Learn Seasonal Wagashi Confectionery from an Artisan in an Osaka Private Villa

Nobuharu Nakanishi: Your Guide into the Seasonal World of Traditional Wagashi Confections

Confectionery artisan Nobuharu Nakanishi runs the Yoshinoya Matsubara Confectioner’s Shop located in Osaka’s Matsubara City. The brand has been in his family since the founding of its original Fujiidera location in 1967, and Nakanishi himself has been making wagashi since childhood. At one point, he walked away from their world thinking a regular office job could satisfy him, but that experience only further convinced him that confections were a dream he couldn’t leave behind. He returned to full-time confectionery with abandon, founding Yoshinoya’s new Matsubara location from scratch. Since then, his store has become a beloved neighborhood fixture.

Nakanishi also works to further popularize wagashi by holding on-request confectionery classes for overseas visitors

Nakanishi’s time-honed skills have been proven even beyond the sales successes of his shop, winning awards in numerous confectionery contests. The confectioner himself has supervised and consulted on the presentation of wagashi for popular TV dramas, and has been selected to participate in “Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.” Nakanishi is also driving the craft forward by developing new themed confections, opening pop-up stores at events, and delivering public talks.

Nakanishi’s work: delicately imbuing the sense of the seasons into his wagashi

Toyosaki Kusano Private Villa: A Serene Traditional Sanctuary in the Heart of the City

Built in 1952, the venue for this experience is a traditional wood-construction villa residence in Osaka’s central Toyosaki neighborhood, known as Toyosaki Kusano Private Villa. Recently painstakingly renovated in such a way that preserves the best of its rich traditional history while also incorporating modern flourishes, this erstwhile residence is now a private rental villa.

Toyosaki Kusano Private Villa seamlessly weaves the classic into the modern

While the villa’s exterior retains its original purely Japanese traditional styling, passing through the front door transports you into an airy high-ceilinged space the likes of which traditional homes never dreamed of. This extraordinary space has been renovated and furnished to the nines, with a hand-selected suite of antique furniture and warm natural construction materials like plaster and stone. Its dining room seats twelve – with room to spare – around a table made from a single slab of wood.

Craft wagashi sweets in the spacious and luxuriously naturally-lit dining room

Nakanishi’s motif for the sweets in this wagashi workshop experience is the four seasons of Japan. Relax and take in his expertise as you soak up the charms of this stately old villa that blends its classic roots with opulent modern luxury.

Crafting Colorful Confections in an Space that Brims with Antique Charm

The history of wagashi in Osaka is long and deep, as one might expect for a city that has historically carried the affectionate title of “the nation’s kitchen.” The city’s ancient residents loved these sweets just as those of modern times do, for their delectable palate and evocative expression of seasonality through color and shape. The nerikiri confection in particular, which participants in this experience will learn to create, can take a wide variety of forms. “At first glance it might seem like a steep learning curve, but the truth is it’s a sweet that even total beginners can learn to make,” says Nakanishi. “And the making is as fun as the eating. There is nothing like watching it take shape within your own hands.”

Let Nakanishi’s expertise and passion sweep you up into the world of wagashi

This experience is themed around the four seasons of Japan, through two types of nerikiri using botanical motifs based on Osaka’s local flora (such as the maple). Both designs have been specially created by Nakanishi for this Wabunka plan, and are not sold in stores.
Visitors can also enjoy being regaled with a talk from Nakanishi about his creative thought process and his plans for the future of wagashi confectionery.

Wagashi in seasonal Osaka motifs: “Chuyo” (themed to the traditional Double Ninth Festival) and “Cosmos”

Autumn motifs: “Ginkgo” and “Maple”

Autumn motifs: “Sasanqua” and “Chrysanthemum”

Winter motifs: “Winter camelia” and “Temari”

Start by learning all about the materials and tools involved in wagashi making. Safety and quality are paramount, and all ingredients are sourced carefully from domestic suppliers. Nakanishi also explains the background of seasonal nerikiri and the motifs that have inspired it.

Try your hand using authentic artisanal tools picked out by Nakanishi

A Demonstration that Dazzles, a Moment to Memorize Meticulous Masterful Methods

After the talk, take in Nakanishi’s demonstration as he offers up an introduction to the art of nerikiri. Up close, his subtle dexterity is on full display as he rolls the red bean paste in his palm and perfectly gives it shape with his fingertips. Nakanishi’s nerikiri feature characteristically soft and rounded details. Watching their forms emerge from the dough up close in the hands of this seasoned artisan is a luxurious delight.

It’s hard not to be impressed by Nakanishi’s subtle and sophisticated technique

When you’ve gotten the idea of the steps by which nerikiri is made, it’s time to put that knowledge into practice: get hands on with the same top quality sweet bean paste that Nakanishi uses to craft the confectionery in his store, taking in its smooth texture and delicate color palette as you try your hand at crafting these sweets in their seasonal motifs yourself.

Take your time crafting wagashi following the master’s model

Nakanishi will also share more advanced techniques during this stage, such as various forms of bokashi – a method for changing a solid line between two colors of paste into a subtly changing gradient. With his attentive instruction, even absolute beginners can try these high-level techniques for themselves.

Confectioner Nakanishi is there to guide on the use of each and every tool

Relax and be at ease as Nakanishi guides you through the finer work, and enjoy the uniqueness that each creator’s hand imparts even when using the same materials and methods. “Nerikiri is not about reaching some objectively ideal form,” says Nakanishi. “The fun of making it is in the way it gives shape to the personality of its creator.” These charming little craft confections capture your heart as you make them, and sometimes it feels like a crime to eat them. Be sure to snap a photo to enjoy the ephemeral memory.

Unwind and Take in the Elegance of the Season through Wagashi Confections

Finish your luxurious Osaka wagashi experience by sitting down to a teatime snack of one of your own handcrafted nerikiri, alongside tea provided by a local teahouse with which Nakanishi has partnered. Nerikiri’s gently sweet palate is a perfect match for Japanese tea, and you can enjoy the two together over a relaxed teatime conversation with Nakanishi in this elegant space. It’s hard not to find joy in each bite of this delightful little sweet – especially when you made it yourself. Take the other one with you to enjoy with your own favorite tea as you reflect on the experience after you’ve left.

Silky smooth nerikiri accompanied by a dulcet discussion with your confectioner

Guests will spend most of their confection-crafting experience in the villa’s dining room, but are also welcome to tour the living room and tatami room afterward – so be sure to plan your visit with time to spare so you can make the most of the elegant Toyosaki Kusano Private Villa. There’s no better way to enjoy the season, or experience the elegance Osaka has to offer, than by fashioning traditional sweets with your own hands in an authentic villa dripping with the charms of history enlivened by seamless fusion with the beauty of the modern. 

Making and eating nerikiri is sure to steal your heart, as a way to embrace life and appreciate each season with all five senses