Yanoen Kissa Yurin

Yurin-kan is located in the Kiryu Shinmachi Important Traditional Buildings Preservation District. The group of storehouses was built and used for storage purposes between the Edo and Showa periods, and in the past, sake, soy sauce, and miso were produced here. Yanoen stands at the entrance to the site. Founded in 1717, this historic store has a history of over 300 years, and it was established in the current building in 1928. The building has been designated an important traditional building of the city of Kiryu.

These days, Yanoen sells tea, rice, and sake, and operates a cafe as well. Enter the front of the store with its dignified Kirin Beer sign, and you will find the cafe at the very back.

Here, customers can enjoy Japanese tea made from choice tea leaves unique to Yanoen, which sells tea alongside cakes and snacks. Types of Japanese tea available at the cafe include yurin, kura-akari, Japanese black tea, hojicha (roasted tea), and genmai-cha (green tea with roasted brown rice). Among them, kura-akari is especially popular. With its rich fragrance and mellow taste, it will have tea lovers moaning with delight. It is also attractive for its well-balanced flavor, which can be enjoyed whether it is served hot or iced.

Now, don't be surprised! The ceramic cup decorated with a crest that your tea is poured into is yours to take home! The cup serves nicely as a souvenir of your trip, but if you bring your own cup to the cafe, you can enjoy all subsequent cups at a cheaper price. Perhaps a taste comparison of the cafe's five varieties of tea would be a nice idea. While the flavor of the tea at Yurin is of the highest quality, give the coffee a try too. The cafe serves Horizon Coffee by Horizon Labo. It is the work of Kiryu-born Hibiki Iwano, a young coffee roaster still in his teens. This is Kiryu Yukari coffee, which can't easily be found anywhere else, so we would like to recommend it as well.

Yanoen Kissa Yurin—a place where you will find many things related to Kiryu. A flavor that goes perfectly with a walk around Kiryu and its rows of historic buildings.