When I visited Arashiyama, I stopped by for lunch. Even though it was lunchtime, I was able to quickly enter without waiting in line, and I had a katsudon and yudofu. The katsudon was surprising because it came with sauce on the katsu! Is this the katsudon in Kyoto? I thought as I ate it, but I think I prefer the regular katsudon. The yudofu was also delicious. (I forgot to take a picture of the yudofu...)

I went to this place because it looked delicious in the guidebook. It is located right before crossing the Togetsukyo Bridge, which is perfect. The shop was relatively quiet, and although there were many tourists, I didn't have to wait at all to buy. The sakura mochi was not filled with sweet bean paste, but had a fluffy texture similar to mochi rice and was very delicious. I thought it would be convenient if they sold them individually so I could eat while walking around a bit more, and it would be nice if they were a bit more friendly when selling, but I love sakura mochi so I am very satisfied with the taste! I would like to eat it again when I visit the Togetsukyo Bridge.

I missed lunch and didn't have much time until dinner, so I stopped by for a light tea around 4 pm after walking around Arashiyama. I ordered a set of zenzai and green tea. Hmm, it was just a normal bowl with thin zenzai soup and what seemed like microwave-heated mochi, lacking richness. Later, I checked reviews and found out that their "sakuramochi" is famous. Maybe I should have chosen that instead. Despite the great location right next to Togetsukyo Bridge, at least the zenzai was disappointing.

I stopped by a tea house near Togetsukyo Bridge on my way back from the Fukuda Museum. It's a shop that has been around for a long time, where the mountain god has been ordering sakura mochi since ancient times. I ordered a set of matcha, sweet red bean paste, and sakura mochi. The sweet red bean paste wrapped in mochi made from glutinous rice flour is commonly eaten in Kyoto. Sakura mochi is made by sandwiching sweet mochi made from glutinous rice flour between two salted sakura leaves, simple and delicious. They also sell soft serve ice cream and modern items. After all, Arashiyama is crowded with young people nowadays.

Two days ago, I visited Arashiyama but the weather suddenly turned bad. A trip to Kansai without visiting the bamboo forest path is unthinkable for me, so I decided to revisit Arashiyama. After crossing Togetsukyo Bridge, I took a break at this cafe. - Hot Coffee (450 yen): A slightly bitter, deep-flavored coffee. The location where you can overlook Togetsukyo Bridge and Katsura River is the best. Honestly, Arabica was not open, but I still had a great time. Thank you very much.

Located at the northern end of Togetsukyo Bridge, this long-established sweet shop has been in business for about 100 years. It is easily recognizable by its large red lantern. The shop used to have a more old-fashioned look, but it seems to have been recently renovated. Their specialty is definitely the sakura mochi. Unlike the typical Kansai-style sakura mochi, which is made with steamed mochi rice dyed pink and filled with sweet bean paste, the sakura mochi at Koto Kikicha-ya is unique. It keeps the natural color of the mochi rice and is wrapped in two salted sakura leaves. The leaves are meant to be eaten along with the mochi. Another option is mochi topped with azuki bean paste shaped like Arashiyama, similar to Ise's Akafuku mochi. It is a sophisticated sweet treat with just the right balance of sweetness and weight. As I enjoyed my tea, I couldn't help but think back to the Taisho and early Showa era tourists in Arashiyama and wonder, "Did my ancestors also visit here?" It was a luxurious moment of indulgence.

I happened to visit an art exhibition on a regular day and thought I should buy some food souvenirs, so I stopped by this Japanese sweets shop. They had a rare item, a cherry blossom mochi without sweet bean paste? What! Such a rare find? The mochi is the Kansai-style type, with a white color and no sweet bean paste inside, but instead, they used two salted cherry leaves. And it comes in a set like red bean paste mochi on the outside. I thought maybe that one has only sweet bean paste? But turns out there's a mochi made of Kansai-style mochi inside. Quite unusual. I bought two sets while thinking it's strange. The cherry leaves were incredibly soft, and I even ate the veins. The taste of the mochi is influenced by the saltiness of the cherry leaves. The mochi with sweet bean paste is easy to eat since the mochi is Kansai-style and can be easily separated from the sweet bean paste. When you eat the cherry blossom mochi and the mochi with sweet bean paste together, it tastes like a regular Kansai-style cherry blossom mochi. Since they are small in size, eating two sets feels like eating a regular steamed bun. It turned out to be a nice souvenir. If they serve this set at a tea ceremony, it might be confusing how to eat it. I might face a dilemma after the kusamochi incident. ← At a tea ceremony that my friend invited me to, kusamochi was served, and my friend who was doing tea ceremony panicked. Since I didn't know the proper etiquette, I just peeled it quickly and ate it with my hands. I wonder what the correct way to eat it was. 756 yen (tax included)

After finishing work, I went to Arashiyama to see the cherry blossoms at Tenryu-ji Temple! Despite the increased number of people compared to last year, Arashiyama is surprisingly easy to walk around, not feeling like a world-famous tourist spot. Thanks to that, I was able to buy the cherry blossom mochi I wanted without waiting in line. I bought the kind without sweet bean paste that my mother has liked since she was a child, and enjoyed it as a snack in the car before returning to Gifu.【Honke Sakuramochi Kotokikicha】1075 Sagatenryuji Babanochomachi, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto 861-0184 10:00-17:00 (Last order for meals at 15:00, for sweets at 16:30) Closed on Thursdays and Wednesdays, irregular holidays No parking available

In the evening on a regular day, there weren't many people visiting. The sakura mochi without red bean paste had a nice aroma and a firm texture. It was a taste that made you want to keep eating. I'm not particularly good with traditional Japanese sweets, but I enjoyed it. Truly Kyoto.

I wanted to go to the neighboring soba restaurant Yoshimura to use up my Go To Travel coupons, but I had to give up because there was a 2.5-hour wait. Instead, I ordered a plate with four types of sweets including warabi mochi for 800 yen, and a coffee set for 300 yen. The location where you can dine with a view of the Togetsukyo Bridge right in front of you is fantastic.

In front of Togetsukyo Bridge, there are counter seats and table seats inside the store. Sitting at the counter seats, you can have a good view of Togetsukyo Bridge. I ordered the Sakura Mochi with matcha. The sakura leaf on the Sakura Mochi adds a nice touch of saltiness. The sweet red bean paste on the mochi is delicious, especially when alternating with the matcha. The matcha tasted rich rather than light. I enjoyed relaxing while looking at the Katsura River and Togetsukyo Bridge. I plan to take another break with the Sakura Mochi with matcha next time.

I love sakura mochi. I heard that there is a delicious sakura mochi shop in Arashiyama, so I was walking around looking for it. Then, I noticed a flag! The shop offers both eat-in and takeout options, but this time I opted for takeout. The sakura mochi I got had a shelf life until the next day. Since it didn't have red bean paste inside, the saltiness of the leaf was subtle. The crispy sakura leaf wrapped around the mochi, with a higher leaf-to-mochi ratio than usual. The mochi inside had a slightly grainy texture, like a smooth rice cake, providing a unique taste of mochi that I had never experienced before. This time, I bought a box of 3 sakura mochi, but they also had boxes of 2 each of anko mochi, so I would like to try that next time!

Visited on a day off. A traditional Japanese sweets shop in Arashiyama. Bought a pack of 3 sakura mochi (without red bean paste). The sakura mochi was pure white, with sakura leaves pickled in salt sandwiched in between. Just the right amount of saltiness, delicious. Thank you for the meal!

Kyoto is a long-established Japanese confectionery shop located at the foot of Arashiyama, near Togetsukyo Bridge. I tried their famous Sakura Mochi (cherry blossom rice cake). The balance between the slightly salted sakura leaf and the sweet mochi wrapping is exquisite, making it a gentle and delicious treat that you could eat many of. The sakura leaf is very soft, and except for the thick base, you can eat the entire leaf. As for the mochi with red bean paste, it was devoured by my family (haha), but I heard it had a texture and sweetness similar to Akafuku with a thin layer of mochi wrapping. I'll have to challenge that next time!

This is a gift I received. It is a specialty called "Sakura Mochi" made at a tea house located at the foot of Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama. There are two types: one with salt-pickled cherry leaves sandwiched between white mochi, and the other with mochi shaped like Arashiyama and filled with sweet bean paste. The aroma of cherry leaves is excellent, the bean paste is fine and smooth, and refreshing. The mochi has a rough texture using coarse rice flour, but it is well-balanced, elegant, and delicious. It truly represents Kyoto's traditional Japanese sweets. I think it would be even more delicious to eat it while viewing cherry blossoms or autumn leaves in Arashiyama. I would like to try it with green tea next time at the actual location.

At Arashiyama Yoshimura, after eating soba and returning to Arashiyama Hontouri to see the autumn leaves at Tenryuji Temple, my wife suddenly said, "I want to eat sakura mochi." Even though it's not spring? I thought, but at 1500 yen, soba wouldn't be enough. So, I headed to the takeout sales counter, and the lady at the store said, "Ours doesn't have bean paste." No bean paste? I tried a sample anyway. It was a white domyoji sakura mochi wrapped in cherry blossom leaves, with a firm sweetness that didn't need bean paste. It wasn't too sweet even after finishing it, so it was actually delicious. In Arashiyama, "Arashiyama Sakura Mochi Ine" is famous, but "Koto Kiki Chaya" is also a long-established store from the late Edo period. It's a unique sakura mochi, so I decided to buy it here. They had sakura mochi with bean paste wrapped in cherry blossom leaves, sakura mochi sandwiched with domyoji mochi and two salt-pickled cherry blossom leaves, and bean paste-free sakura mochi. I bought a set of two types of sakura mochi, 15 pieces for 2480 yen/10 pieces for 1620 yen/4 pieces for 756 yen. The cherry blossom leaf-wrapped sakura mochi without bean paste was priced at 620 yen for 10 pieces/1080 yen for 6 pieces/540 yen for 3 pieces. They also had sakura flower pickles for 378 yen and an eat-in set with two sakura mochi for 648 yen. There was no option to buy individual pieces, so I bought a set of 3 for 540 yen. The next day, I noticed that the sakura mochi I brought home had shrunk a bit. The texture of the cherry blossom leaf veins was a bit noticeable, but the deliciousness of the sticky mochi rice remained unchanged. This sakura mochi, even without bean paste, or rather because of it, seemed to suit my taste. I'm not used to Kansai-style sakura mochi, but the domyoji mochi was quite tasty. In Arashiyama, there are many popular dessert shops, but I found this historic sakura mochi more appealing. I give it a score of 78.

I almost forgot about the reviews. The shop is located near Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama. Their sakura mochi is different from the regular ones as it is natural and additive-free, and it was delicious. They also sell frozen drinks, which was refreshing on a hot day.

Kotosaki Chaya in Arashiyama, Kyoto, near Togetsukyo Bridge, is a tea house with a long history dating back to before the Meiji era. Their specialty is sakura mochi. The shop is divided into a dining area where you can enjoy meals and a souvenir section. Since it was a chilly day at lunchtime, I decided to have a meal inside the shop. The menu includes udon, soba, and various set meals. I opted for Kitsune Amadare Udon (750 yen), which is Kansai-style thick udon with a smooth texture. The broth is a gentle Kyoto-style dashi made from kombu and bonito, topped with slightly sweetened large pieces of fried tofu. It was a satisfying Kyoto-style udon that helped warm me up. After enjoying the udon, the awaited sakura mochi arrived. The set included two pieces: one was a mochi wrapped in sweet red bean paste, and the other was a mochi sandwiched between two salt-pickled sakura leaves. The former was a traditional sweet mochi with a mild sweetness, while the latter had a light and refreshing taste with the fragrance of sakura leaves. Both were delicious, offering a taste of traditional Kyoto cuisine. If you ever get the chance, be sure to try them out in Arashiyama, Kyoto.

I had a little food tour in Arashiyama, and a few years ago, I also had sakuramochi here. I couldn't forget the taste from that time, so it's a must-have for food tours. The saltiness of the sakuramochi leaf is elegant. I could probably eat three at once, but this time I had just one. Thank you for the delicious meal ☆☆