Here at Shinjuku Takashimaya Restaurant Street, I was feeling a bit peckish and since this place is famous for its tea, I decided to be a bit greedy and ordered the "Matcha Cheesecake, Matcha Warabi Mochi, Yuzu Tea" set. It cost 1650 yen, which I thought was okay. However, when it was served, I was surprised! The cakes and mochi were bite-sized. That was disappointing! I reluctantly nibbled on them, but the taste was excellent! The sweetness was elegant and it was very delicious. If the cost performance was a bit better, it would have been a perfect score!

I visited the Kyoto Hayashiya Takashimaya Times Square store in the Shinjuku area based on information that they serve a rare matcha warabi mochi that is hard to find even at famous stores in Ginza. I ordered a tea set for 1650 yen where you can choose two types of tea snacks, and I chose matcha kuzu mochi and matcha warabi mochi with sencha tea recommended by the staff. The matcha kuzu mochi wrapped in bamboo leaves was creamy like mousse and melted in my mouth. The matcha warabi mochi was drizzled with black honey and paired well with the bitter tea. Following the instructions on the manual for brewing tea, I enjoyed the matcha sweets with freshly brewed tea for about 30 seconds. It was delicious! 🍵🍡

I visited this place for the third time. It was crowded inside, so we had to sit at the outdoor takeout seating area. I ordered a roasted green tea soft serve for 600 yen, while my companion got a matcha green tea for 650 yen. The roasted green tea soft serve had a nice roasted flavor, and the matcha had a rich taste with a hint of sweetness, complemented by chunks of black sugar mochi. Both were delicious. The takeout seating area had long tables, so you might end up sharing with strangers when it gets busy inside. But it's nice to have this option when the indoor seating is full.

"The 'Matcha Parfait' is considered too luxurious! Indulge in the ultimate dessert in Shinjuku ✨ This time, I tried the matcha parfait! It has a mild sweetness, making it perfect for a post-meal dessert! The matcha ice cream, jelly, whipped cream, red beans, etc. are delicious on their own, but when you eat them all together, you can taste a different kind of deliciousness! I also tried three types of tea! - Hojicha has a rich aroma and depth - Black soybean tea is light and refreshing to drink - Genmaicha has a gentle taste with a hint of sweetness. The interior of the restaurant has a Japanese taste, creating a calming atmosphere where you can relax ☺️"

Kids menu: None Child seat: Available Children's tableware: Available [Order Details] - Ankake Yuba Udon: ¥1100 (requested without sudachi and ginger) - Tantan Udon: ¥1100 The portion size is quite large for one person, so it's perfect for sharing with a child. Be careful as it is served piping hot. The taste was delicious!

The never-ending line at "Kyoto Hayashiyas" where people line up one after another. The waiting time is so long that people keep dropping out one by one and moving forward. Even though I lined up for almost an hour. - Matcha Kuzu Mochi Set (1,650 yen) - Cold-brewed Gyokuro tea - Matcha kuzu mochi - Matcha warabi mochi Overall, the tea and sweets are delicious, but waiting in line for this long is tough. I wish they could increase the number of seats a bit more.

I visited the restaurant around 1 pm on a Sunday after finishing lunch and wanted to relax a bit more. Despite being a popular place with usually long lines, I was lucky as there was only one group ahead of us and we were seated within 10 minutes. The staff kindly brought us water while we were taking off our bags and coats, which was a nice gesture. After contemplating between different options, I decided to order the hojicha parfait tea set (sencha). The hojicha parfait had a strong tea aroma and a variety of textures like hojicha jelly, which made it delicious without getting boring. They had several types of tea leaves from different farmers for the sencha, making it fun to choose. They also provided a teapot and hot water, so I could enjoy about three cups of tea. It was a two-hour limit on Sundays, but I could relax in a peaceful atmosphere, so I would like to visit again.

I became a fan of tantan udon since the last time I ate it. The creamy soup with a strong dashi flavor was delicious. I opted for the set with mini anmitsu, but it was about 500 yen more. It felt a bit pricey, but it was tasty so I will come back again.

I had a Mont Blanc dessert and it was delicious, but a bit on the pricey side. The tea was also tasty. I had roasted green tea, which had a refined and gentle toasty aroma. Overall, the cost performance was average, including the service. However, the fact that they offer takeout makes me want to visit again.

It's tea time, so my family decided to stop by. The shop is quite popular and crowded with many people. There are about 10 people waiting! The menu is so extensive that it's hard to decide, but the women in our family look happy. The matcha Mont Blanc is delicious with a tasty mousse inside, and it is quite satisfying. The matcha parfait is a nice mix of shiratama, matcha jelly, and sweet red bean paste. Both types of matcha cakes are rich and tasty. The complimentary pots of hojicha and sencha are a nice touch, and I especially enjoyed the limited edition hojicha. It's easy to see why this place is popular among women.

Feeling tired from walking, it's time for something sweet. The restaurant area at Takashimaya is always bustling, even on weekdays. There's a short wait here too. Let's believe that the restaurants worth waiting for are delicious, and wait patiently. In front of the shops, there are more casual tables where soft serve ice cream, plastic cup served anmitsu, tapioca, and more are available. While considering whether to go there if the wait is too long, our turn came. After wavering between matcha parfait and warabi mochi matcha anmitsu, I chose the latter. The chewy warabi mochi, the smooth agar jelly, and the rich matcha paste all have different textures and are interesting. The black syrup you can pour on top is also delicious with a strong flavor. My companion had the matcha parfait, which was tasty but quite filling. The total for both items was around 3125 yen. It's not cheap, but it's a calming experience. I heard Chinese from three nearby tables and English from one (someone who looked Asian). I wonder if this Japanese-style cafe is popular with foreigners?

We went with two baby strollers, it was crowded during snack time! But they kindly accepted the two strollers. We had a set of tea and snacks, costing around 2,000 yen per person. There were various tea options to choose from! If it's crowded because there are few seats, it might be difficult with strollers.

The seating outside the store and the menu inside the store are different. The soft serve ice cream looked delicious on the sign, but there was no soft serve ice cream menu inside. The staff were unfriendly and spoke quickly. Many customers were talking loudly without masks, creating a scary atmosphere like an izakaya. I wonder if the staff will enforce any rules. The matcha parfait and tea were delicious but expensive. It's worth the price if you can relax, but the atmosphere is terrible and you can't relax. The interior is not fancy, but the food and drinks seem to be good. I wouldn't recommend this place. I might consider going to a different location, but I won't visit this one again.

I found this shop while searching for shaved ice. Inside the shop, there is a showcase with sweets for takeout. The shop is crowded, but not too small. I ordered a roasted green tea shaved ice with condensed milk topping. It wasn't too sweet, perfect for adults. The roasted green tea syrup was rich and even when the ice melted, it still tasted good. You can adjust the sweetness with the extra syrup provided. The shaved ice is big and comes with roasted green tea ice cream, quite a generous portion. It also comes with shiratama (rice flour dumplings), which was a nice touch. I didn't know there was a Japanese cafe like this in Takashimaya, so I want to go back and try a different dessert next time.

As you get older, you start to crave shaved ice on hot days like you did when you were a child. The shaved ice from the past mainly featured flavors like strawberry, lemon, and melon, but nowadays shaved ice has become quite extravagant. While there was a period when ice cream and soft serve ice cream were more popular than shaved ice, I have been stocking up on ice cream at home recently. In mid-July, when I was in Shinjuku, I visited "Kyoto Hayashiya" located in Takashimaya. "Kyoto Hayashiya" is a long-established tea house. The shop has been around since the Edo period. In addition to sweets, you can also enjoy udon here. It wasn't extremely hot that day, so I had planned to stop somewhere for a parfait, but I was drawn to the shaved ice at "Kyoto Hayashiya." As it is a tea house, they use matcha syrup and hojicha syrup for the shaved ice. The ice cream they use is matcha ice cream. When I saw the red bean paste, I knew I had to order the shaved ice. The shop has counter seats as well as table seats. Even though I was alone, I was seated at a table. The atmosphere inside the shop was calm and you could sense a Kyoto-like ambiance. There were three types of shaved ice available, and I chose the "Koyuki Matcha Ice." It consists of condensed milk, matcha syrup, matcha ice cream, shiratama (rice flour dumplings), red bean paste, and ice. If you order just the shaved ice, it costs 1,265 yen, but if you get it with tea, it costs 1,705 yen (both prices include tax). Since I had plenty of time that day (you need time to enjoy shaved ice), I opted for the tea set. They served a daily tea, and that day it was "Sowa-san's Refreshing Sencha Green Tea." You could choose hot or cold, and I chose cold. The shaved ice finally arrived. I poured all the matcha syrup over it. The light, crisp, and clear taste of the ice with a hint of matcha bitterness, combined with the sweetness of the condensed milk, created a delightful trio that brought a sense of happiness. As an added bonus, the chewy shiratama and the elegant sweetness of the red bean paste enhanced the feeling of joy. Eating cold foods like shaved ice too quickly can make your throat hurt, so I savored it slowly and carefully. Afterward, the heat returned. I'm sure I will rely on shaved ice again to get through the summer mentally. Thank you for the meal.

First visit. I was hesitant to visit this simple cafe because the storefront photo didn't really catch my eye, but I was pleasantly surprised that the actual place was better than the picture. I ordered a set where you can choose two items. I chose two sweets and tea. The cakes were delicious, but I especially liked the mochi. It was fluffy and delicate, with a nice chewiness and a rich matcha flavor. The walnut added a nice touch. It paired well with the roasted green tea, which was more on the light and easy-to-drink side rather than rich in flavor. You can refill hot water yourself for the second steep and beyond.

We arrived around 5 p.m. and there were 3 groups ahead of us, but surprisingly the turnover was quick, and we were seated in less than 10 minutes. We ordered the matcha parfait set (with roasted green tea) for 1650 yen, and the warabi mochi with kudzu sauce set (with roasted green tea) for 1386 yen. The tea was delicious, so I recommend ordering a set with tea.

There were about 3 groups waiting when we arrived around 2 pm on the weekend, but by the time we finished eating around 4 pm, there was a longer line at the Kyoto Hayashiya restaurant in Shinjuku. While they have branches in Ikebukuro and Hibiya, we specifically came for the Shinjuku branch's exclusive matcha parfait!! What we had: - Matcha Parfait (1650 yen) - Matcha Kuzu Mochi Set (946 yen) - Matcha Warabi Mochi Anmitsu Tea Set (1540 yen) The matcha parfait included wafers, soft serve ice cream, matcha ice cream, matcha jelly, shiratama (rice flour dumplings), whipped cream, red beans, agar jelly, and more. A must-try parfait for matcha lovers!! The matcha kuzu mochi set consisted of kuzu mochi and warabi mochi. Kuzu mochi is not commonly seen, so some may be puzzled at first, but it's definitely worth trying!! It has a pudding-like, bouncy texture that is just the right amount of sweet and rich matcha flavor. Thank you for the meal! ★

22.1.6 Revisit Looking back at the previous review, it seems that last time we waited for about 5 minutes by the entrance, but this time it was empty and we were able to enter smoothly (^_^)v This time, I ordered the "Matcha Warabi Mochi Anmitsu" (1,100 yen) and my wife ordered the "Hojicha Chestnut Anmitsu" (990 yen). I had ordered the "Matcha Cream Anmitsu" last time, so the contents were basically the same (laughs). But the warabi mochi was so soft and the flavor of the matcha and kinako was good and delicious (*^▽^*) There was hardly any bitterness, making it easy to eat, thanks to the high quality of the matcha (^^♪ My wife's dish also had a strong chestnut flavor! The gentle, natural sweetness was nice (๑´ڡ`๑) Both were delicious on their own, but when I tried adding a little black syrup, the atmosphere changed and it became even more delicious ＼(^o^)／ I recommend it when you want to eat elegant Japanese sweets (*^_^*)

Recently, there are so many Japanese cafes popping up everywhere, and I do like them, but not enough to be grateful to go. Kyo Hayashiya seems to have been around for a while. It's located a bit away from other dining places, so it's relatively quiet on weekdays. However, the interior of the restaurant is not very spacious, and the eat-in seating is divided into two sections, so it may appear crowded at times. Also, there are takeout seats in front of the shop. The table size is normal. The customer service is decent, especially compared to other Kyo Hayashiya locations like Ikebukuro Seibu. Despite being a Japanese cafe, they also offer light meals like udon. When it comes to desserts, the matcha parfait is a classic, but it's nothing special as many places offer it now. I tried the matcha Mont Blanc, and it was somewhat lacking in flavor. Not bad, but more on the delicious side. Maybe the matcha flavor is too subtle? You don't need to go out of your way to visit, but if you happen to be nearby, it's slightly recommended for the fact that you can enjoy Japanese tea.