I still want to eat more! Take a cool break with Kyoto's unique shaved ice!

Hello I'll make love to you
We recently introduced six shaved ice stores in Kyoto, but as a shaved ice lover, there are many more we would like to introduce (laugh)!

Table of Contents

■Delicate and elegant shaved ice as only a Japanese confectioner can offer: "Nijo Wakasaya

■Authentic food served in the Tadasunomori forest: "Saruya

■Delicacies spun by 140 years of history: Nakamuraken

■Espuma's Magician! : "Second House Higashinotoin Branch

■ Summary

Delicate and elegant shaved ice as only a Japanese confectioner can offer: "Nijo Wakasaya

The first store is Nijo Wakasaya Teramachi Store, a sister store of Nijo Wakasaya, a Kyoto confectioner established in 1917, with a shopping space on the first floor and a coffee shop on the second floor.

I recommend the "Saiun". What a surprise, it comes with five kinds of syrups.

Syrups change from time to time, but you can enjoy combinations such as tortoiseshell candy, brown sugar milk, kiwi, strawberry, lemon, apple, persimmon, yuzu, and amazake milk. Pouring your favorite syrups on the fluffy ice in any order and anywhere you like... what a happy time you will have!
Shaved ice can get boring halfway through depending on the flavor, so it is really nice to be able to enjoy five different flavors!

And many of the shaved ice items at Nijo Wakasaya Teramachi Branch have a cute appearance.

The well-known one is based on the motif of the Daimonji bonfire. It is covered with sencha green tea syrup and decorated with agar-agar dai-moji, green autumn leaves, and the Kamo River.
Some of the others I have seen so far are inspired by hydrangea and tsubamehana (swallowtail flower). These shaved ice treats are a treat for the eyes as well, with the graceful seasonal changes that only a Japanese-style confectionery can offer.

Store Name:Nijo Wakasaya Teramachi Branch
Address: 67 Enoki-cho, Teramachi-Dori Nijo-Sagaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City
TEL: 075-256-2280

HP:http://www.kyogashi.info/index.html

■Authentic food served in the Tadasunomori forest: "Saruya

Next is Saruya. This rest stop is located in the precincts of the Shimogamo Shrine, a World Heritage site.
It is operated by Hosen-do, the company behind Saryo Hosen, known for its excellent warabimochi (bracken rice cakes).

Shinmochi, a rice cake dyed with azuki beans and wrapped in a large Tanba dainagon, is a well-known specialty of Shimogamo Shrine, and derives from a legend that people prayed for good health by eating it on the day of the Aoi Festival.

And shaved ice is a summertime treat.
Our family goes to the Mitarashi Festival, an annual foot-application ritual held in late July, and it is also a regular event to eat shaved ice before entering the Mitarashi Pond.
Saruya's shaved ice is named "ice from the Kamo ice house" because there used to be an ice house (a place to store snow and ice in winter) next to the "Otaki-den" in the Shimogamo-jinja Shrine precincts, and they use dense, hard ice. The ice is dense and hard, and melts in the mouth, making it fine, fluffy and smooth.
There are three flavors: strawberry (with condensed milk), green tea azuki, and kuromitsu shiratama.

The strawberry syrup has a natural sourness and flavor as if the strawberries were boiled down directly. The condensed milk is already poured over the strawberry syrup, so you can enjoy it by pouring the strawberry syrup over the condensed milk in the balance you prefer.
The matcha azuki beans are produced in Uji, Japan. The "matcha azuki" is made from Uji beans, and is accompanied by a carefully cooked Tanba Dainagon azuki bean paste.
The "Kuromitsu Shiratama" is also topped with Kuromitsu (molasses), which you pour over the top yourself. The shiratama, which has a rich flavor of rice, is also a high point.
At Saruya, all the seats are open-air, so you can enjoy a liberating and extraordinary feeling.

Store Name:monkey bars
Address: 59 Shimogamo-Izumigawa-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, precincts of Shimogamo Shrine
TEL: 075-781-0010

HP:https://www.shimogamo-jinja.or.jp/saruya/

■Delicacies spun by 140 years of history: Nakamuraken

Next is Nakamura-ken.
Nakamuraken is a Japanese confectionery shop located just south of Katsura Rikyu.
Since the first generation started a bun shop in 1883, the company has been involved in Japanese confectionery and sweet treats for about 140 years.
The famous "Mugishiro Mochi" is a Japanese confectionery that was once delivered directly to the fields as a snack during rice planting.

It is well known as the gate confectionery of Katsura Imperial Villa, with smooth sweet bean paste sandwiched between carefully pounded rice cake dough, with kinako (soybean flour) sprinkled on the surface.
While you can take out the Mugishiro Mochi, we recommend that you try the sweet treats such as shaved ice, anmitsu (sweet bean paste), and tokoroten (sweetened bean paste) inside the restaurant.

On a previous visit, we ordered "Strawberry", "Uji Kintoki", and "Katsura Uri", which we shared with our family.

Strawberry is a type of strawberry with a rich fruitiness. First, enjoy it as it is, then change the flavor with condensed milk.
Uji Kintoki, made with Uji matcha green tea, has a rich, robust matcha flavor. The matcha flavor is complemented by the softly cooked grains of sweet bean paste. The bean flavor is in full bloom, and is a perfection that only a Japanese confectionery can achieve!
Katsura uri is the first flavor I received. It is a Kyoto vegetable grown in this Katsura area.
Uli flavor...? I was afraid to take it into my mouth, but it was so fruity and delicious. It tasted like melon!
The dish is served with sudachi (citrus fruit), and when squeezed during the course of the meal, the acidity of the citrus fruit tightens the slight sweetness of the dish and makes it more refreshing and tasty.
The fruit flavors seem to change, with sudachi in August and figs in September, so you'll want to go every month.

Incidentally, the "Unagi Chazuke (eel on rice with green tea)," which is available as a light meal menu, is also very tasty and refreshing even during the hot season, so we recommend visiting the restaurant during lunch time to enjoy the shaved ice after the eel on rice with green tea!

Store Name:Nakamura-ken
Address: 61 Asahara-cho, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto
TEL: 075-381-2650

HP:https://www.nakamuraken.co.jp/

■Espuma's Magician! : "Second House Higashinotoin Branch

The last one is "Second House Higashinotoin". Located just between Shijo Station and Karasuma-Oike Station, it has excellent accessibility! In the last issue, we introduced "Sekando," which is a member of the same group, but you can also enjoy shaved ice at any of the Second House stores. If you are in the mood for shaved ice and want to make love to someone, we recommend Second House's shaved ice.

This time, we had the "black sesame kinako condensed milk espuma" and "royal milk tea espuma," which are available only at the Higashinotoin store.
We started with "black sesame kinako condensed milk espuma".
It was my first time to try black sesame shaved ice, and I had only tasted the rich, dark flavor unique to black sesame with warm foods such as sesame dumplings, but it was a perfect match with the fine-textured ice. The milky espuma and kinako (soybean flour) flavors added to the ice spread the deliciousness over and over again.
The espuma itself is light and soft, so you can enjoy the harmony of the condensed milk without spoiling the fluffy texture of the ice.

The "Royal Milk Tea Espuma" was another item I was glad I ordered. The syrup jelly has the flavor of traditional black tea like Ceylon or Assam, and you can feel the tea taste.
Then the condensed milk espuma is added, and it is truly a royal milk tea!

Other menu items include shaved ice with tropical fruits such as lychee and pineapple, as well as the standard strawberry, hojicha kintoki, and Uji green tea milk, all of which you can't go wrong with! This is a strong ally when you want shaved ice in the Shijo area.

Store Name:Second House Higashinotoin Store
Address: 2F, 283 Mikazan-cho, Rokkaku-sagaru, Higashinotoin-dori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
TEL: 075-241-2323

HP:http://www.secondhouse.co.jp/s_h/sec7.html

■ Summary

From Japanese sweets shops and sweet shops with a history of more than 100 years to cafes, we have introduced shaved ice with a rich individuality that will satisfy you no matter which one you try! We have introduced some of the best shaved ice in Japan.
The lingering summer heat of the past few years has been very severe, so please use this as a reference for your shaved ice tours in the future.