Pastries

In Kyoto, which has had numerous shrines and temples since ancient times, “shinsen” sweets and “butsuzen” sweets were used as offerings. The “to-gashi” (Tang sweets) brought back by emissaries to Tang dynasty China evolved into “cha-no-yu-no-kashi” (cakes served with tea).

Though the basic types of Kyo kashi are “namagashi”, “hannamagashi”, and “higashi”, depending on their use and origin, Kyo kashi can also be classified into other categories. For example, there are the “giten-gashi” used in festivals and ceremonial occasions, the “kisetsu-gashi” enjoyed each season, the namagashi and higashi used in tea ceremonies, and the gift sweets used as souvenirs by tourists and locals.

Kyo kashi are handmade, the meticulously attentive techniques for producing them being passed down from person to person.

Many modern day sweets and desserts in Japan are also existent.

Kasagiya 

This a sweet shop located in the middle of Ninenzaka stone steps, which started business in 1914. In front of the shop is a notice that says, “This is a Ninenzaka stone stairway which sweet lovers cannot pass through” and inside the shop are pictures painted by Yumeji.

On your left a few steps after starting down from the top of Sannen-zaka, Kasagiya is very easy to miss. It’s a tiny shop with a weathered façade and the sign is only in Japanese. The best bet is to get yourself in the general vicinity and then ask a local shopkeeper to point you in the right direction.

There’s a good picture menu with some English on it. In winter, hot tea and an azuki-bean sweet is the way to go; in summer, nothing hits the spot like an Uji-kintoki (a mountain of shaved ice covered with sweetened green tea) one of Kyoto’s oldest and most esteemed tea and sweet shops.

In the front room, you can see the artistic creations on display, but discerning Kyotoites quickly make for the serene tea room in back, where they can enjoy some of the shops famed sweets accompanied by a thick cup of perfectly whisked matcha tea. 

Address: 349 Masuyacho Higashiyama-ku Kyoto 

Kagizen Yoshifusa

This place was established in the mid-Edo period. They have continued making Kyo-gashi (Kyoto sweets) at the corner of Kyoto’s Hanamachi, the stylish district of Gion. Like the numerous long-established sweet shops in Kyoto, the sweets have been offered to common shoppers, the “Chajin” (tea connoisseur) and temple priests alike, but being situated in Gion, the sweets have been enjoyed by writers, artists, and patrons, along with the women of the Hanamachi.

http://www.kagizen.co.jp/en/

Tsuruya Yoshinobu

This place is one of the oldest and most popular Kyo-gashi shops in Kyoto. This is one of the rare places where you can see the process of making Kyo-gashi. Artisans are proud to craft this art for the next generation and would love to talk with you and explain everything about Kyo-gashi. The principal store and studio itself is a traditional Kyoto building, so you will feel an ancient sense of Kyoto as soon as you enter. This is one of the special finds in Kyoto and a great way to enjoy one of the greatest Japanese traditional arts.

Kyo-gashi is steeped in history, and special artisans who have inherited its traditional techniques have protected its craftsmanship and refined these artworks for a life time. Each delicate piece of work is like an insight into the souls of these artisans. In the principal design center and showroom of “Tsuruya Yoshinobu”, you can relax in their second floor tea lounge and see how those confectioneries are made. You can also taste it as soon as it is made. This is the perfect pick me up place after a day’s sightseeing, especially if you are near the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

http://www.turuya.co.jp/en/index.html