Nakatanidou -Mochi Shop

A must try mochi if you go to Nara. You probably seen the high speed of making mochi from the mochi master from TikTok. Taste is amazingly good. Definitely worth waiting in line to get the freshly made ones. Price is decent, taste is super amazing. We have to queue up again to buy second round lol. So, to avoid wasting time, it’s better to buy more the 1st time. The packaged crackers are also very nice. This shop sure worth to pay a visit.

We came here to buy some of the famous fresh mochi that everyone talks about and were pleasantly surprised. Upon buying our mochi on the right side of where the busy line is, they actually just started the mochi pounding! So we had a first row view of the demonstration.

There is only one flavour you can buy and that is with red bean filling. The mochi was by far the softest and squichiest I've ever had and the red bean filling wasn't too sweet nor savoury.

If you are expecting an overly sweet mochi, then this is not the place for you. If you prefer natural tastes, a place that utilises the flavour of the original ingredients? Then this is the place for you. Just be aware, they only sell their signature flavour at the stand!

Nakatanidou is a shop in Nara, famous for their mochi pounding. It's quite a sight to see the mochi being pounded live. The men who do the pounding really are fast at it. There's no set schedule for the mochi pounding, but their website says they do it about 10 - 15 times a day.

We got there early in the day to catch one of the mochi pounding demonstrations. I do recommend going earlier in the day when the shop is opening, to catch a mochi pounding.

Right after the mochi has been pounded, it gets placed into a machine where it's molded into shape with a filling inside. You can buy these right away and they are soooo good! Nothing like eating freshly pounded mochi!

More than the showmanship, the mochi is really fluffy, soft and delicious! It’s very entertaining and funny watching the team performing and massaging the dough! The texture of the mochi is good, sweetness of the red bean just nice, and affordable, at 180Yen! The shop will consistently have queue so it’s hard to miss.

Wow, we walked past this shop by chance on the way to Nara Park and saw the ladies efficiently making this excellent rice cake with red bean filling. They looked so tempting that we just have to get one to try. Warm, fragrant, sweet rice and red bean paste. The powder coating was also excellent. This is definitely a must-try when you go to Nara Park.

Service was brisk and friendly too. Enjoyed watching them at work. (This is a late review. Came here in April 2023.)