Great for Photos! Four Shops in Kyoto to Enjoy Desserts Only Available in the Fall

1. Eirakuya Tearoom

Eirakuya was founded in 1946. It is a well-established store that sells not just desserts, but also such items as tsukudani (preserved food boiled in soy) and dried young sardines with sansho pepper. The main store in Kawaramachi Shijo, in the center of the city, has a tearoom on the second floor where you can enjoy items such as matcha green tea parfait and freshly made warabimochi (a jelly-like confection made from bracken starch and covered or dipped in kinako).
The fall menu item you\'ll want to try is the Wa-no Imoguri Parfait. It is full of autumnal ingredients such as homemade chestnut ice cream, simmered chestnut skin, and sweet potato chips. There is even an sweet bean paste made from sweet potato and hojicha tea jelly inside. The best way to enjoy it is to mix it all up and taste the combination of flavors.
Available: September 1 - December 31, 2017

Wa-no Imoguri Parfait: 980 JPY (incl. tax)

2. Nijo Wakasaya Teramachi Store

Nijo Wakasaya is a well-established Japanese sweets store that was founded in 1917. There is a tearoom on the second floor of the Teramachi Store, where you can enjoy matcha, sencha and hojicha teas with seasonal Japanese wagashi sweets.
The most beautiful of the fall namagashi fresh Japanese sweets is the Momijigari (350 JPY (excl. tax)). It is a sweet that delicately depicts the changing of the foliage from green to yellow and red. The leaves are made of yokan sweet bean jelly cut into the shape of maple leaves. Just like real foliage, it becomes brighter as the autumn deepens. Enfolded in the yokan is filling made of chestnuts. Take a bite and your mouth will be filled with the fall flavors of chestnuts.
Available: Early October - early December 2017

Set of seasonal wagashi sweets and tea: 900 JPY (excl. tax)

3. Tsuruya Yoshinobu Main Store Kayu Chaya

Tsuruya Yoshinobu is a well-established Kyogashi Kyoto sweets store founded in 1803. On the second floor of the main store in Nishijin, there is the Kayu Chaya tearoom where you can see the sweets makers making fresh Japanese sweets right in front of your eyes. They have seating at the counter, so you can see how the sweets are being made up close.
The sweets selection changes monthly, and the September offering is Kurikinton of bright green kinton (sweet bean paste that looks like it has been minced) with chestnuts and coarse sweet red bean paste inside. Akizakura, a konashi (smooth sweet red bean paste mixed with joyoko powder and steamed and kneaded) in the shape of seasonal plants and flowers, is also available. In October, Kinshu, a kinton expressing the fall foliage and Yamazuto, a konashi in the shape of chestnuts, are available. In November, Jurin-no Aki, which represent trees in the winter, will be introduced.
*The selection of fresh namagashi sweets may change without notice.

Seasonal namagashi and matcha green tea: 972 JPY (incl. tax)

4. Saryo Tsujiri Gion Main Store

Gion Tsujiri is a tea store with a long history that was established in 1860. It opened a tearoom, Saryo Tsujiri Gion Store, with the desire to help people understand how to prepare and drink tea and experience its natural flavors. The tearoom is a popular shop that has had consistent lines since opening approximately 40 years ago.
The item available this fall is Akigeshiki, a parfait that was offered in 2015 to great acclaim. The base of the parfait is hojicha tea ice cream, chestnut ice cream and vanilla ice cream. It is a colorful parfait with Japanese black tea jelly, cookies with kinako roasted soybean flavors, and warabimochi with a slight bitter flavor of matcha green tea added to the ice creams.
Available: Early November to early December, 2017

Akigeshiki: 1,415 JPY (incl. tax)

They are all so pretty, you\'ll want to take photographs! Please enjoy the Japanese fall through these sweets.