Has Japan Changed My Taste Buds?

I am beginning to wonder if my short 3 years in Japan has changed my taste buds.  A fact that my 3 sisters kept reminding me of during their visit a few weeks ago.

I like mochi, enough to figure out how I am going to have fresh mochi in the states.  A tutorial on ichigo daifuku is in the works.

The fact that I am starting to enjoy mochi (at first I was not a huge fan) does not in itself cause me to wonder.  It is the fact that the past few weeks, I have been wishing for more of these.

These are sugared beans.  They are the size of large Lima beans.  A friend found them in mainland and brought some for me to enjoy.  We joked that this was the ultimate hippie food.  Could you imagine a cupcake topped with one of these?  They were that big - a cupcake topper.  But, I did enjoy eating them.    Anything with sugar for me!!