Kagizen Yoshifusa Shijo Main Branch 鍵善良房 四条本店 (Kyoto, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Jelloman and the rest of the crew left for Yojiya to get their traditional blotting papers leaving me behind with some Me Time to spare. I wasn't going to let that all wasted. And I know a place just across the street that would be the perfect place to spend my Me Time – Kagizen Yoshifusa Shijo Main Branch (鍵善良房 四条本店).

Founded in the mid Edo period at around 1726, Kagizen Yoshifusa is a traditional sweet shop in the heart of Gion specializing in Kyogashi (Kyoto sweets).

This Gion store is the flagship and it boasts a nostaglic tea room at the back where customers can sit down and enjoy traditional sweets with a cup of green tea to wash them down.

Before the start of the pandemic, it would be impossible to get in this century-old institution without at least an hour of waiting time (believe me, I've tried but failed!).

I was fortunate enough to find myself a table overlooking the little garden.

There are a number of signature items on their menu but the most popular one has to be their kuzukiri, a type of traditional jelly noodle made with arrow root.

While I was waiting for my kuzukiri, I was served with some hot tea (very important on a cold day like today) and a powdery candy.

My kuzukiri finally arrived in this green-colored round tea container.

The translucent, slippery noodles came in an iced broth.

We are supposed to eat it like Tsukemen (沾麵) by dipping the noodles into the brown sugar syrup. A test to my chopstick skills for sure! Surprisingly, the flavors of arrow root didn't really register.

And just when I was finishing up my noodles, I got a ping from little nugget (her mom actually) saying that they've just finished shopping at Yojiya and that they would be walking slowly towards Yasaka Shrine (八坂神社). I guess I will be having a few more minutes of Me Time then, and a well-deserved few more minutes.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ￥￥

Address: 264 Gionmachi Kitagawa, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, 605-0073, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Kyoto-Kawaramachi / Gion-Shijo

Tel: +81 (0)75 561-1818

Website: www.kagizen.co.jp

Opening Hours: 9:30am - 6:00pm (Tue - Sun)