Bamboo bark makes a sturdy cover for the mochi rice cakes inside. Brown sugar adds a deliciously light sweetness, and cashew nuts add crunch. (Yakumo Mochi, by Chimoto)

Sasa leaves have antibacterial properties. Here they are used to wrap chimaki, made by a shop whose heritage goes back to the 16th century. The selection above shows two types: the translucent one is made with arrowroot, water and sugar, while the other has the same ingredients but with an addition of bean paste kneaded into the mixture. Both types have a refreshingly delectable taste, and the fragrance of the sasa leaves penetrates them. (Chimaki, by Kawabata Doki)

This mizu-yokan jelly, made from a mixture of bean paste, sugar and agar-agar, is chilled for a firm consistency. Slide it out of the hollow bamboo for its refreshing sweetness. (Chikuro, by Ponto-cho Suruga-ya)

Top: Juice squeezed from yuzu (a citrus fruit) is mixed with agar-agar (seaweed jelly) and poured into the peel, where it becomes firm. A temptingly fragrant specialty for winter. (Yu-kogori, by Murasaki no Wakuden)
Below: A mix of sweet agar-agar and miso-flavored beans, in clam shell containers. A confection just for summertime. Served in a bamboo basket on Japanese cypress tree leaves, they are refreshingly cool, for the eyes as well. (Hamazuto, by Kame-ya Norikatsu)