Question:
I had this Japanese sweet at a con a while back, and I can't remember what it was called. They were small round rice-cakelike balls: slightly transparent, jelly-like and covered with a white powder. Inside was a sweet paste (I can't remember what it looked or tasted like, unfortunately). They came in a package of 6-8 of them. Unfortunately I can't remember anything else, but if anyone could throw out some ideas I'd probably recognize the name. Thank you!
Answer:
In colloquial use, many people use the word mochi and manju interchangeably.
However, if you were to use older tradition as a gauge, mochi is sweet rice pounded into a taffy-like consistancy. It could be formed into a ball or rectangle. It was (usually) not made with any sweets such as sweet red paste in the center. Think of it as a simple bun with nothing in the center.
A manju is more of a confection in a very wide variety (more so than mochi) and with various types of filling in the center.
These days, there are even hybrid of mochi and manju which is probably why the name is used interchangeably.
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