Imo Ate Lottery Sweets by Sato Seika: A Traditional Tsugaru Treat Perfect for Families with Children

Here is a nostalgic Aomori sweet that makes a delightful souvenir. I was genuinely moved to discover that it is still being sold today.

Imo Ate is a playful Japanese confection enjoyed as a lottery. I have happy childhood memories of the whole family gathering in the living room to draw lots and eat the prizes. Very few traditional dagashiya candy shops remain, but children today should still find the game every bit as entertaining.

Because it is a Tsugaru specialty, you may only encounter it while visiting Aomori. The striking illustration of Enma, the fearsome king of the underworld, also makes the package memorable as a souvenir. If you see one, please give it a try.

Imo Ate, or Petit Imo Ate, by Sato Seika

The package costs 1,080 yen including tax and contains eleven sweets.

The best-before period is about two weeks.

The photograph on the back, showing children playing Imo Ate at a traditional candy shop, is wonderful.
I also remember being able to draw a ticket at a dagashiya for only a few dozen yen.

Last year, visitors could still play the Imo Ate lottery in the candy section of the Sakurano shopping center in Hirosaki.

The box contains three large and eight small bean-paste doughnuts. The large ones are cut in half.

Playing the Imo Ate Lottery and Tasting the Sweets

The rules are simple. Peel down one of the beige paper tabs arranged on the board.

My ticket said ko, or child, so I received a small sweet.

It is clearly smaller than the large oya, or parent, prize.

Time to taste it.

Delicious—and wonderfully nostalgic!
Although it is a fried bean-paste doughnut, it is surprisingly light rather than oily. The filling has just the right sweetness and tastes rather refined.

Even without the lottery, I would happily buy these if a convenience store sold them in individual wrappers. That is how much I have loved this flavor since childhood.

Incidentally, I always believed they were sweet-potato bean-paste doughnuts.
I thought so from childhood, and with a name meaning “Guess the Potato,” it seems a reasonable assumption.

In fact, they contain no sweet potato at all. Apparently the filling is white bean paste colored and flavored to resemble sweet potato.

That discovery surprised me, but I love the taste regardless of whether real sweet potato is used.

Indeed, if adding sweet potato would change the familiar flavor, I would prefer the recipe to remain exactly as it is, with sweet-potato-flavored white bean paste.

Our family continued drawing tickets. Who would win an oya, the large parent prize?

It refused to appear. We drew one child ticket after another.

There is a reason for that.
Although the box contains eleven potato-style sweets, the board offers fourteen tickets.

The three extra tickets therefore increase the number of losing child results.

At last, the tenth ticket produced a winner!

It was an oya, the parent prize.

The rows of characters revealed beneath each ticket resemble a Buddhist sutra, but apparently have no meaning. They are simply printed there to prevent players from seeing through the paper.

The Enma illustration is frightening, and peeling a tab reveals those mysterious sutra-like characters.
I remember finding the board’s solemn, ominous atmosphere rather scary as a child. Even now, Enma’s face looks intimidating.

At last, it is time to eat the long-awaited parent prize!

This photograph shows the difference between the child and parent sizes.
The basic recipe is identical, so the flavor does not change. However, the larger piece contains a higher proportion of filling, making the parent prize feel moister overall.
It really is delicious.

After plenty of lively family excitement, we finished drawing every ticket.
Imo Ate is delicious, brings a group together, and reminded me once again what a wonderful confection it is.

Its appearance is irresistible to anyone who loves retro design. I only wish it would spread beyond Aomori and become available throughout Japan.

Thank you for the treat!

Imo Ate Product Info, Expiration Date, Manufacturer