Mother Leaf Zenzai Stand

My friend Christina first introduced me to Mother Leaf Zenzai stand. Neither of us had heard of Zenzai before, so we looked it up, and discovered that it's a Japanese cold dessert, perfect for summertime!



Zenzai starts out with a huge mountain of shaved ice with Japanese sweet beans. You can top it or accessorize it with mochi, sweetened condensed milk, a flavored syrup, or a few other options (different beans, sugar topping, etc), if you like.

When I went, none of us were in the mood for Zenzai- to most Americans, beans just don't really go with dessert! Luckily, Mother Leaf also serves a variety of Kakigori- which is the Japanese word for shaved ice or a snow cone. They serve the typical Japanese flavors: Lemon, Melon, and Strawberry; and also Mango, Grape and Hawaiian Blue. You can choose a few different options, including sweetened condensed milk and red beans.



Lindsey isn't very fond of milk, so she chose a plain Lemon kakigori.

Christina and I chose Lemon kakigori with sweetened condensed milk. We were surprised at how well the milk and lemon flavors went together! It was very good.




The Mother Leaf Zenzai Stand is located on Route 75 just north of Camp Courtney. It's a little hole-in-the-wall place next door to the Family Mart. They accept yen, and when we went the staff spoke pretty good English. I couldn't find their hours, but their phone number is 989-0780.

To get there from Courtney, simply turn right out of the main gate, and look for the Family Mart on the right hand side of the road.

From McTureous, Take a right onto Route 8, then take a left on Route 75 to make your way past Courtney. Again, it'll be on the right.


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