Kyoto Summer Yatsuhashi - 216 yen (tax included) Limited sale only at JR Kyoto Isetan. It has a big letter and a five-story pagoda baked mark, giving a feeling of Kyoto's summer. It is filled with plenty of sweet bean paste and mochi. Indeed, mochi is delicious. Thank you for the feast.

Before coming to Kyoto, I had never heard of the custom of eating Minazuki in June. Kyoto really has a lot of different lucky charms. From traditional ones to clearly commercial ones, there is a variety. So, this year I tried the Minazuki from this shop. I had the default one and it was very delicious, not at all overwhelming, and I could eat many of them. It's something you occasionally crave, right? I would like to visit this shop again. Thank you for the meal.

Mitarashi dango ◎... Soft even after some time has passed. The sauce is generous. Sakura mochi ○... White instead of pink sakura mochi. Sakura kuzumochi ○◎... Wrapped in the same shiso as sakura mochi, with regular kuzumochi inside. Azuki bean daifuku ○... Slightly salty from the beans. Seems slightly sweeter than Demachi Futaba. Kinako ohagi ○

One of the popular products at Sentaro is "Ubatama". It is a sweet made with red bean paste from Tanba, coated with high-quality black sugar from Okinawa and topped with white sesame seeds. It goes well with matcha or coffee.

I was just at JR Kyoto Isetan. It was crowded everywhere because it was Sunday. I initially gave up because the line was quite long, but when I went back, it was a bit less crowded so I decided to wait in line. This time, I tried the black bean daifuku, eight-grain ohagi, and black minazuki. I used the Mitsukoshi Isetan shareholder discount card for a 10% discount, and then used a department store gift card, so it was a good deal. I tried them right away. Honestly, they were all delicious. It's hard to choose which one was the best. It's worth the wait.

In Kyoto, when it comes to delicious food, the best place to go is the basement floor of the department store! I went to the sweets section in the basement of Isetan at Kyoto Station and tried the popular shop "Sentaro" which has been in business for over 130 years. I lined up to try their limited edition "Minazuki White" which is made of steamed uirou dough with red bean paste and kudzu. I also bought some "ohagi" with purple shiso and "mochi filled with red bean paste". They were all delicious, but the "mochi filled with red bean paste" was amazing! I will definitely try their famous "Gozonji Mochi" next time!

A part-time university student who quit the job two months ago brought a souvenir from his hometown in Kyoto when he came to say thank you for the support he received. He has returned home temporarily and will start a new life as a new employee this month. It turns out the souvenir he brought is from a store in Yokohama's Takashimaya, which surprised his colleagues. The sweet bean paste inside the monaka was moist and not too sweet, making it delicious.

I bought black bean daifuku, sakura mochi, and hon warabi on a whim. The hon warabi I was most looking forward to had more filling than I expected, so I couldn't quite taste the warabi mochi part, but the sweet bean paste was delicious. The sakura mochi was interesting because it was white, and after reading the explanation on the box, I understood more about it, but in the end, it was delicious. The most delicious treat was the black bean daifuku. The salty flavor of the black beans was effectively balanced and enhanced the overall taste. Thank you for the meal!

On Saturday evening, there was a long line from start to finish at the shop offering a variety of treats like ohagi and dango, making it hard to choose. I couldn't eat the freshly made sakuramochi and hanamochi, so I put them in the refrigerator. When I steamed them in a steamer, they became chewy again. The sweetness was just right, and the smooth sweet bean paste was delightful. Kyoto's traditional sweets are not overly sweet, making you want to eat more. Next time, I want to try the warabimochi.

I bought Hanadango because I wanted to try it. The cherry blossom petals were in perfect balance and it was truly amazing. It was different from the three-colored dango I had imagined, and it was very fresh! It was worth the wait in line. I wanted to buy more, but they were only available for today, so I had to give up. Next time, I plan to buy a variety of items!

[About the 4 items purchased] - Do you know: One "Nakano" for 281 yen (including tax) - Chestnut Roasted Six Sides: One for 238 yen (including tax) *with honey - Kurimochi with grain an: One for 281 yen (including tax) - Koguri: 886 yen (including tax) All of them were delicious, but I especially liked the "Nakano". [About the store] - The store is located on the basement 1st floor of "JR Kyoto Isetan". - Credit card payment is accepted (no need to enter a PIN or sign). - Payment with paypay is not accepted.

I had some business to attend to in Osaka during the peak autumn foliage season, so I took the opportunity to travel around Kyoto and Osaka. I was able to use the national travel support program, although the discounts were not as significant as the previous GoTo Travel campaign. This entry will focus on Sentaro at Kyoto Station. It is located in the basement floor of JR Kyoto Isetan, directly connected to the station. Despite it being a weekday afternoon, there was quite a long line. The lineup seemed slightly different from what you might find in the Kanto region. I tried the store-exclusive Eight-Grain Ohagi for 220 yen and the Grilled Dango for 700 yen (both prices excluding tax). Since there was no dining area, I took them to enjoy later that evening at another location. The Eight-Grain Ohagi had a strong presence of 8 types of grains (although it was hard to distinguish them), with the refreshing taste of shiso leaves, making it delicious without being too sweet. The Grilled Dango, a seasonal item, resembled mitarashi dango at first glance, but the sauce was made with kombu dashi and black sugar, giving it a unique flavor. There was plenty of sauce, which was a nice touch. Personally, I'm not a fan of overly sweet and salty foods, but just writing about it makes me crave it again.

Steamed Chestnut Sweet ¥324. There are chestnuts scattered on top of the sweet bean jelly. I apologize for the half-eaten photo, but originally there were about 5 chestnuts on it. The moist and sweet sweet bean jelly with chestnuts on top is surprisingly delicious! The chestnuts are not too sweet because they are astringent chestnuts, making it very tasty. Without the chestnuts, the sweet bean jelly would be too sweet, but with the chestnuts, it adds a different level of sweetness that makes it delicious. I really love this taste!

There is a long-established Japanese confectionery shop that offers high-quality sweets ranging from 100 to 200 yen. Their offerings, such as ohagi, are delicious and perfect for any occasion. They even have exclusive items available only at Isetan. I'm curious to try a variety of their treats, but my household is loyal to monaka. Bon appétit!

I received the seasonal sweet "Waka Ayu" from Sentaro, a popular traditional Japanese confectionery store in Kyoto. "Waka Ayu" is a limited-time product that is available from mid-April to August, coinciding with the season for sweetfish. It is made by baking a sweet dough with Hokkaido refined sugar into the shape of a sweetfish, sandwiched with sweet bean paste. This confectionery captures the essence of early summer and is well-loved by many. Sentaro, established near Kawaramachi in Kyoto in 1886, is known for their dedication to using domestic ingredients such as wheat flour, glutinous rice, refined sugar, and honey, and hand-baking their products with care. The "Waka Ayu" from Sentaro has a rich and satisfying taste with a dense castella cake base. Thank you for the delicious treat.

When I went to Isetan, there was no line and I was able to quickly buy four different types of ohagi - matcha, genmai, kinako, and mochi. The matcha, genmai, and kinako flavors were all delicious, but my favorite is still the ohagi from Sendo. I crave its taste regularly.

While strolling through the basement of Isetan, I came across a snack prominently featuring chestnuts and couldn't resist. It was around 6pm on a weekday and there was no wait. With the help of the staff, I purchased three types of snacks with chestnuts: fresh raw chestnuts, steamed chestnuts, and a chestnut mochi. Each piece was small and disappeared quickly. They were filled with plenty of chestnuts and a bit on the firm side. I prefer them a bit more moist, almost to the point of falling apart. I really enjoyed the soft texture of the steamed chestnut snack. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal!

In the hot summer, natural ice was stored in an icehouse to preserve the scent that was created during the winter. The ice was then dug out and transported to the imperial court to be consumed for the sake of summer health. It was a precious commodity that ordinary people could not easily obtain. Therefore, triangular-shaped sweets resembling ice crystals were made using uirou, representing ice, and red beans for exorcism. A daughter from Tokyo was asked to buy these at Kyoto Station, and she brought back Sen-taro's waterless moon uirou, which was the favorite choice. Additionally, she also bought a special treat of blue bamboo water yokan, a childhood favorite of the daughter. The water yokan was hidden inside the blue bamboo, and when a hole was made at the bottom, it would smoothly come out, which was a fun experience for the daughter. She specifically requested these treats for the current season, wanting to enjoy the traditional Japanese sweets of the waterless moon. They ended up enjoying both the matcha and regular waterless moon uirou from Sen-taro, finding them delicious and satisfying.

I visited in March 2021. When it comes to traditional Japanese sweets at Kyoto Isetan, Sen-taro is the place to go. I purchased sakura mochi for 180 yen, hanami dango for 160 yen, and yomogi mochi for 220 yen, all excluding tax. I buy sakura mochi every year, and it's always delicious. This time, I also bought yomogi mochi and hanami dango. The yomogi mochi had a strong yomogi flavor. The hanami dango was perfect for the current season. Eating Sen-taro's sakura mochi makes me feel like spring has arrived. I highly recommend it.

This time, I visited the traditional Japanese sweets shop "Sentaro," which has its main store in Kyoto. Winter has ended and spring has arrived. For some reason, I've been craving sweet Japanese sweets lately. As I casually entered a department store, I was surrounded by many sweet desserts, and I decided to buy Sentaro's sakura mochi, ohagi, and dorayaki roll. The sakura mochi was sweet and salty, and delicious. I also bought ohagi with sweet bean paste, which was not too sweet and had just the right amount of sweetness. The harmony between the sweet bean paste and the sticky rice inside was delicious. Next time, I want to try their monaka. Thank you for the meal.