My brother has a great appreciation for confections. When he visited in August, I decided to take him there to try the wagashi (Japanese sweets). We decided to try the open house. I called the week before to submit my order for 3 boxes. Each piece is $3.50 and each box holds 3 pieces. My total was a bit over $30. When we arrived, there were a number of things for sale in front of the house. Also, a few artists were displaying their art for sale. As we walked up to the house, I somehow felt a bit serene and couldn't figure out why. Well, when I got inside, all the seats were taken (only 3 or so because it was a small space) and a woman was in the middle of a ceremony. Somehow I was getting that vibe before I entered the house. I believe the cost was $5 but I'm not sure since I didn't have any. The wagashi was presented on a stack of boxes so everyone coming could see them. Chef Tokara came in and out of the back to deliver the wagashi. She tested my Japanese and I'm sorry to say, it's not very good. Fail! I must say that it's a crime to eat something so beautiful! Each piece is both delicate and intricate. Here's what we got: Gourd: Firm tofu-like texture. Green tea flavor. Coarse rice flower, sea gelatin. Green tea, white bean paste inside. Mimosa knoll: Rice sponge cake with three layers, colors of mimosa petals, egg, white bean, rice flour, green tea, purple potato. Sunflower: Konashi and egg kinto with sprinkled poppy seed on top, white bean sugar, egg, flour, azuki, poppy seed. My favorite was the mimosa knoll. The rice sponge cake was just sweet enough and the flavors were complex. The green tea and purple potato added variety that contributed to the overall experience. I enjoyed it very much but felt sad as I ate these bits of art. I wanted to keep looking at them! Overall, at $3.50 a piece, a bit spendy but a nice treat. read more

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I was so intrigued by Tokara, this local, hidden gem in Seattle that handmakes rotating kinds of wagashi, the traditional/delicate handmade Japanese sweets that are typically used in tea ceremony. Their desserts are both aesthetically and tastefully pleasing...and are quite rare to find in normal day to day places we typically visit. Tokara has an open-house just once a month (but they do wholesale supplies to other Seattle bakeries, too), so make sure you look up their schedule, call/email to pre-order ahead of open-house date and go pick up your sweets when they are open. Tokara is a very small place but has a zen-ish calming feel to it. Most people just go there to pick up their sweet boxes (3 pieces/box consisting of mochi, yokan and manju each for $12 a box). However, if you are lucky to arrive there early like I did when there aren't so many people, you can have tea set for $7 (matcha+another type of wagashi) there as well. This was my first time getting sweets at Tokara. I also got a box for my SO's grandparents who had stronger ties to Japan and don't get to have these often anymore (because of their ages and because these confectionaries are hard to find here) and their eyes really lit up once they saw what the box contained :)). I will check out their open house calendar and put it on my schedule and will definitely be stopping by Tokara in a future again. read more

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Tokara has an open house on the second Sunday of each month. Unless you want to buy in bulk, your best option is to make a reservation for a box or two for the open house. It's $11 for a prepared box of three. The sweets are handcrafted and seasonal. It's a good thing that I reserved a box, because she was already sold out by 3:15. I took the box home, made a pot of genmai cha, and enjoyed the sweets. The flavors and textures were spot on - delicate and subtle. The treats were beautiful and it makes you appreciate even more than they are handmade. My only gripe was that it was a bit expensive, but I will probably be back. read more

Tokara - September selection - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Tokara, So my name is Kara. Obviously, as you can imagine, every time I walked by this adorable little house I felt like it was speaking to me. Writing me a letter, maybe. Immediately after moving to the neighborhood, I googled it and read about the Japanese confections that are only available to the public one Sunday every month. Typically this is the second Sunday of each month, but for some strange and wonderful reason, the sign that announces the next open house day read 1/6, which just so happened to be the day I was walking by with me dog. AND the day I skipped a hike because I was too cold. I felt like it was a strange fate that I ended up loafing around my neighborhood on a Sunday that they were to open. So I went home and busied myself for a few hours, all the while thinking about going there right at 1 pm. See, they suggest you reserve a box of confections, which I hadn't done. I actually went to the website and tried, but couldn't for the life of me figure how to. I'm not sure if that speaks to their UX design or my UX idiocy. Either way, I just decided to go right when they opened. The place was adorable, and I really enjoyed talking to them, while sipping a sweet bean dish and drinking some green tea. I really had a genuinely wonderful conversation with the woman playing the shamisen, about what brought us both to Seattle from the East Coast and how we think it compares. Now, I didn't love the confections as much as I wish I did. Bean paste just isn't my thing, unfortunately. But the experience of the visit was worth what i paid for those three treats. And to top it off, they said I was their first customer of 2013, and that it was good luck. I would say even if you are unfamiliar with Japanese confections, just go for the experience. It's completely worth it. Love, Kara read more

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This one has been on my list for a while and we finally got the chance to successfully make a reservation. They usually open on one Sunday each month, and we reserved a box of wagashi online. They also offered matcha and wagashi for $8/person that afternoon, and we also tried that. The wagashi was different from the ones we reserved, and it well tasted well with the hand-made matcha, authentic and yummy. And it was great to observe how they made the matcha. In the reserved box, there were three pieces of wagashi, all of which were yummy too. Nice place! read more

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After a few years of walking past this enigmatic building and wondering what they did, I actually took the time to look up their website and discovered they are a boutique crafter of Japanese confections. A friend and I decided that with just a few days to go until their monthly open house, we needed to make a reservation and pre-order the monthly assortment of treats. Our visit was amazing! We arrived right as the doors had opened and not only picked up the desserts we had ordered but had a traditional macha tea ceremony as well. Following the beautiful tea service we carried our nibbles home to eat them. The flavors were delicate, intriguing and delightful. We plan to make this a regular seasonal event! read more

It was my first visit to this place. Chef Tokara was very pleasant. The sweets are work of art.. To see more pictures..check out at our past meetup at http://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Baking-and-Dessert-club/ read more

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The boss man lived in Japan for a few years during his military days, so he has an affinity for Japanese sweets. It is definitely an acquired taste, but once acquired you're hard pressed in the states to find decent Japanese confections, but Tokara's are as authentic as they come. They are almost too pretty to eat, a bit on the pricey side, three small treats for about $10, and Tokara won't let you peak inside your box until after you pay. But as other reviewers have stated, she does everything by hand. She's an interesting woman, who doesn't quite know how funny she is, because it's unintentional, but you can see in the way she is that she is that her heart is in Japan: she dresses the part. She does commercial work, selling a lot of her sweets and treats to Fresh Flours down the street, so you can probably find something there if it's not Tourynase day, the 10th of each month. read more

I feel extremely fortunate to have Tokara in my city. As a Japanese citizen living in the US, an authentic wagashi was something I had to travel 5,000miles for until I found Tokara. Tokara san makes delicious, authentic Japanese wagashi and is so delicious. I no longer need to travel far to get my fix :) I mark my calendar every month to attend the open house. I can hardly wait until the next one :) read more

Pretty Japanese confections. I tried a couple and the textures of both were very unique and the flavours were delicate. Of the two I got, I would only get only one of them again, but I'd want to try more flavours for sure! read more

We stopped by about a year ago... and found out this place opens once a month. (But! She does make batches out for other locations). The owner is the sweetest person to work with, and had a lovely serene space (very very small though). Reservations are generally recommended (around a few weeks in advanced). Since we didn't have any, we showed up right when it opened at 1pm, and got a choice of extras (4 types) she had made. Quite nice since we got to choose what we would like to try. Manju- a bit harder than expected, designs were lovely. Filling was very sweet but very smooth, not gritty like those red bean mochis at grocery stores. Early plum mochi- Design: looks a bit rounder and less defined than on the website. Very sweet as well, but the mochi is amazing in that it melts in your mouth. A bit on the blander side, which may be as expected considering its a white bean filling. Fuji berry- carefully designed, like a very firm jello. Maybe a bit dry, but still has the melt in mouth consistency. Overall- bit pricey at 3 pieces/$12, but the design, service and freshness of these desserts is incredible. Being able to try a taste of Japan without flying off is quite the experience. Would like to try other season's desserts! read more

Lucky to be able to eat authentic wagashi in Seattle. Only complaint is that the menu is seasonal and I don't get to always choose my favorite one. read more

Wow. Finding Tokara is yet one more thing why moving to Seattle has been the best decision of my life. My immediate family resides in Chicago, but we have relatives in San Jose. We are obsessed with a manju shop in San Jose, and buy boxes at a time when we are in California. Tokara is different in that they are only open to the public 1 Sunday a month, and you have to pre-order. My husband and I were lucky enough to pass by the shop on Phinney Ave one day and immediately placed an order for two boxes. Holy cow. This is the most amazing Japanese confectionary I have ever seen in my life. Not only are the wagashi beautiful, but they are also delicious. We will be ordering every single month from now on. Tokara has taken the top spot in my book! read more

We just came back from a recent vacation to Japan, so I hopefully had the yardstick to measure this with. What I realized was how important presentation is for Japanese food, and the same applies to Japanese sweets as well, as the ingredient list is very limited. So, Tokara earned my - 5-star on presentation and the fact that everything is hand-made, - minus a star for being too expensive, even for hand-made The taste is harder to discern, as it's made with American ingredients so to me it doesn't taste quite like what we had in Japan, though we've yet to find a more authentic Japanese sweet shop in Wasington State than Tokara. As this is a one-person shop, the only explanation for such a high price is that it keeps things manageable. read more

Located in the Phinney neighborhood, this is one of my favorite mochi locations and possibly the only in Seattle at the moment. These delicious confections are hand made and simply delightful treats. They are just the perfect dessert treat for anyone. You usually have to order in advance. They promote sustainable practices, like bringing your own tupperware with you to pick up your little pieces of joy. read more

Tokara makes the best manju on the west coast.

A friend of mine and I stopped by this place last month because we literally happened to be standing in front of it and they happened to be opened that day. Tokara only opens once a month, usually on a Sunday, and for just for a few hours. We were greeted by Chef Tokara herself and while she was telling us about her confections and the ingredients she used on them, she served us some green tea. We each bought a box containing 3 different kinds of sweets. When I got home I tried them and immediately regretted not buying a second box. Each mini dessert has an unique flavor (not overly sweet) and looks very delicate. It is almost too pretty to eat but it tastes just right! I started following her on Facebook because Chef Tokara posts the date that she will be open. I already wrote down this month's date on my calendar and I am looking forward to trying November's flavors! read more

This was my second open house visit and I can't say enough good things about Tokara. Each sweet is beautiful and delicious. It is obvious that Chef Tokara puts love in her work. You can order boxes before the open house and then pick them up, which I highly recommend. Such a fun treat, I will be in next month too! read more

Incredibly beautiful japanese confections! Sweetness in a pretty presentation. I ordered a box for my grandma's 90th birthday and while Japanese sweets may be considered an acquired taste, everyone enjoyed these little pieces of art work. You can feel the thoughtfulness that is put into every treat. read more

Beautiful and delicate wagashi. The best you will find here, I think. I'm looking forward to gifting these to my grandmother who has not been able to travel to Japan for many years. We are so lucky to have Tokara-san in Seattle! read more