My friend from the United States asked me, “What is Warabi Mochi?” I said, “It’s a transparent rice cake, which is usually covered with Kinako, sweet soybean powder.” But I was wrong. Warabi Mochi is not a rice cake. It is made from a starch extracted from the roots of a plant, Warabi. It is actually very similar to Tapioca. Tapioca is also made from a starch extracted from the roots of the cassava plant. Since I did not know how Warabi Mochi is made, I provided the wrong information to my friend. To be a good tour guide, studying English is not enough. It is also important to have a lot of knowledge about Japanese things.
transparent【形】透明な
starch【名】でんぷん
わらび餅は、実は、餅(rice cake)ではありません。どちらかというと、タピオカに近いです。日本の若い人たちが、タピオカミルクティーを好きなのは、わらび餅を食べながらお茶を飲むという習慣があったからなのかも知れませんね。