Akafuku, a Mie’s best-selling souvenir can be Halal!

The best-selling souvenir from Mie.

Mie is located between Chubu and Kansai region, but the name is not so much known as Tokyo or Osaka. However, it has been one of the most visited places in Japan, because it is where Japanese top shrine, Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮) is located. It has been attracting so many pilgrims for more than hundred years.

The original culture around the shrine has developed and engraved in the mind of the Japanese, and even in the recent years, there is some souvenirs and products that Japanese people would definitely try when visiting the place.

This product can be a perfect Halal sweet. The name is Akafuku.

Credit: https://www.akafuku.co.jp/

What is special about Akafuku?

Akafuku (赤福) is a sweet that represents Ise area. The sweets shop was opened in 1707 for the people who came to the place for the pilgrimage. The sweet is rather simple – It is a sticky rice cake covered with red bean or white bean paste.

Credit: https://www.akafuku.co.jp/

The taste is so great. Red bean paste is so smooth and bit sweet as a Japanese sweet. Inside has a soft white Mochi rice cake that perfectly match the taste of red bean paste.

What makes Akafuku so unique may be their softness. Looking at the history of Ise, people who came this place for pilgrimage was exhausted, so that the food that had hard texture was not chosen by these people. This is the reason why there are so many dishes which have softer texture in Ise.

Mochi rice cake can be very hard as time goes by, but Akafuku is very soft. However, this is the reason why Akafuku has very short expiry date: Only 3 days from the date of production!

Probably this is a point where Akafuku cannot be a perfect souvenir for people waiting for you in your country. But this will make people more tempted to try one while in Japan!

So, is Akafuku Halal?

Let’s see the detail of Akafuku.

As Akafuku has no food additives or animal-derived ingredients, ingredients are totally safe for Muslims. As the shop does not handle any meat product, risk of contamination is quite low, too.

There is a headquarter building at Ise Shrine, which has more than 140 years of history. In this building, there are several sweets that can be enjoyed only at this place.

Where can we find Akafuku?

The sweet is, of course, sold in Ise and Mie prefecture. But because the product is so famous and popular as a souvenir, Akafuku can be found in the major airports and souvenir shops in Kansai region.

The number of the Akafuku sold at these places, however, is very limited. This is because the expiry date of the Akafuku is too short, so that they limit the number of the products in these places. If you would like to get the item, try to buy them upon finding one.

What if you want to extend the expiry? The quality cannot be the same, but it can be frozen in the freezer. Approximately 2-3 hours before eating, put it in the chiller and let it thaw out naturally.

Visit Akafuku main store in Ise!

If you have a chance to visit Mie, we strongly recommend you visit Akafuku one of their stores for their sweets! There are some branches that offer sweets for you to enjoy inside the shop. It is not only limited to Akafuku mochi, but also Matcha shaved ice for summertime or Mochi in red bean soup for wintertime.

Okage Yokocho (おかげ横丁), the main street that goes to Ise Shrine, has their main shop. Detail of the shop is as follows:

Information as of June 2023.  The product is not Halal certified and there is a small risk of contamination which we cannot be responsible of.  We are here to help with you translating the label and it is your responsibility to determine if you want to consume or not.