Rice flour—what kinds of products come to mind?
In recent years, advances in milling technology have led to rice flour being used in a wide variety of products. In Kurashiki, more and more shops are offering products made with rice flour—not only bread and sweets, but also items like fried chicken and taiyaki that might make you think, “Wait, this is made with rice flour too?”
The “Rice Flour Stamp Rally” is a fun way to discover and enjoy the new appeal of rice flour.
I visited participating shops and sampled their distinctive rice-flour treats.
The information provided was current when this article was published in January 2026. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What Is the 3rd Rice Flour Stamp Rally?
The Rice Flour Stamp Rally is an event where participants visit shops that sell rice-flour products and collect stamps.
Enter by collecting stamps for a chance to win one of 30 rice-flour product gift sets worth 3,000 yen. The event is held to promote rice flour and expand its consumption, and this is its third year.
The event runs from Tuesday, November 25, 2025, through Friday, February 6, 2026.
Entries are accepted through February 10, 2026.
Participating shops are as follows:
- Karaageya Maki
- Kurashiki Aizen
- BAKE SHOP KURASIS
- Koji Cafe Dining Yukari
- Tamaido Honpo
- Chaya Cafe
- Fleur Marche Kigi
- Motoya Co., Ltd. Kurashiki Okara Cookies
- Patisserie Laviche
- ICHIGO
- La Pâtisserie Piaget
How to Take Part in the Rice Flour Stamp Rally
You can enter by collecting stamps from three participating shops. You will receive one stamp for each purchase or dining visit.
Please note that your entry will be invalid if it has two stamps from the same shop, or if your address, name, or contact information is missing or incorrect.
Pamphlets with stamp rally cards are available at participating shops.
You can also download and print one from the Kurashiki Rice Project website.
Karaageya Maki, a Fried Chicken Takeout Shop
My first stop was Karaageya Maki, a takeout shop in Tamashima, Kurashiki City.
Menus are lined up in front of the shop. There were so many varieties that calling them all simply “fried chicken” hardly does them justice—it was exciting to see.
The item included in the Rice Flour Stamp Rally is “Samurai Chicken.”
What an impactful name. It is said to be called “Samurai Chicken” because traditional Japanese ingredients such as shiso, tea leaves, rice flour, and matcha are mixed into the marinade and dip.
The white, grain-like bits on the surface of the fried chicken are rice.
They crush raw rice in a blender, sift it, and coat the chicken with the coarser grains left in the sieve. I was surprised by this inventive idea.
When you take a bite, the rice has a pleasant, poppy texture that makes it fun to chew.
And the essential accompaniment is the special matcha dip.
The shiso flavor comes through, pleasantly balancing the richness of the chicken. These bite-sized pieces of fried chicken are perfect as an adult snack and also seem easy for young children to eat.
Bakery & Cafe Chaya Cafe
After enjoying the fried chicken, I started craving something sweet.
My next stop was Bakery & Cafe Chaya Cafe in Chayamachi, Kurashiki City.
It is right by the entrance to the Soshinkai Reha Care Town East Building, a care services facility, and is open to visitors who are not affiliated with the facility.
Chaya Cafe sells baked goods made with rice flour. They cost 160–200 yen (tax included) and would make nice souvenirs or gifts.
・Rice flour gateau chocolat
・Rice flour tuile
・Rice flour stamp cookies (with drip coffee)
・Rice flour coffee cookies
・Rice flour nut cookies
・Rice flour lemon cake
The bread sold in the same space is not made exclusively with rice flour, due to the shop’s circumstances. The “rice-flour taiyaki” was created after they considered how they could offer the deliciousness unique to rice flour in another form.
These are about the size of ningyo-yaki and are gluten-free (foods made without gluten, which is found in wheat and other grains). They cost 300 yen for four (tax included) and come in two varieties: custard and chunky red bean paste.
You can choose any combination of flavors. This time, I chose two custard and two red bean paste.
The outside is crispy, and the dough is wonderfully chewy.
They are cooked to order, so the warmth of freshly made taiyaki was especially delightful.
BAKE SHOP KURASIS
My final stop was BAKE SHOP KURASIS in Kamihigashi, Kurashiki City.
This shop sells OKOME bread made from raw rice rather than rice flour, as well as rice-flour baked goods.
The bread is usually ready around 11 a.m., and the varieties apparently differ from day to day. We recommend checking Instagram in advance. They also take phone orders to set items aside for you.
On the day the writer visited, the following breads were available.
・Rich honey and cheese bread
・Corn mayo
・Koguma bread
・Plain bagel
・Salt bread
The writer tried the Koguma bread, recommended by the shop staff.
Koguma means “sweet potato” in Korean. Apparently, this is a limited-time item sold to coincide with the sweet potato harvest season.
When split in half, it was packed with chunky pieces of sweet potato.
It is notable for its chewy dough and the gentle sweetness of the sweet potato itself.
It is filling and satisfying.
From the Writer
As the writer visited the shops, they heard people talk about allergies and the term “gluten-free” several times.
What surprised the writer about rice-flour products was that some products on the market may contain wheat as one of their ingredients. Until now, the writer had assumed that rice-flour products did not contain wheat.
On the other hand, among the shops visited during this rice-flour stamp rally, some made products using only rice flour, while others clearly displayed their ingredients, making it easy to ask the staff about any concerns.
These efforts are reassuring for people choosing what to eat.
The writer’s child has food allergies.
That is why the writer hopes that food choices will continue to expand, so that people can share the same food and smile together, saying, “This is delicious,” regardless of whether they have allergies.
New ways of eating made possible by rice.
This stamp rally event offered a chance to experience that potential through familiar local shops.
3rd Rice Flour Stamp Rally Information
| Name | 3rd Rice Flour Stamp Rally |
|---|---|
| Held | November 25, 2025 (Tuesday)–February 6, 2026 (Friday) |
| Location | Various locations in Kurashiki City |
| Participation fee (tax included) | Participation in the stamp rally is free ※Food and drink costs are extra |
| Website | Rice Flour Stamp Rally – Kurashiki Komekko Project |
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
Enter a search term to find articles on this site
