Akafuku (赤福) has been making the same sweet on Oharai-machi, the old pilgrim street outside Ise Jingu’s Inner Shrine, since 1707. It’s soft white mochi hidden under smooth red bean paste, pressed into three ridges. At the main shop you eat it with a cup of tea, sitting on the veranda over the Isuzu River. We stopped there in October 2026 on our walk to the shrine. A plate of two pieces with tea is ¥400.
Oharai-machi (おはらい町) is the 800-metre street that leads to Uji Bridge and the Inner Shrine (Naikū) of Ise Jingu, Japan’s most sacred shrine. In the Edo period, millions of pilgrims walked here from all over Japan. Our guide, Misae, explained the name: the houses along this street belonged to onshi (御師), shrine agents who promoted the pilgrimage, then put pilgrims up, fed them and arranged their prayers when they arrived. A kind of Edo-period travel agency. The purification prayers (oharai) they performed gave the street its name.
The street is still all about feeding visitors. Wooden shopfronts sell Ise udon, grilled oysters, Ise lobster sold by weight, croquettes, fish cake, soft serve, caramel and more kinds of mochi than you can count. Misae told us mochi has been the pilgrim snack here for centuries, and almost every shop seems to sell its own.
We went with my son Kayne and Misae. Akafuku was the one we stopped for.
What is Akafuku?
Akafuku mochi is a small piece of soft white mochi, completely covered in smooth red bean paste (koshi-an). The paste is pressed on by hand with three fingers, leaving three ridges.
The shape means something. Akafuku’s own menu says the three ridges are the clear stream of the Isuzu River, which flows through the shrine grounds, and the white mochi underneath is the pebbles on the riverbed. The shape hasn’t changed since the shop opened.
The name comes from 赤心慶福 (sekishin keifuku): to share in your own and others’ happiness with a sincere heart.
We watched two women making them in the open room at the front of the shop, kneeling either side of a huge iron pot of bean paste. One pinched off the mochi, the other swept paste over each piece with her fingers, quick and neat. The Akafuku you eat here is made by hand, and only at this shop. The boxes you buy to take home are made in the factory.
What we ordered
Akafuku mochi, bon (赤福餅 盆, ¥400). The only thing on the eat-in menu most of the year: two pieces of Akafuku on a small lacquered plate, brought out on a round wooden tray with hot tea. We had two plates: ¥800 at menu prices.
I love mochi. Kayne doesn’t, so it was two plates between Misae and me, and three cups of tea.
The tea matters. The water is boiled in the shop’s vermilion kamado stoves, a custom kept up as hospitality for pilgrims, and the plain, slightly bitter tea cuts the sweetness of the bean paste.
In winter there’s also Akafuku zenzai (赤福ぜんざい, ¥800): Hokkaido azuki beans simmered into a sweet soup with freshly grilled mochi, served with a little salted kelp to reset your palate.
Sit on the river side
Walk through the shop to the back. The veranda (engawa) seats look straight over the Isuzu River. In the late-October sun, with tea and mochi and the water going past, it was the calmest moment of a busy day.
Good for families?
Yes. It’s a small, soft, sweet snack, it comes quickly, and the riverside seats are a good break for tired legs before or after the shrine. There’s no seafood in it. Not every kid likes mochi, though: Kayne doesn’t.
Two catches: mochi is chewy and can be a choking risk for small children, so cut it up for little ones. And the queue at the front can be long; the takeaway counter and the eat-in queue are separate, so check which line you’re in.
When to go
Akafuku’s main shop opens at 5:00 am and closes at 17:00, every day of the year. Oharai-machi gets very crowded from mid-morning, especially on weekends. If you don’t like crowds (I don’t), go early: visit the shrine first thing, then have Akafuku and tea on your way out before the street fills up.
Visiting Akafuku main shop
| Name | Akafuku Honten · 赤福 本店 |
| Address | 三重県伊勢市宇治中之切町26 (26 Uji Nakanokiri-chō, Ise, Mie) |
| Website | akafuku.co.jp (Japanese) |
| Phone | 0596-22-7000 |
| Hours | 5:00–17:00 |
| Closed | Open every day |
| Where | On Oharai-machi at the entrance to Okage Yokochō, about 5 minutes’ walk from Uji Bridge and the Inner Shrine |
| Getting there | We drove and parked near the Inner Shrine. Buses run from Iseshi and Ujiyamada stations to Naikū-mae |
| Seating | Tatami and veranda seats overlooking the Isuzu River |
| Menu | Japanese, with photos. There’s basically one thing to order |
| We visited | October 2026 |
| We paid | ¥800 for two plates, tea included (menu prices as of October 2026) |
How to order
- お盆をお願いします。
O-bon o onegaishimasu.: One plate (Akafuku with tea), please. - お盆を二つお願いします。
O-bon o futatsu onegaishimasu.: Two plates, please. - 持ち帰りです。
Mochikaeri desu.: It’s for takeaway.
My Japanese is poor. Here it hardly matters: hold up fingers for how many. For everywhere else, our free printable ordering cards do the talking, allergies included.
Taking some home
Boxes of Akafuku are sold at the counter at the front and make a classic Ise souvenir (omiyage). Fresh Akafuku only keeps for about three days, so eat them soon.
Also on our Oharai-machi walk
We didn’t eat at these, but Misae pointed them out and they’re worth knowing:
- Ebiya (ゑびや). A restaurant on the street that’s famous in Japan for using data and AI to predict how many customers will come each day, down to the hour, using things like the weather forecast, so they have the right staff and food. Misae has read the president’s book about it.
- The green ball outside the sake shop. A ball of cedar leaves (sugidama) hanging outside a sake brewer or shop means new sake has been made. It starts green and turns brown as the sake ages.
- Okage Yokochō (おかげ横丁). A side street of rebuilt Edo- and Meiji-style buildings next to Akafuku, packed with more food stalls.
Then walk to the shrine
At the end of the street, Uji Bridge (宇治橋) crosses the Isuzu River into the Inner Shrine. You bow at the gate going in and coming out.
I love looking at architecture, so honestly, I was a bit disappointed by the main shrine. It’s always hidden behind wooden fences, so you barely see it, and you can’t take photos at the main sanctuary. That’s part of the mystery. Every 20 years the shrine is rebuilt from scratch on the empty plot right next to it, and then the old one is taken down. Doing it again and again keeps the original carpentry skills alive, passed from one generation to the next. Even Uji Bridge is rebuilt every 20 years. The next rebuild is about 10 years away.
There’s a food story inside too. Misae told us the goddess is offered breakfast and dinner every day, cooked over a fire started by hand, without a single day off in about 1,500 years. Go early if you can, and stop for Akafuku on your way back out, before the street fills up.
FAQ
What is Akafuku mochi?
Soft white mochi covered in smooth red bean paste, pressed into three ridges. It’s been made in Ise since 1707.
What do the three ridges on Akafuku mean?
They represent the Isuzu River flowing through Ise Jingu. The white mochi underneath stands for the pebbles on the riverbed.
Where is the Akafuku main shop?
On Oharai-machi in Ise, at the entrance to Okage Yokochō, a few minutes’ walk from the Inner Shrine of Ise Jingu.
What time does Akafuku open?
5:00 am, every day of the year. It closes at 17:00.
How much does Akafuku cost?
At the main shop, a plate of two pieces with tea is ¥400 (October 2026).
Is Akafuku good for kids?
Yes, it’s soft, sweet and seafood-free. Cut it up for small children, as mochi is chewy.
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