Izutsu Yatsuhashi Honpo — an old Japanese sweets shop whose flavor says Kyoto

In this article, we would like to tell you about a shop where you can experience Japan and Kyoto. We'd definitely like you to visit it when you are traveling in Kyoto. It's the Gion main store of Izutsu Yatsuhashi Honpo.

This is a storied Kyoto sweets shop that has been in existence for 210 years. Its famous hard-baked cracker "Izutsu yatsuhashi" is one of the most popular sweet in Kyoto for visitors to give as a gift back home.

Japanese people strongly associate the aroma of cinnamon, which is used as a flavoring in Izutsu yatsuhashi, with Kyoto. It is so famous that a Japanese person who was unfamiliar with Izutsu yatsuhashi would be considered quite odd. For that reason alone it is quite popular among knowledgeable visitors to Japan.

The Gion main store also carries a wide selection of famous products and Kyoto sweets by Izutsu Yatsuhashi Honpo, including Kabuki Meika Yugiri and nama (raw) yatsuhashi Yuko. By the way, there are Japanese-style stories behind the product names such as "Yugiri" and "Yuko." If you are curious, by all means ask a member of the shop staff. There are also products only available at the main store such as nama yatsuhashi Koto sugata, so be sure to check them out. Fortunately there are places to sit down and relax inside.

After shopping at the Gion main store and walking around Gion, please try visiting Izutsu Chaten, a tea shop in the same building. On the first floor you can have a meal such as soba or a rice bowl dish. The second floor is a place to take a breather while sipping tea. You can fully enjoy Japanese sweets while drinking tea or coffee. The offerings include green tea with seasonal unbaked sweets; "yaki yaki," or nama yatsuhashi charcoal-toasted to a crisp; and a "Kitaza Parfait," which combines ice cream and Japanese sweets.

The shop is located in the vicinity of Kamogawa very close to Shijo-ohashi, and just outside the No. 8 exit of Keihan Electric Railway's Gion-shijo Station. We expect that going to Izutsu Yatsuhashi Honpo will fill you with the feeling of really being in Kyoto.