Not a fan of youkan

Yōkan (羊羹) is a traditional Japanese dessert, somewhat similar to jelly, in appearance anyway, not so much in taste! It is one of the few foods in Japan that I really just don't like. However, there are many different flavors and varieties of it, so occasionally I try one that isn't too bad! It is often served with green tea. It comes in slices and you usually use a thin wooden spatula like knife to shave off a slice to eat. 

There are two types of Yōkan - mizu yokan and neri yokan. A lot of them are made from red bean paste, but some are made from kidney bean paste. Yokan can be traced back to a type of mutton soup from China, they share the same kanji 羊羹. It wasn't customary in Japan to eat meat at the time so they used paste in the soup instead of mutton. Eventually they got rid of the soup altogether and created a pasty confection - the start of yokan. Until around 1800 Yōkan was quite different to what it is today, but the Yōkan of today was developed during the Edo period. 

October 8th is "Yokan Day". The date was chosen because October is 'the autumn of appetite', and the 8th after the auspicious word "Eight Blessings". Also, from a pun in that 10/8 can be read as 'good (ito) delicious yokan (oishi yokan)'. Wakayama is said to be the birthplace of yokan and an individual in the prefecture registered the day with the Japan Anniversary Association in 2012.