Wakasaimo by Wakasaimo Honpo: Hokkaido’s Classic Potato-Shaped Sweet Made with White Bean Paste

Wakasaimo is a long-established Hokkaido confection and a familiar choice as a souvenir.

Despite its potato-like appearance, it is made from white bean paste rather than sweet potato, making it especially appealing to people who enjoy traditional Japanese sweets.

It is particularly associated with the Lake Toya hot-spring area. I bought this box at a Hokkaido fair in Tokyo.

Wakasaimo by Wakasaimo Honpo

A box of six costs 713 yen.

The wrapping paper features a charmingly illustrated map of Hokkaido.

The best-before date is printed on the side. Unopened and stored at room temperature, the sweets keep for 18 days from manufacture.

The box beneath the wrapping carries a different illustration.

A visitor who appears to be sightseeing at Lake Toya holds a camera. Ahead of the lens, a Wakasaimo vendor pulls a small cart.

Although the name contains imo, meaning potato, no potato is actually used.

In a part of Hokkaido where sweet potatoes were once unavailable, confectioners used lima beans and white kidney beans to recreate the look and experience of a roasted sweet potato. The result was Wakasaimo.
It is also said to have been the first Japanese confection to use soy sauce.

Here are the Wakasaimo sweets, sealed inside plastic.

Each Wakasaimo is wrapped in clear plastic like a piece of candy.
It fits in the palm of the hand but feels surprisingly substantial.

The ingredients are printed on every individual wrapper.

The surface has an attractive toasted color.
To create it, the confectioners brush the outside with a mixture of egg and soy sauce before baking.

What Does Wakasaimo Taste Like?

Can you see the fine, thread-like fibers springing from the filling?
They are pieces of Hokkaido kelp designed to resemble the fibers inside a sweet potato.

Now, let us taste it.

The outer skin is thin but pleasantly dense and chewy, with the fragrant savoriness of toasted soy sauce.

The generous white bean filling is soft, floury, and slightly sticky.
The tiny pieces of kelp genuinely resemble the fibers of a roasted sweet potato.

The refined sweetness of white bean paste is balanced by a faint saltiness from the soy sauce. Both also pair remarkably well with the kelp’s gentle flavor.

Like a real sweet potato, it feels satisfyingly substantial, so a single piece is enough to leave you content.

I would enjoy it as an afternoon snack with green tea or coffee.

Its resemblance to a miniature roasted sweet potato is charming, and individually wrapped pieces should be well received when handed out separately.

Wakasaimo is one of my Hokkaido-born mother’s favorite sweets, and we often ate it together when I was younger.
Trying one again after many years was wonderfully nostalgic. It remains just as delicious as I remembered, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you for the treat!

Wakasaimo Product Info, Expiration Date, Manufacturer