Ladurée Kyoto Gion (Kyoto, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

After enjoying some matcha desserts at Saryo Tsujiri Gion (茶寮都路里 祇園), next up for us was a visit to Hanamikoji Street (花見小路通), one of Kyoto's most famous streets best known for its traditional wooden merchant houses and quaint ochaya. It's also a perfect place to spot an elegant geisha walking down the stone brick roads.

Hidden among one of the traditional wooden merchant homes is Ladurée Kyoto Gion, a French import of high-end pastries and candy dating back to 1862. 

Little nugget is no stranger to the French luxurious brand from his travel days in France so he wasted no time racing into the shop for a quick look.

They've got most of Ladurée Japan's favorite pastries including little nugget's beloved strawberry cake (unfortunately without the famous ones from Ladurée Paris).

We also took some time to check the tea salon on the upper floor.



Little one wasn't going to let me get away without buying him some tasty macarons.

They have very limited selection of macarons here so just some familiar flavors like raspberry, vanilla.....



The Marie Antoinette – Two light blue macaron shells filled with a silky cream infused with Marie-Antoinette tea, a Ladurée creation, which is a marriage of black tea from China and India. This was pretty sweet with floral and fruity notes.

Caramel – One of my favorite flavor of macarons from Ladurée, just behind pistachio. A little bit of additional saltiness (salted caramel!) would've been perfect. 

We are just warming up here in Gion. Plenty more to come in terms of tourist attractions and amazing food.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 570-122 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, 605-0074, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Kyoto-Kawaramachi / Gion-Shijo

Tel: +81 (0)75 548-1110

Website: www.laduree.jp

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 9:00pm daily