And welcome back to Who Made It Better?

The fiercest reality show located in Tokyo.

Today's contestant, Erica Lion.

I hope she sharpened her claws,

because today she's taking on This Thing.

Watch out Tokyo, these girls aren't here to play.

Two are up for the challenge,

but only one will emerge half decent at their craft.

Who will rise to the challenge?

And who will fall into a deep pit of despair?

Let's find out.

This is The Wagashi Challenge.

(light piano music)

So today I'm in Tokyo doing a wagashi experience

at Saitama-Ya with WOW! JAPAN Experience +.

I'm here with Erica Lion.

- Hello.

- And we have a Japanese interpreter today, Roland.

- Hi.

- And we are going to learn how to make Japanese sweets.

- (in foreign language)

- [Erica] Wow.

- [Hiroshi] (in foreign language)

- [Micaela] (in foreign language)

- [Hiroshi] (in foreign language)

- [Micaela] So we've done our two practice wagashi.

We've gotten them out of the way.

And now that we've kind of gotten

the feel for how things are made,

it only makes sense that we need to duel to the death.

- But I have never made wagashi before, so.

- That's okay.

'Cuz that means that I will win.

The winner will be chosen by you on Twitter.

We'll be holding a poll.

And I'm excited to see

how it turns out.

Because I'm gonna win.

- Oh, we'll see about that.

- Alright, so first we're going to

make this chry-san-the-num.

Is that how you pronounce it?

- [Roland] Chrysanthemum.

- Chrysan-the-mum.

- Chrysanthe--

It's a very light subtle pink flower.

And it's got a bright yellow center.

And then a youkan leaf on the side.

It's very cute.

- [Roland] You guys ready?

- I am so ready.

- So ready. (laughs)

- [Roland] Alright.

- Here we go, round one.

- [Roland] Three, two, one.

Go.

(Micaela growling)

- [Micaela] Okay, so first we roll it out, right?

- [Erica] Yeah.

- [Micaela] We roll it out.

Make it super flat.

- [Erica] It's like a pancake.

- Oh, that's cute.

I feel like I can do, I can do this much now.

So far, without making a mistake.

It's just, like, after this where it gets tricky.

(battle music)

- [Hiroshi] (in foreign language)

(Micaela and Erica laughing)

- [Erica] (in foreign language)

- [Micaela] (in foreign language)

(battle music)

(laughs)

I think I pushed too much.

(laughs)

Oh.

- So cute.

- Yeah, that's a little bit adorable.

- Cute.

- I like yours more.

- Ta-da.

- [Micaela] Alright.

- (in foreign language)

- [Micaela] (exclaims in foreign language)

(Erica laughs)

- [Hiroshi] (in foreign language)

- [Micaela] (in foreign language)

- (in foreign language)

(laughs)

(Micaela sighing)

- So, we are going to make a chestnut wagashi.

And this one has round mochigome, mochi rice, on the bottom.

And then the outside is a steamed youkan.

Which is kind of like a different way of making anko.

So, it looks very simple.

But actually, it's really hard.

So don't judge.

- The Chestnut Challenge.

- The Chestnut Challenge.

(battle music)

- (in foreign language)

- You done already?

- [Roland] She's super quick.

- How is she so quick?

- It's The Chestnut Challenge.

(frustrated growl)

- You're taking it really seriously.

If you take it too seriously I can't win.

So can you stop?

(battle music)

Yeah.

- It looks like a chocolate with hazelnut.

- It doesn't even fit in the tray.

(laughs)

This is going terribly wrong.

Everyone turn off your cameras.

- [Roland] But that's all--

- (in foreign language)

- (in foreign language)

- (in foreign language)

- [Roland] Yours look like a chestnut.

So you all passed.

(in a foreign language)

- I think he's just afraid of breaking my heart.

- [Hiroshi] (in foreign language)

(laughing)

- I, actually, I did not expect that

the simplest design would be the hardest to make.

But I think like you said, I think I was overthinking it.

- You were definitely overthinking, yeah.

Because I found the intricate designs harder.

- Ah.

- Yeah.

(happy music)

Mmm.

Our teacher was very kind and tried to be very balanced

when he chose who the winner was,

but the Internet. - Too kind.

The Internet, no, the Internet is not.

- Brutal.

- As forgiving.

So, let's see who the winner of the wagashi contest is.

I've posted both pictures of the wagashi

without saying whose is whose.

So there's no bias.

Nobody knows which ones are mine.

Nobody knows which ones are Erica-san's.

But.

People are already voting.

I've got my wagashi on the left

and Erica's wagashi on the right.

So the Internet has picked the left side.

- No.

- At 84%.

- 84!

- You know what, I think this one looked really good.

I liked yours better than mine.

- Yeah, this one's really.

I think you did better overall.

But by per, I don't have an argument.

- I literally spent half my life

making the shape of this chestnut.

- And I did it in like a minute.

- She did it in like a hot second.

- Mm-hmm.

- And I think you guys need to appreciate that.

- Yeah, you should know.

- You should appreciate how hard she worked.

And all the obstacles she overcame.

I know you worked really hard today.

I worked really hard today.

And at the end of the day, no matter who won,

it's more important that we get to sit here.

Enjoy our tea.

- And eat the wagashi.

- And eat the wagashi.

I mean, like, when you consider

that we have four wagashi that we get to eat now,

like, we both won.

So, if you are interested in trying

this experience yourself when you come to Tokyo,

you can check the link in the description box

for the WOW! JAPAN Experience + coupon code.

Which should be down there.

And it'll link to this experience.

And you can come out here and you can do this.

And you can bring home all these sweets to your hotel.

- And eat them.

- And eat them, and that is the best thing.

It is just, it's great.

Thank you guys for watching.

- Thank you.

- And if you haven't seen Erica's video yet,

please go over to her channel and check it out.

Give her some love.

She's new to all of this and she needs friends.

- I'm a newbie and I do need friends.

- So go be Erica's friend.

Bye.

- Bye.

(upbeat electronic music)