Mochi with a Cat on Top
Mochi with a manekineko/lucky cat/beckoning cat we bought at a grocery store in December of 2017 in Yubari. (Naturally, we bought the kind with the cat, but there are other shapes/figures available as well.) These are a traditional snack (the bottom two items that are pearlescent in color are dried mochi/rice paste) eaten on New Years in Japan and can be quite dangerous, especially if you don't chew the mochi well enough. (Every year, several people, mostly elderly, choke and die from swallowing mochi that wasn't properly chewed.)
Mochi with a Cat on Top
Mochi with a manekineko/lucky cat/beckoning cat we bought at a grocery store in December of 2017 in Yubari. (Naturally, we bought the kind with the cat, but there are other shapes/figures available as well.) These are a traditional snack (the bottom two items that are pearlescent in color are dried mochi/rice paste) eaten on New Years in Japan and can be quite dangerous, especially if you don't chew the mochi well enough. (Every year, several people, mostly elderly, choke and die from swallowing mochi that wasn't properly chewed.)