Japanese Western-style cakes and confections, called yogashi, in Japanese, I am not a fan of. They are nearly alaways fluffy, puffy, airy things, short on taste and soul. Western-style cakes and confections available in cafes or for take out in the department store food courts are nearly always a disappointment for me. Some authentic Italian and French restaurants do dessert well, but they are few and expensive. And, when you come all the way to Kyoto I am guessing that you want to try some things you can’t get back home.

When you go to Jouvencelle, you have to try the Gion Maccha Chocolate Fondue!

Gion Fondue

Jouvencelle Gion Cake Cafe
Wagashi, or Japanese confection, I am a big fan of. However, sometimes you’ve got to have some sweets from your homeland. Henri Charpentier is usually great! But, they don’t have a cafe in Kyoto.

Jouvencelle (京洋菓子司ジュヴァンセル) opened it’s doors on the day of the Gion Festival more than 20 years ago and has developed a lineup of cakes and confections that are generally Western in shape and cooking technique, however the tastes and flavoring ingredients are very Japanese, very Kyoto.

Jouvencelle’s Gion Fondue is not a hot fondue. Various kinds of cake, mochi, fresh fruit and so on are dipped into maccha chocolate – like a fondue. After you finish with the dipping the staff brings some hot milk and the leftover maccha chocolate in the dipping cup  is turned into a maccha chocolate au lait. Very nice!

Jouvencelle’s other cakes and confections are available for order and take out.

The second floor cafe has a pretty good view of Higashiyama (East Mountains) and the scenic environs below. The interior is bland as it is new, there is a small veranda that you can sit on which is nice when the weather is pleasant.

Jouvencelle has five other stores in Kyoto including one each in the food courts of Takashimaya and Isetan department stores, but none are sit down.

Dango in Maccha Chocolate 'Fondue' Dip

Strawberry in Maccha Chocolate 'Fondue' Dip

Pound Cake in Maccha Chocolate 'Fondue' Dip

Sakura Mochi in Maccha Chocolate 'Fondue' Dip

Maccha Chocolate au Lait - Just add hot milk!

Maccha Chocolate au Lait

Sakura Chocolate Fondue!

Spring Special Edition Sakura Chocolate Gion Fondue

Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to try this special edition Sakura Chocolate Gion Fondue as it was already out of season when I was there. There was still a poster in the elevator that I snapped this photo of. It looks like it includes candied bamboo shoot! Jouvencelle’s sakura chocolate is amazing and I mentioned in this KyotoFoodie Survey video way back when. I am definitely planning to try this one next spring!

'View' from the Jouvencelle Veranda - Japans Ubiquitous Powerlines, Even in Historic Gion!

Entrance to Jouvencelle

Protect Your Home from Calamity, Visit the Zen Temple Across the Street
After enjoying some Kyoto-style Western sweets be sure to visit the quaint and delightful little Zen temple called Tokei-ji across the street. It is not a famous temple but worth peeking in on. It is dedicated to a Japanese incarnation of Kannon (Avalokitasvara bodhisattva) who is worshipped to protect the home from calamities. Tokei-ji Temple offers  household fire prevention amulets. The are printed and stamped on paper and are attached to the wall of the kitchen. Fire has been the scourge of Japanese cities for centuries so these paper amulets are quite common in Japan. Tokei-ji’s amulet has the most artful calligraphy I have seen. These are cheap and travel well, you might like to get one on your trip to take home with you.

Tokei-ji Temple

Household Fire Prevention Amulet

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Jouvencelle in English:
English menu: yes
English website: none (Japanese site)
Service/Staff: so-so
Price: 800 – 1200 yen
Location and Access: Jouvencelle is located just south of the south gate of Yasaka Shrine, near the Shijo and Higashioji streets intersection. It is a 10 to 15 minute walk from Gion Shijo Station on the Keihan Railway or Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Railway. Many bus lines pass through the Shijo and Higashioji intersection neighborhood.
Address: Kyoto-shi Higashiyama-ku, Yasakatoriimae Minami-iru, Kiyoi-cho 482 Kyoban Bldg 2F
(京都市東山区八坂鳥居前南入清井町482 京ばんビル2F)
Telephone: 075-551-1511
Near Sightseeing Spot:In addition to Tokei-ji temple across the street, Jouvencelle is located in the Gion/Higashiyama neighborhood so there are many, many historic temples and shrines including Yasaka-jinja shrine, Kodai-ji temple and Kiyomizu-dera temple.

Map:

View OpenKyoto/KyotoFoodie Map in a larger map

Toraya's: Sachi Tora 'Happy Tiger'

Eto: Twelve Chinese Zodiac Animals and Japanese New Year’s Confections
According to the Chinese Zodiac cycle there are 12 animals and each year is associated with one of the twelve. 2010 is the Year of the Tiger and most wagashi companies and stores in Japan have Eto themed wagashi. The tora in Toraya also happens to mean tiger, literally tiger shop. So, I have to imagine that they went all out for 2010! Every year Toraya creates a unique Eto namagashi for New Year’s which I first discovered last year, the Year of the Ox. The design combines a fairly modern abstract sense the Japanese ‘kawaii’ cute.

Many of Toraya’s wagashi designs are centuries old like the frosted red plum blossom from 1699 but this one is a first timer. Toraya holds an internal competition soliciting designs for some of their namagashi, including this Sachi Tora. The design competition is open to all employees, from paper pushers in the office, store and cafe waitstaff to the wagashi craftsmen in the ‘workshop’. This year’s winner, the proud creator of Sachi Tora, was a male Toraya ‘veteran’ wagashi maker.

Toraya's: Sachi Tora 'Happy Tiger'

About the Design of Sachi Tora
The staff member at Toraya I spoke to about Sachi Tora said that it is intended to express a tiger face in a cute way and bring a year of much happiness and good fortune.

I asked about the cinnamon, assuming that it is brushed on as powder but that is incorrect. It is first dissolved in a syrup and then painted on wet. Interesting!

I like the design a lot. I definitely see the brown cinnamon ears at the top, but the ‘stripe’ mark in the middle throws me off a bit as it reminds me more of a tigers back than the face.

Whatever your visual interpretation, I think that you would have to agree that it is a very charming and novel tiger!

Construction Detail: Sachi Tora 'Happy Tiger' - side

Construction Detail: Sachi Tora 'Happy Tiger' - back

Construction Detail: Sachi Tora 'Happy Tiger' - cross-section

How did Sachi Tora taste?
Namagashi (生菓子, moist confection) is for the tea ceremony, so the taste is intended to contrast well with bitter maccha. That means that namagashi are very formulaic in taste — they all taste the same. If you are a regular reader of KyotoFoodie you probably know that I think that some more adventure and ‘kaizen’ is required in terms of namagashi taste. Sachi Tora uses cinnamon as a visual element and that does add some complexity to the flavor profile and that is welcome by me!

Availability: December 29, 2009 to January 15, 2010

Toraya Ichijo Storefront

In Kyoto, this year’s sakura blossoms have begun to fade and fall, pavements are covered in pink petals and streams are covered with them to the extent that the water cannot be seen. The sakura season is not over for foodies though, we may still feast on sakura themed yummies for another few weeks. This is sakura mochi, as it is made down here in Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe.

Kansai Style Sakura Mochi
Kansai, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe has it’s own distinct version of sakura mochi. Kanto (Tokyo) style has a pink crepe-like wrapping around the anko (azuki paste), however down here in Kansai, it is typically made with steamed mochi rice formed into a ball.

In terms of taste Kansai-style is quite different in texture, but less in taste. The sakura taste, the salt ‘hit’ and the perfumy fragrance of the salted sakura leaf are the same. It is softer and more chewy and ‘ricey’ than the Kanto variety.

I like both styles very much, usually I prefer Kyoto style to Tokyo, but in this case I think that Kanto style is actually more sophisticated and refined. I can’t think of anything else in Japanese culinary culture in which Kanto-style is more sophisticated. This Kansai-style sakura mochi is more ‘homey’ and country-style.

Both styles are readily available most anywhere in Japan and one sakura mochi is not much more than a bite, so you can easily try both! Both taste wonderful, I would say that if you are enjoying sakura mochi with maccha, Kanto style is a bit more suitable.

See this article for more about Kanto-style sakura mochi , a photo with the anko filling and the history of this wagashi confection.

Sakura Mochi

Some people don’t eat the leaf, but you absolutely must!

Sakura Mochi

Sprinkle some chopped leftover grilled fish on rice, pour on some hot tea and you’ve got chazuke, a quick meal that has been eaten in Japan for more than 1,000 years.

Ochazuke

With the leftovers from our Grilled Dried Herring article, I made a quick bowl of chazuke, or more politely, o-chazuke. Ochazuke is quick, simple and tasty. Hot tea is poured over rice with some kind of flavoring such as nori, umeboshi or in this case chopped leftover fish. Ochazuke is a good way to use rice that has been in the rice cooker a little too long.

You can use a spoon, just like for Western style soup, but Japanese usually just stir it around with chopsticks and slurp it down.

I particularly like ochazuke with brown rice and any kind of Japanese tea may be used; green tea, hojicha, bancha and genmaicha. I have even had it with maccha in a Ponto-cho restaurant, but that is unusual.

Ochazuke

Ochazuke – Pouring on Green Tea

Ochazuke – Pouring on Green Tea

Ochazuke

Ochazuke – Served

The finest wagashi for the tea ceremony are sweets for the mind, the motifs come from classical poetry and painting.

Suetomi Jyogashiya
We had an opportunity to visit one of Kyoto’s exceptional wagashi stores; Suetomi and interview the owner, Mr Yamaguchi who created a selection of Suetomi’s seasonal wagashi for us to photograph for this article.

Suetomi, founded in 1893 makes namagashi (生菓子), literally ‘wet confection’, for the tea ceremony. In addition to selling namagashi retail, today Suetomi creates confections for important customers such as companies, tea ceremony schools and temples. Some namagashi are not offered to the general public and are reserved for a certain customer only.

Suetomi is a jyogashiya (上菓子屋), the highest of the three varieties of wagashi stores. Traditionally, only jyogashiya were legally permitted to use sugar and they served the imperial household, the nobility and major temples.

Namagashi for the tea ceremony is of course sweet, often very sweet as it compliments maccha which is quite bitter. However, namagashi are not just for the stomach. The forms and motifs are always seasonal and natural and often based upon poems and paintings from classical Japan. This is a sweet for the learned and educated, to be enjoyed by the mind as well.

Reception
Upon arrival for the interview and photoshoot we were given late spring theme ajisai (hydrangea) namagashi.

Ajisai Namagashi

Paku Eating Ajisai Namagashi in the Reception Room

Inside Ajisai Namagashi

Notice the azuki bean paste inside.

Kyoto Jyogashi Namagashi Throughout the Seasons
This is a selection of Suetomi’s namagashi throughout the season. The following text explanations are from a Suetomi exhibition catalog.

January: Etogashi
Etogashi, literally ‘Chinese Zodiac confection’.
The concept of the zodiac signs are very familiar to Japanese people and these originated with the Chinese calender. Suetomi makes a New Year’s confection based on the zodiac animal of the year. This is a rat. This year, 2008 is the Year of the Rat.

Eto Nezumi – Year of the Rat

Eto nezumi literally means ‘zodiac rat’.

Eto Nezumi – Year of the Rat

This is a pretty cute rat! And, all made of sweet bean paste.

March: Hikichigiri
The confection is called Hikichigiri and has been indispensable for Girl’s Day (March 3rd). It was once used for the celebration ritual in the Imperial Household. A theory tells that it was originally made of only rice cakes. Suetomi has made it more elaborate and suitable for spring with white and pink on the top of green.

Hikichigiri – Wagashi for Girl’s Day

April: Miyako no Haru
Miyako no Haru, literally ‘Spring in the Capital’.
Kyoto’s spring beauty is in the cherry blossoms, people gathering to enjoy them with a cheerful mood. Here in Kyoto, sweets with various colors representing the colors of new lives entertain people’s tongues and eyes. Here, pink represents cherry blossoms and green represents budding willows.

Miyako-no-haru – Spring in the Capital

Miyako-no-haru – detail

It is incredible what sweet bean paste can be made into!

May: Karakoromo
The confections produced in Kyoto often represent the changing of seasons and the accompanying natural beauty. Karakoromo is based on the classical Japanese story, ‘Ise Story’. This famous poem features purple irises verdant in the month of May.

Karakoromo

June: Sawabe no Hotaru
Sawabe no Hotaru, literally ‘fireflies near water stream’.
Fireflies live near cool, flowing water and these insects emit a greenish light. There are a number of short poems featuring the mystic beauty these insects create. The image here is of a firefly emitting its light while on green grass.

Sawabe-no-hotaru – Fireflies Near Water Stream

Sawabe-no-hotaru – detail


September: Kisewata
Japanese people have celebrated the coming of new seasons on particular days in the year and September 9th is one of them. The chrysanthemum flower is the symbol of this special day. People pray for their long lives sometimes by wiping their bodies with its dew and by drinking Japanese sake with chrysanthemum petals floating in it. This confection is designed from a chrysanthemum flower of high grace.

Kisewata – Chrysanthemum

Kisewata – Chrysanthemum

Kisewata – detail

September: Koringiku
Korin Ogata was a painter active in the Edo period. We can see his paintings done with his excellent skills on kimono patterns and on Japanese paper slide doors, etc. The design of Korin Chrysanthemum, made of azuki bean paste and habutae mochi is based on one of his paintings.

Koringiku – Korin Chrysanthemum

Koringiku – detail

October: Momijiga
In the Momijiga chapter of Japan’s most well known novel, the Tale of Genji is a scene where Prince Genji dances. The design of this confection is inspired by the image of Hikaru Genji dancing in gorgeous clothing. The paper fan that the Shining Prince held while dancing is the motif of this piece.

Momijiga – Maple Leaves

Momijiga – detail

December: Carol
The deep green color, whether of the pine boughs or holly leaves of the season is the symbol of life. Christmas is, of course, a Christian celebration familiar to people all over the world. This Japanese version of Christmas cake is made with the wish to look back on the past year and celebrate the coming of the new year with a purified heart.

Carol – Christmas

Location
Suetomi now has two locations. The original mainstore is located in central Kyoto near the Gojo Station on the Karasuma Subway Line and the other in the food court of Takashimaya Department Store.

Honten – Main Store Front

Suetomi Store Sign

Suetomi Takashimaya Branch

English:
English menu: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: so-so
Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm, closed Sundays and national holidays.
Price: 500-1,000 yen.
Location and Access: 5 to 7 minute walk from either Shijo and Gojo Stations (Karasuma Subway Line)
Address: Kyoto-shi Shimogyo-ku, Matsubara-dori, Muromachi Higashi-iru
(京都市下京区松原通室町東入ル)
Telephone: 075-351-0808

Takashimaya Branch: Takashimaya Department Store is located in central Kyoto at the Shijo-Kawaramachi intersection. Takashimaya is open from 10am to 8pm and is closed on January 1st only. English language guidance and maps are available at the information desk on the ground floor.

Map:

View Larger Map

Minazuki is an early summer wagashi that from centuries ago commoners ate on the day that royals ate — ice.

In preparation of the 30th day of the 6 month, I (Peko), stopped by Sentaro (reviewed previously here) in the food court at Takashimaya Department Store and picked up some minazuki and chadando.

Minazuki: Minazuki is a layer of uiro with azuki beans on top. Uiro is similar to mochi, but instead of being steamed rice that has been pounded, uiro is mixture of flour, rice or, more often, wheat, water and sugar that has been streamed.

Minazuki is only eaten in June. In ancient times the imperial court celebrated the end of the first half the year on June 30 with ice. Ice, an out-of-this-world summer luxury, was frozen in winter and stored in a subterranean building that can still be seen today at the Kyoto Imperial Palace (Sento Gosho). (For more about ice and summer treats see the Gion Koishi ‘Shaved Ice’ article.)

This minazuki is green as it is green tea flavored but the traditional would be white. Both colors are available now. The white color represented ice to the commoners of ancient Kyoto.

Chadango: Chadango is a classic green tea flavored dango. Sentaro sprinkles some tea leaf on it. Chadando is available year-round.

Unwrapping Chadango and Minazuki

Chadango Served

Minazuki Served

This minazuki is green tea flavored.

Minazuki Detail

English:
English menu: none
English website: none | Japanese language website (nice photos)
Service/Staff: So-so
Price: 500 – 1,000 yen. (no sit down area, take-out only)
Location and Access: Sentaro Honten (main store) is located on Teramachi Street about a 2 minute walk south from Shijo Street.
Address: 604-8032 Kyoto-shi Shimogyo-ku Teramachi-dori Bukkou-ji agaru Nakanomachi 576
(京都市下京区寺町通り仏光寺上る中之町576)
Telephone: 075-344-0700
Near Sightseeing Spot: Sentaro Honten is located in the center of Kyoto near Shijo Kawaramachi. This area has several department stores. It is the main shopping area of Kyoto. Shijo Karasuma is about a 10 minute walk.
Map:

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Ryuen specializes in a simple and elegant wagashi that combines a center of candied kuri (chestnut) embedded in koshian (sweet azuki bean paste) with a coating of sugar and kuzu (arrow root starch), some with the addition of sugary green tea powder (maccha).

Ryuen‘s wagashi is decidedly classical in look and feel, expressing the aesthetic of wabi-sabi and is popular with many of the Kyoto temples that are closely associated with the tea ceremony.

Ryuen is a shinise (an old and long-loved store) in Kyoto that is just down the street from the Imperial Palace (Gosho) and creates a series of wagashi that one could easily imagine as a purveyor to the imperial court for a millennium. (Actually, Ryuen’s history only spans some 60 odd years.)

Ryuen’s wagashi is considered by many to be to well express the ancient Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, a beautiful and natural expression of imperfection. Wabi-sabi is of course deeply associated with the tea ceremony, as is wagashi. Ryuen’s wagashi is used by such temples as Ryoan-ji and Myoshin-ji.

Ryuen’s Meibutsu: Rakuseki
All of Ryuen’s wagashi are pressed into shape in wooden forms. This one of the classic wagashi. The basic shape and ingredients remain the same but various design motifs are available. Many are related to the seasons, flower blossoms and so on. Others are symbols adopted from ancient Chinese culture and also Kyoto’s architectural heritage.

The confections, especially the white one, with the azuki brown of interior showing through in a most irregular way, have a pronounced rough-hewn quality. This is wabi-sabi — in food. Looking at these confections in the showcase, one immediately realizes that no two are alike.

Raku (楽) Seki (石), literally means ‘happy stone’. The chinese character, raku ‘楽’ (‘樂’ is the classical way to write the character and the form that appears on rakuseki) can be seen on the top of the confection. And seki (stone) comes from the shape of the confection.

There are two varieties, sugar and maccha.

Meibutsu: Rakuseki

Meibutsu: Rakuseki

Here the interior is exposed. The candied chestnut is the yellowish center. Notice the thickness and granular quality of the green maccha rakuseki as compared to the white.

Ryuen Storefront

The white noren, or shop curtain has the shop name whiten in brush and ink. The art of the noren is another subject that an entire blog could easily be devoted to. Originality and beauty, right down to the quality and beauty of the fabric is fascinating.

Notice the flower arrangement (ikebana) in the window on the right.
Ikebana

Ikebana flower arrangements are ubiquitous to the ‘nice’ shops and restaurants of Kyoto. The wooden plaque on the right states the name of the ‘school’ of ikebana and the master’s name.

These flower arrangements change every few days and invariably express the season. Here are plum blossoms and the green leaves are nanohana (rape blossoms), a popular, attractive and tasty late winter and early spring green in Kyoto.

The Neighborhood: Sighting Spot

This is Shimo Goryo Shrine, right across the street from Ryuen. It is quite a delightful shrine and is no doubt the perfect place to sit down and enjoy some Ryuen rakuseki!

The Neighborhood: Shimo Goryo Shrine

Notice the pink plum tree.

The Neighborhood: Shimo Goryo Shrine

A plaque explaining the history of the shine. These are everywhere in this historic city, written in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.

The Neighborhood: Shimo Goryo Shrine

Plum blossoms.

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English:
English menu: none
English website: none | Japanese language website (nice photos)
Service/Staff: so-so
Price: 600 – 1,200 yen. (no sit down area, take-out only)
Location and Access: Ryuen is located on Teramachi Street just south of Marutamachi-dori (street), on the south-east corner of the Imperial Palace (Gosho) grounds.
Address: Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Shimo Goryomae-cho 644-1
(京都市中京区下御霊前町644-1)
Telephone: 075-222-0500
Near Sightseeing Spot: Kyoto Gosho (Imperial Palace). Shimo-goryo Shrine, a small but delightful, and historically significant shrine across the street from Ryuen.
Map:

View Larger Map

Gion Koshi, ameya (candy shop) is surely the best known place in Gion, and probably Kyoto for kakigori (shaved ice). Shaved ice in Japan actually has a very long history, dating back more than a thousand years to a the Heian period, which incidentally, is when Kyoto, then called Heian-kyo (平安京), was founded.

Gion Koshi is famed for it’s Wagamamagori, being a very luxurious kakigori. Gion Koshi’s most famous is kokuto (literally black sugar), select from Okinawa.

History
Yes, kakigori, even though it is a summer staple of convenience stores, festival night stands and other lowbrow venues has it’s roots in the Heian period as a very extravagant summer treat enjoyed by the imperial court.

Kyoto, situated in a basin, 78% surrounded by mountains, is stifling in summer. Imperial ice was produced and preserved in Yagi-cho, a days journey from then ‘Heian-kyo’.

Sei Shonagon (清少納言) mentions this delight in her diary, The Pillow Book (枕草子) a thousand years ago.

Ice was shaved in a steel apparatus, and was called kezurihi (削り氷). Kezurihi was flavored with a sweetener derived from, perhaps a vine, scholars are not certain. This sweetener itself was a very precious item, often administered as medicine.

A thousand years ago, kezurihi must have been quite a summer treat, indeed!

Modern-day kakigori was invented in bustling port of Yokohama in 1869 and the ice shaving machines became a common sight throughout Japan by the 1920′s.

Mise (店)
Gion Koishi, while being the premier destination for kakigori and parfait in Gion and Kyoto now only has a history of some 70 years. It started out as an ameya (candy store), Japanese style candy, of course. These are hard, sweet candies in natural and seasonal flavors. Gion Koishi’s kokutomitsu (黒糖蜜), a syrup derived from the traditional Japanese ‘black sugar’, is surely it’s signature product. There are some great images on this webpage of kokutomitsu production. Gion Koishi uses only select kokuto from Okinawa. It is selected in Okinawa but blended here in Kyoto.

This famed kokutomitsu can be purchased to take home and is used on some of Gion Koishi’s most famed desserts. Kokutomitsu would make a great omiyage (お土産) gift to take back home. Gion Koishi’s kokutomitsu ought to go very, very well on vanilla ice cream. Of course the hard candies are light weight and travel well.

The sit down area of the restaurant is a bit of a disappointment, the interior is a rather crude, cheap and dimly lit space, not at all in keeping with the culinary delights available.

Dishes and Tastes
I visited Gion Koishi twice in the last few weeks and had kakigori both times.

By the way, kakigori is a summer time dessert. Gion Koishi serves it until the end of September. Ducking in on a hot summer day for some exquisitely flavored shaved ice, is a great way to get refreshed! Gion Koishi serves winter oriented dishes as well, that we will review later when Kyoto is sufficiently bone chillingly cold.

On to the signature dishes — Wagamama kakigori. Wagamama in modern Japanese means ‘selfish’ and is usually used negatively. Here it implies a splurge and spoiling yourself a bit with these lavish shaved ice creations.

Wagamama kakigori features a bed of kanten (寒天) jelly cubes in three natural flavors, mochi, and some azuki paste, on top of this is the shaved ice. Amongst the shaved ice are some whole, sweet azuki beans and on the very top is a candied Japanese chestnut.

The shaved ice is then flavored with a generous dousing of sweetened Uji green tea or rich milk and kokuto syrup.

These are eaten with a spoon and the hidden, bite-sized treasures inside are revealed little by little.

Another staple of Gion Koishi are the parfaits. Japanese styled parfaits are extremely popular with Japanese women. The parfaits feature the same repertoire of ingredients (kanten jelly, mochi, azuki), plus rich ice cream and slices of seasonal fresh fruit, all topped with whipped cream. Gion Koishi’s parfaits are excellent and well worth a try!

Wagamamagori Kokuto Miruku (わがまま氷黒糖ミルク)

Wagamamagori Kokuto Miruku (わがまま氷黒糖ミルク)

Wagamamagori Uji (わがまま氷の宇治)

Wagamamagori Uji (わがまま氷の宇治)

Maccha Parfait (抹茶パフェ)

Gion Koishi Storefront Showcase

Gion Koishi Storefront Showcase detail, the ubiquitous ‘plastic food’ on display

Gion Koishi take away goodies – hard candies

Gion Koishi take away goodies – Gion Koishi’s famed ‘kokutomitsu‘ (black sugar syrup)

Gion Koishi Storefront

Gion Koishi second floor art exhibition:

This exhibition is a real treat. It is about 30 traditional Japanese woodblock prints of the storefronts of old and famous traditional shops (老舗, shinese) in Kyoto. On the left is an umbrella shop and on the right a fan shop.

English:
menu: Gion Koshi has an English menu (with weird English)
staff: staff is friendly and seems to speak a little English
website: Gion Koishi’s website is very beautiful, lots of great images. (Japanese language only) It even contains ‘knowledges‘.
map: while just a ‘map’ this image shows the care often put into making something simple beautiful

Location:
Gion Koishi is another popular tourist destination and is also very popular with local residents as well. (Often places popular with tourists are scorned by locals.)

This is another destination in Gion that will not bankrupt you and where you can enjoy fine Kyoto desserts. Plan on spending about 800 to 1000 yen for a dessert.

Gion Koishi is on the north side of Shijo Street (四条通り) about a 1 minute walk from the gate of Yasaka Shrine (八坂神社) and Maruyama Park (丸山公園). Definitely worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood or you are interested in some popular Japanese desserts.