As his wife shopped, two boys in the back seat strained to see a popular Japanese cartoon show about a bean-paste-filled superhero on the 6-inch-wide screen.
Though they have their differences, they all want to be reborn as tastier dumplings coated with a sweet-bean paste, and to remain side by side, as before, on the same skewer.
But before partaking of the deep-green elixirs, guests are offered tea sweets known as wagashi: beautiful, bite-size confections made with ingredients ranging from red bean paste to green tea itself.