A truly unique experience is to watch a shokunin artist create a wagashi traditional confectionary right in front of you at Tsuruya Yoshinobu in Nihonbashi. This style of wagashi, called nerikiri, is made with a malleable white bean paste. The master works very quickly in creating these edible works of art. Guests are seated at…
Category: tea
Kanazawa Teahouse Soshin
Higashi Chaya is one of Kanazawa’s most charming neighborhoods. There are several cafes for sweets and coffee or tea including @cafe_soshin Sabo Soshin 茶房素心. Sabo means teahouse or coffee shop. The menu includes parfaits and Japanese mochi sweets and wagashi confectionaries with flavors like hōjicha roasted green tea, kinako roasted soybean powder, kuromitsu black sugar…
Ippodo Tea
Kyoto Ippodo tea shop @ippodotea started in 1717. It has a lovely shop and Kaboku tea room café in the heart of the city, a short walk north of Nishiki Market and @bentoandco bentō shop. Knowledgeable staff help to educate customers on the variety of matcha and loose tea for sale. There is also tea…
Yellin Pottery Gallery
Near the Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto is a pottery gallery with a vast selection of ceramics from Japanese artists. Many of my clients love picking up pieces, notably guinomi saké cups, for their home collection each time they are in Kyoto. I was so happy to pick up a yunomi tea cup from Katsuya Kato….
Matcha Latte
Thick matcha 🍵 poured over 🥛 milk is intense and delicious. Kikuya Chaho tea shop is a short walk from Kōriyama Station in Fukushima. Matcha latte is a reverse import from overseas. It’s also sold at Tsukiji Market at Matcha Stand Maruni. Kinako roasted soybean flour and kuromitsu black sugar syrup is like a caramel…
Tokyo’s Coolest Tea and Spirits Bar
One of the most magical tea tastings I have experienced was at Souen Sakurai Tea. The original shop was in Nishi-Azabu at a terribly inconvenient location. Souen has moved to Minami-Aoyama’s Spiral Building on the 5th floor, which is easy to access. Woo-hoo! Souen offers a simple tea with wagashi tasting, but the flight of tea…
Yakumo Saryo Asacha Breakfast
Yakumo Saryo is a tea lover’s paradise that is open for breakfast. It doesn’t serve coffee, so if you are like me, have an espresso before you come. The name of the meal is 朝茶 asacha, morning tea. The restaurant does not allow photos, so the best I could do was these two pictures of…
Shibuya D47
D47, on top of the Shibuya Hikarie building, is a restaurant the specializes in regional dishes from throughout Japan. The menu changes monthly and is a great chance to try kyōdo ryōri, hyper-regional cuisine, in Tokyo. The above dish is sōmen from Tokushima. These summer noodles are normally very thin and served cold. These are much…
Gotta Get – Fresh Green Tea
It has been incredibly hot in Tokyo this last week. Record high for the month of October, 31 degrees C yesterday, almost 88 degrees F. I tend to drink a lot of water while out in the city, but another favorite, if I can find it, are these green tea bottles. Powdered green tea, sometimes…
Japanese Tea
As you’d expect of a people whose tea culture extends back hundreds of years, the Japanese enjoy every type of cha imaginable—pungent, sweet, soft, grassy, clean and earthy. Leaves can be plucked, steamed, packed, processed (dried and rolled) and refined (stems and debris removed), or ground for matcha and roasted forhoujicha. To get the most out of…
Food Sake Tokyo 