The bite-sized OCHOBO is a rakugan that allows you to experience the soft sweetness of wasanbon sugar that melts gently in your mouth. The tea flavors of jasmine tea, hojicha (roasted green tea), and matcha (powdered green tea) are refreshingly fragrant, and each is carefully wrapped by hand in soft Japanese paper to prolong the aroma of the tea leaves. The tea leaves are used in plentiful quantities so that the deep flavor can be enjoyed.

Product/OCHOBO 20 pieces, 1,288 yen
(also available online)
Expiration date: 14 days from manufacturing date

A set of six crispy and fun cream sandwich sablés. Inspired by the landscape and shape of roof tiles seen in the cities of France and Kyoto, each wavy sable of plain, chocolate, and sesame sandwiched between three kinds of light cream and rich bean-to-bar chocolate sheets, these cream sandwich sablés have a delightful crunchy texture. It features a familiar flavor that will please people of all ages.

Product/Nami-Nami 6-packs, 3,564 yen
(Online sales available)
Expiration date: 28 days from date of purchase/shipment

A drip pack of original blended coffee roasted by the owner himself with a German-made Probat machine. You can enjoy a special relaxing time at home, which is unique to the smart coffee shop that opened in 1932 (Showa 7).

Product/original coffee drip pack 1400 yen
(also available online)
Expiration date: 1 year from date of manufacture

The store was opened in 2020 by the owner, Ms. Nashigawa, who honed her skills as a craftsman at a long-established Japanese sweets store, together with her husband, a chef. Even those who are not familiar with Japanese confectionery will be tempted to pick up one of their products, such as "Antonio and Lara," inspired by characters from Andersen's long novel "The Impromptu Poet," and other anko (sweet bean paste) balls that are shaped from the world of the story with a rich imagination.

Product / Antonio and Lara 940 yen
(Can be booked online)
Shelf life: 3 days when refrigerated

A financier specialty store that opened in 2021. Freshly baked financiers with a sweet buttery aroma are crispy on the surface, moist on the inside, and surprisingly light. You can purchase a freshly baked piece for yourself or as a souvenir.

Product / Gift box (4 pieces): 1,000 yen
(Online sales available)
Expiration date: 3 days (14 days if purchased online)

SHUKA/Tanegaka was newly opened in the fall of 2022 by TOROKUYA, which was established in 1926 and has been manufacturing and selling amanatto (sweetened soybeans). Here, they offer confections made only from seeds and sugar. Look out for old and new confections that have absorbed what their predecessors have accumulated, evolved, and changed to fit the times.

Products: Doroku-mame 900 yen, cashew nuts 1100 yen, cacao 1300 yen (40g each), etc.
(Online sales available)
Expiration date/30 days

The pudding has been a favorite of regular customers at Fujii Japanese Restaurant, located near Philosopher's Path. In response to the requests of customers who wanted to be able to purchase the pudding in the city, a specialty store was opened in a prime location facing Shijo Street. The egg-free soy milk matcha green tea pudding is combined with molasses and soybean flour, while the smooth pudding, which makes the most of the egg's appeal, is served in a royal style with an optional caramel garnish.

Product: Nameraka Pudding, Soymilk Matcha Pudding 500 yen each
Shelf life: 3 days when refrigerated

Breaking the stereotype that warabimochi do not last long, monna sells warabimochi by mail order and in person, and has developed a five-day lasting warabimochi that it delivers nationwide. Take the first bite as it is, the second bite with soybean flour, and the third bite with molasses to fully enjoy the original taste and strong texture of warabimochi.

Product: monna warabimochi (rice cake), 1,800 yen for 12 pieces
(Online sales available)
Shelf life / 5 days in refrigeration

After more than 70 years of wholesaling to famous Japanese confectionery stores, the monaka seed specialty store has come up with three types of monaka, named "tane-mi," through trial and error to "try something new. The "tane-mi" is made of glutinous rice flour dough kneaded with crushed high-quality walnuts, almonds, and cashews, and topped with sweet bean paste, homemade peanut butter, almond butter, and other ingredients.

Product / "Seeds and nuts": peanuts, peanuts (peanuts), peanuts (peanuts), walnuts (walnuts), 250 yen each
(Only peanuts and flat peaches are available online)
Expiration date/30 days

kolme kyoto, a select store for eyeglasses that reopened in the spring of 2022, is selling dumplings in its storefront. Although the dumplings are from a glasses store, the taste is authentic. The dumplings, baked over charcoal, are made from glutinous rice and are characterized by their firmness and elasticity.

Product: 9 pieces of omotase dumplings, 900 yen for the mitarashi, 1,000 yen each for the koshi-an and tsubu-an
Expiration date: Until the next day at room temperature or refrigerated

Poncakes made from processed Japanese rice are covered with a colorful batter, creating an additive-free, evolutionary type of poncake. The crunchy and light texture combined with the flavors of ingredients such as green tea and soybean flour is so delicious that once you try it, you will not be able to stop. Since no additives such as flavoring or coloring are used, you can enjoy the natural, gentle flavor and color. The triangular bag with a Japanese paper string attached looks like a goldfish scooping bag, perfect for sightseeing in Kyoto in kimono, and will surely make a great souvenir.

Product / Ponkashi (6 kinds in total) 13g 270yen, only Nori salt12g270 yen
Shelf life / 2 months from manufacture

The store is popular for its creative Japanese sweets using seasonal fruits. The chestnut kinton mochi is a gem of soft Omi rice hanejyu rice cake, sprinkled with a generous amount of Japanese chestnuts and topped with astringent chestnut amanogoshi. ［Come see and try KAHOU's wagashi, and be surprised by the delicious surprises.

Product / Chestnut kinton mochi (chestnut kinton rice cake): 1,350 yen
(Online sales available)
Expiration date / 5 days in refrigeration

A dessert salon run by Kanae Kobayashi, a confectionery researcher who is popular in cooking shows. The biscuits made with high-quality ingredients such as fermented butter, sugar, and domestic wheat are crunchy and fragrant, and the cream sandwiched between the biscuits has an elegant taste made from the finest domestic fermented butter and Belgian white chocolate. The cute canned packaging is also attractive as a souvenir.

Product / Rum Raisin & Marron Glace Sandwich 3,240 yen
(6 rum raisin sandwiches and 3 marron glacé sandwiches)
(Online sales available)
Shelf life: 7 days when refrigerated

Mr. Tatsuya Ito, who trained at long-established stores such as [Sasaya Iori], strives to make Japanese sweets with the theme of traditional flavors and exciting shapes, and is loved by a wide range of fans. The popular Itotachi no Monaka 2nd is a masked teddy bear in the middle of the brown sugar strained bean paste with Ikkyuji natto. The appearance of stuffing the bean paste is so cute that you will want to watch it all the time.

Product / Itotachi monaka 350 yen each
Expiration date: Until the next day at room temperature

Patisserie Karan] is a confectionery store with a distinctive grass roof in Nishigamo. The popular Nishigamo cheese cake is a blend of French cream cheese and Camembert cheese, baked in hot water to make it moist. One bite of the cake will fill your mouth with the aroma of cheese and melt in your mouth. The easy-to-eat size fits in one hand, making it a perfect souvenir.

Product / Nishigamo cheese, 10 pieces, 1,462 yen
(Online sales available)
Shelf life: 3 days when refrigerated

Udon Meshi Bunsuke is loved by local residents as a hideaway restaurant in Hanazono. While the restaurant is known for its delicious udon and soba noodles with Kyoto-style broth, rice bowls, and a la carte dishes, its handmade thick pudding, Hanazono Pudding, is also very popular. The pudding, made by the proprietress who trained at a French restaurant, has a creamy, addictive, and rich taste with a firm exterior and a tender interior.

Products: Hanazono Plin: 450 yen per piece to go; 400 yen per piece to eat in the restaurant after the meal
(Online sales available)
Expiration date: 5 days when refrigerated (4 days depending on the delivery area)

The store specializes in baumkuchen made by the owner, Mr. Mori, who holds the title of "Meister of Confectionery," a German national qualification. He uses only carefully selected ingredients so that his customers can enjoy his baumkuchen with peace of mind. In addition to the standard honey, green tea, chocolate mint, bitter chocolate, and seasonal flavors, the store offers six to seven varieties. The honey baumkuchen is baked with honey drizzled unevenly, making it the most popular item in the store, with different flavors depending on the part of the baumkuchen you eat.

Product / 712 yen per 100g of honey baumkuchen
Honey 1-tier approx. 800 yen, honey special approx. 2,600 yen
(Available online *Limited number of orders received at the end of each month)
Shelf life / 10 days in refrigeration

A well-known Narazuke store with over 230 years of history since the Edo period. Narazuke Butter Sandwich, which was devised to be familiar to the younger generation, is attracting attention from all over the country. Fragrant cookie dough with walnuts and unsalted butter cream mixed with Narazuke. Among the repeaters, there are also people who pickle Oinarazuke.

Product: Narazuke Butter Sandwich with 6 pieces for 2376 yen, 3 pieces for 1296 yen
Expiration date: 3 months when frozen (within 5 days in the refrigerator after thawing)

［manina is a grocery store owned by the chef of the Italian restaurant "cenci" near Heian Jingu Shrine. Their popular granola is made with almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts, and baked slowly at a low temperature for a long time. The key to the crunchy texture is coconut and maple syrup. The granola comes in blocks, so you can enjoy it just like a cookie.

Product/Original granola 200g plain 1,300 yen, cacao 1,500 yen
(Online sales available)
Shelf life / 1 month at room temperature from manufacture

A popular baked sweets specialty store with the concept of "Poetry & Pastry. The baked sweets are carefully made one by one and accompanied by the owner's original poems, bringing people's feelings together with sweets and words. The madeleines, a regular item, is the result of the owner's pursuit of the ideal taste and shape, based on her research of eating madeleines in Paris. The madeleines are baked in a large size in the hope that customers will enjoy them with ease.

Product / Madeleines: 280 yen per piece
Shelf life / 2 weeks from manufacture
(Online sales available)

What is your favorite souvenir of Kyoto? Please let us know your favorite Kyoto souvenirs! Please let us know your favorite Kyoto souvenirs. Your comments will be used as reference for future features. We look forward to hearing from you.