When I visited Ginkakuji, I stopped by and tried the Yatsuhashi soft serve ice cream at Nishio Yatsuhashi, a famous shop. They offer various flavor combinations, and I chose the Kyoto matcha and vanilla (350 yen) one. It arrived quickly after ordering. The texture is more like sorbet than soft serve, with a slight crunchiness rather than smoothness. The matcha flavor is not very strong. It comes with a Yatsuhashi stick, which adds a touch of Kyoto. There are other shops selling soft serve ice cream as well, and although they may still retain some Kyoto essence, the flavor does not scream Kyoto.

I was rejected by someone, so I slipped into Ginkakuji Temple~♪(*≧з≦) During this time of year, you can enter until 5:00 PM and tour until 5:20 PM♪(´ω｀) I made my way through just in time, smoothly getting my temple seal♪ As I walked along the approach, the shops were gradually closing... I managed to get a Kyoto matcha-vanilla mix soft serve with Yatsuhashi before they closed♪(´ω｀) It was delicious, with the mix of matcha and vanilla flavors and the Yatsuhashi sticking out of it♪ It almost tasted like the vanilla was Yatsuhashi-flavored too♪ Yes, this is good♪(´ω｀)b I enjoyed it while munching on the Yatsuhashi as well, and my friend bought Yatsuhashi souvenirs♪ Thank you for the meal♪(*´∀｀*) Now, time for a little detour~♪(First visit on 10/10/2019)

I used to think that hachimaki (Japanese sweet) was triangular, but the ones made by machines are triangular. Nishio-san makes them by hand one by one, so they are rectangular. He told us to eat them early because they don't contain preservatives. He made them right there on the spot. We decided to eat them there instead of taking them as souvenirs. Even my son, who doesn't like sweet bean paste, enjoyed them. There are also harder types available, so we ordered more. They were delicious and crispy. He also served us tea, so we could relax and enjoy.

Today, my family and I visited Kyoto. We first headed to Ginkaku-ji. Since dogs are not allowed inside on a leash, Merry went inside in a bag for the visit. It was the beginning of November when we visited, so the autumn leaves were not at their peak yet. However, the weather was nice, and Merry enjoyed walking along the Philosopher's Path. On our way back from Ginkaku-ji, we found Nishio Yatsuhashi, a favorite of our family, on the approach. We decided to buy some to take home. While the ladies went into the shop, I waited outside with Merry. A cute female staff member noticed Merry in the bag and said, "Aww, so cute! You can come inside too." Once inside, Merry was showered with attention by the female staff. It felt like I had become popular all of a sudden (laughs). We bought some roasted sweet potatoes and chestnut Yatsuhashi, perfect for sharing with friends or acquaintances due to the reasonable price and generous quantity. The dough was soft and had a great texture. The subtle flavors of chestnut and sweet potato, along with the white bean paste, blended well and were delicious. There is a variety of Yatsuhashi to choose from, so it's fun to find your favorite flavor. They also offer packs of 5 pieces for comparison tasting. Why not give it a try?

I bought a postcard from the panda and happily walked, when I saw a familiar storefront. Could it be!? I asked, and yes! The famous Yatsuhashi shop near Kiyomizu Temple was also here. Today too many good things are happening, it's almost scary. (The panda's walk was canceled though...) I enjoyed some cold tea and crispy Yatsuhashi while chatting, and found out that all shops were closed yesterday. September 1st, with schools just starting and fewer group visitors, they sometimes take a day off. I bought my usual two bags of crispy Yatsuhashi for 90 yen each, and my mood was even better. This crispy texture is incredibly delicious. The crispy Yatsuhashi for sampling was also tasty, maybe even more to my liking. However, they only had the regular thickness for individual sale, which was a bit disappointing. But with all the new discoveries and encounters, I felt once again that coming to Ginkaku-ji was a great decision. Thank you for the meal.

I found an old review from my trip to Kyoto and wanted to share it. While walking towards Jishoji Ginkakuji, I tried a sample of Yatsuhashi from the famous Nishio Honke store. They also had ice cream! My inner voice told me I had to buy it. I also bought some fresh Yatsuhashi and thought, why not buy this too? After purchasing it and opening the package, I took a bite... but it was frozen solid. Of course, it was cold so it didn't melt right away. I put it back in the bag and carried it around until it softened a bit. Finally, I was able to take a bite. The taste... well, fresh Yatsuhashi is definitely better. Maybe it would have been delicious in the hot summer. This sweet treat changes with the seasons, so it's best enjoyed during the right time of year. Just like how you wouldn't eat hot pot in the summer, right?

Ginkaku-ji temple... I enjoyed Kyoto too much and missed the visitation time~(^^;; I only strolled around the souvenir shops... I decided to get some sweets as a gift for my daughter who is busy preparing for her end-of-term exams, so I went to the original Nishio Yatsuhashi store. The evolution of Yatsuhashi sweets is amazing compared to the past. There are so many different types and flavors available now. I noticed the chocolate Yatsuhashi, so I chose a pack with three different flavors. They are individually wrapped, which is convenient. The flavors are cocoa, matcha, and strawberry. The chocolate has a crunchy texture rather than a crispy one, quite hard to bite through. The taste of the chocolate is similar to regular sweets. The unique scent and flavor of Yatsuhashi, which is usually strong, are more subtle in the chocolate version, perhaps due to the coating. Not sure if it provided the necessary sugar boost for the brain, but my daughter enjoyed them. Due to certain circumstances, I had a non-alcoholic drink there, so I had some shochu at home afterwards... (laughs) Thank you for the mealヽ(^o^)

I couldn't return empty-handed from my philosophical journey, so I decided to buy a souvenir on my way to the bus stop. I found a popular Kyoto souvenir shop with various items, including the sesame seed Senbei that was featured on TV. They even offered samples for tasting. I chose a unique one made with Uji tea and a whole chestnut inside. Unlike the usual chestnut Senbei with finely chopped chestnuts or chestnut paste, this one had a whole chestnut inside a single Senbei. It was less sweet than regular Senbei due to the chestnut filling, and it didn't contain cinnamon. Personally, I prefer the slightly sweeter type, but it was still enjoyable to try different flavors of Senbei.

On a weekday in April 2014, I bought souvenirs at Nishio Yatsuhashi on the approach to Ginkaku-ji. You can sample almost all of the products, so you can buy the ones you like. They are seasonal limited editions. "Annama Sakura" for 250 yen: A sakura leaf-infused Yatsuhashi with a sakura mochi flavor, filled with sweet red bean paste. It has a subtle sakura fragrance, but since I'm not a fan of red bean paste, I felt like the flavor of the dough was overshadowed. Seasonal limited edition. "Annama Chocolate" for 250 yen: A moist chocolate bean paste wrapped in Nishio Yatsuhashi, with a new and delicious combination. The skin is crispy, and the bean paste is chocolate-flavored. The chocolate bean paste was more pronounced than when I sampled it, so that was good. The dough had a traditional Japanese confectionery feel, but with the chocolate bean paste, it leaned towards a Western confectionery taste. Overall satisfaction for today: 2 stars. Annama Sakura: 1 star. Annama Chocolate: 1 star. Thank you for the meal.

After my trip to Kyoto, I had a middle school reunion and one of my close friends requested a souvenir from Kyoto. She asked for some thin baked Yatsuhashi, but I didn't know the name of the shop. However, I remembered that it was located on the approach to Ginkakuji Temple, so I managed to find it. The shop staff were very kind and offered us various samples. My husband and I usually don't like baked Yatsuhashi, but the thin ones here were not too strong in cinnamon flavor and had a nice crispy texture. The staff even invited us to sit down and served us tea. I ended up buying more Yatsuhashi to bring back home and to give to my favorite sushi restaurant. When I asked for permission to take photos in the shop, they were very welcoming and even encouraged us to take pictures of their products. On a side note, my friend who loves these Yatsuhashi won a trip to Kyoto worth 1 million yen for two people through a contest by Itoen a few years ago. They had a chauffeur and a tour guide even though it was just the two of them, always moving around as a group of four. I wish I could win a contest like that too! At the reunion, when I gave her the Yatsuhashi, she was so happy and said, "Yes, this is it!"

When it comes to classic Kyoto souvenirs, "Yatsuhashi" is a must-have. Originally, it is a baked confectionery shaped like a "bridge," but nowadays, the soft type of Yatsuhashi has become the standard. There are various flavors available, depending on the season and the manufacturer, with new creations appearing each time you visit. While it may be fun to taste and compare them, they are usually purchased as gifts rather than for personal consumption, so they are often passed from hand to hand without being eaten. However, with the increasing variety of options available now, trying out new flavors can sometimes result in disappointment. No one wants to be questioned about their taste by giving out something that tastes bad as a souvenir. Therefore, I find shops that allow tasting to be very useful. This shop on the way to Ginkaku-ji also allows tasting. They had a row of half-cut soft Yatsuhashi for sampling. Since it wasn't crowded with school trips (there are many students around Teramachi where you can't do anything), I tried various flavors while talking to the staff. In the end, I bought the "black sesame" and "mandarin orange" flavors. I bought the "mandarin orange" because it tasted good during the sampling. The slight acidity was naturally delicious. You really can't tell until you taste it. Although they didn't offer tea with the sampling (was I being cheeky?), there was no pressure like "you have to buy if you taste it," and I made a good purchase. They had a wide variety of flavors available.

I'm really puzzled as to where the "Yatsuhashi" is in this chocolate Yatsuhashi. It doesn't look like Yatsuhashi at all, and it doesn't seem like a traditional Japanese sweet anymore. This crunchy chocolate comes in flavors like strawberry and matcha, making it even further from the original Yatsuhashi appearance. As for the taste, it does have a hint of the unique cinnamon flavor of Yatsuhashi, but the chocolate flavor definitely dominates.

At work, I received a gift from a client in Osaka, but it's actually a souvenir from Kyoto. Thank you very much for the thoughtful gift. It's a set of two flavors, sakura (cherry blossom) and matcha (green tea) filled snacks. The sakura flavor is a seasonal product and will soon be discontinued. The matcha flavor is a green tea filled senbei (rice cracker) with a hint of matcha aroma. The sakura one is made with sakura leaves, creating a petal-like appearance. It's been a long time since I last had senbei, probably since a school trip where we were forced to buy it. These ones are not too sweet and easy to eat, with no overpowering flavors. Despite their small size, eating six of them made me feel full. The company also offers seasonal products for events like Christmas and Halloween, with a variety of flavors like chocolate banana, mango, ramune, and chestnut. It was a delightful treat.