Located at the intersection of Imakumano, between the famous tourist spots of Toji Temple and Higashiyama, is Umekado, a cozy café known for its delicious hotcakes. The café has a clean and welcoming atmosphere, with friendly staff making it easy for both locals and tourists to enjoy. Their hotcakes are a popular choice, especially the ones topped with various ingredients such as red bean paste, whipped cream, soft serve ice cream, butter, and syrup. The hotcakes are perfectly cooked, fluffy, and not too sweet. It's recommended to try the classic combination of butter and red bean paste. A set with coffee costs around 1360 yen, and it takes about 15 minutes for the hotcakes to be served. It's a great place to stop for a break while exploring the nearby sights of Higashiyama and Toji Temple.

I had the Uji shaved ice for ¥800 (tax included) on September 18, 2023 (Monday). The Uji shaved ice served in the shop was very rich in matcha flavor. It had a strong bitterness of matcha, and it came with three pieces of shiratama. "Umekado" was established in 1953 and has been loved by locals in Higashiyama, Kyoto for over 60 years. It is a traditional Japanese sweets shop.

I had a chestnut parfait for 980 yen. It was more expensive than my lunch, but it was delicious. It had 4 chestnuts, almonds, a small dollop of sauce, and topped with senbei. The atmosphere in the restaurant was calm and I liked it. The menu was very cute. They offer shaved ice in the summer and pancakes in the fall. I want to try the pancakes next time.

In the hot summer of Kyoto, "shaved ice" is a must. On this day, I visited the long-established Umekodo in Arashiyama. Among the various shaved ice options, I chose the "Fruit Milk Cream" shaved ice. This shaved ice is famous for its delicious milk cream and abundance of colorful fruits. As you eat, more and more fruits keep appearing. On this day, there were watermelon, mango, kiwi, banana, pineapple, and mandarin orange. Plus, it came with a topping of soft serve ice cream. It was incredibly satisfying!

I tried the classic or most popular mango shaved ice at Kanomango. It was sweet and had a strong mango flavor all the way through, it was delicious! It also had white dumplings on top, so I enjoyed eating it little by little as a palate cleanser. There were many other menu items that looked delicious like anmitsu, so I want to try something other than shaved ice next time.

There are many types of shaved ice to choose from. It's fun to spend time deciding. I tried the Black Sugar Milk Sweet Potato flavor. The ice was more crunchy than fluffy. I visited during a hot summer afternoon, and I wish the air conditioning was a bit stronger. The staff were friendly and overall it was a great experience!

Around 1:00 PM, I visited a dessert shop called "Baikado" in Imakumano, Higashiyama-ku. Established in 1953, this shop is loved by local customers. It is a small shop with only a few table seats, and you can see regular customers here and there, giving it a cozy atmosphere of a well-established local shop. The menu has a wide variety of options, with cute illustrations of items like shaved ice, anmitsu, parfaits, and pancakes. Here are some of the shaved ice options: - Mizore - Strawberry - Lemon - Uji (green tea) - Brown sugar - Sweet potato - Milk sweet potato - Uji sweet potato - Brown sugar sweet potato - Strawberry milk - Milk - Uji milk - Brown sugar milk - Fruit milk cream - Cream - Strawberry cream - Lemon cream - Milk cream - Uji cream - Brown sugar cream - Milk drizzle - Uji drizzle - Strawberry milk cream - Uji milk cream - Brown sugar milk cream - Uji milk cream - Uji milk sweet potato - Uji milk drizzle - Brown sugar milk drizzle - Brown sugar - Special brown sugar drizzle - Mango [Ordered Dish] - Milk cream shaved ice (850 yen) The sweet milk syrup flavor is very delicious. The cream hidden inside the ice is also tasty. It was a hot day, so the ice was super cold and refreshing. [Overall Impression] It may be a small and inconspicuous shop, but it has been in business for a long time and is a hidden gem. Thank you for the meal. #Gourmet #KyotoGourmet #WantToConnectWithGourmetLovers #Baikado #ShavedIce #KyotoShavedIce

Located right near the Kumano bus stop. Walked in without a reservation and got a table right away. Highly recommend the Uji milk cream ice cream for 920 yen. The matcha powder gives it a luxurious feel. The cream inside is delicious. Also had the iced tea for 580 yen, which was very tasty. The atmosphere was cozy and comfortable.

Visited around 11 AM on Saturday. No other customers at the time. The café had a nostalgic feel and seemed to be popular among locals. Ordered the Ogura Matcha Jelly Parfait for 1000 yen. It arrived promptly after ordering. I was surprised by the richness of the matcha flavor and the generous portion size. The price was very reasonable for a tourist spot. The parfait was loaded with oranges, bananas, plenty of matcha jelly, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and Ogura red bean paste, making it a delightful treat! The matcha jelly was refreshingly not too sweet, with a strong tea flavor that paired well with the ice cream and cream. Eating it with the red bean paste felt like enjoying a delicious Japanese confection. The abundant use of matcha gave a Kyoto-like vibe. I'm curious about their shaved ice and pancakes, so I'd love to visit again. Thank you for the meal.

I stopped by here for the first time in a while! I was feeling nostalgic for the soft serve ice cream that my grandfather used to buy me. This place offers hotcakes and red bean soup inside the shop, but this time I got the soft serve ice cream to go. And guess what, it's only ¥300! In touristy areas, soft serve ice cream usually costs over ¥500, so getting it at this price is a great deal. Highly recommend!

I stopped by on my way back from Toji Temple. It's a shop loved by locals in the heart of Kyoto, not in a bustling area. The matcha here is the real deal. My daughter was in elementary school when she first tried it and was incredibly moved. Kids are honest, after all. Since then, no matter how many years have passed, she still says that the matcha parfait here is the best. I also ordered the fruit hotcakes because I'm greedy. The fruit changes with the seasons, and they are also incredibly delicious. It's a wonderful shop that warms the heart.

After finishing work in Kyoto, a colleague suggested visiting the temple called Shorin-ji, which is known for its flower seal stamp. The temple was beautiful with blue and red leaves, and I plan to visit again in the fall. However, we had to give up on getting the flower seal stamp as there was a long line. To cool off from the heat, we decided to take a break and search for a place to eat on Tabelog. We found a shaved ice place that seemed affordable, up to 1,000 yen. It was crowded with locals, and it seemed like their hotcakes were popular, but they were not available in the summer. I wanted to try the matcha shaved ice with shiratama and milk, with soft serve ice cream on top. My colleague was intrigued by something called "Shigure," which had matcha, milk, shiratama, red bean, and soft serve ice cream inside. After a while, my colleague's order arrived, but it started melting as they left their seat to use the restroom. Then my order, the Uji milk cream shaved ice, arrived. It was well-structured, and I had to eat it quickly as I tend to eat ice cream slowly. There was soft serve ice cream inside, which was more like regular ice cream. The shiratama got hard from the ice, which was disappointing. The sweetness level was just right, and the ice was good. We paid with PayPay and drank cold water multiple times to cool off in the hot weather.

I arrived around 2 PM on Sunday and there were already about 5 groups waiting in line. I was the 6th group in line. Finally, when I got inside, the fruit cream ice cream I ordered (1150 yen) was served 45 minutes later, including the time waiting in line. It seems to be very popular. I had come before to eat the hotcakes, but the ice cream is definitely more popular. It had a lot of volume, with lots of fruits in it. The milk flavor was not too strong, so it was enjoyable to eat. I would like to come back in the summer to try a different kind of ice cream. Thank you for the meal!

Around 3 o'clock on Sunday, I became free and headed to Imakumano for Japanese sweets. In the peak of summer, there is usually a line outside, but today I was able to get in without waiting around 4 o'clock. The cream hotcakes were delicious, with hot pancakes topped with a huge soft serve ice cream, creating a perfect balance.

I came to this shop for dessert after eating udon. It's close to the udon shop and seems to also sell sweets. I looked at the menu outside and decided to go in. I was thinking of getting cream anmitsu since my stomach was full. Inside, there were so many menu options! I was really torn. Parfait sounds good, and it seems like this shop specializes in hotcakes. I'm interested in the fruit hotcake. It's a bit hot outside, so shaved ice also sounds good. But since I just ate udon, I decided to go with anmitsu. They had cream anmitsu, but I chose black syrup anmitsu to avoid consuming too many calories. "We have white syrup and black syrup," they said, so I chose black syrup. The anmitsu came with fruits like banana, kiwi, peach, mandarin orange, pineapple, and cherries, along with white dumplings and red bean paste. There was also agar agar at the bottom. The fruits were cut into large pieces. They provided a dessert spoon, which was a bit difficult to use with the fruits. I wished they had a fork too. The red bean paste was really delicious! Just eating that made it worth it. The black syrup was also tasty. Eating something sweet really satisfied me! It was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

※I revisited in early May. The hotcakes are no longer available at the moment. Before the hotcakes were temporarily discontinued, I went back to Umekodo again. I ordered the "All Toppings" hotcakes just like last time. The portion size, taste, and value for money were just as great as before. This time, I also tried the Cafe au Lait Float, which was a good deal with the drink set. And I also tried the Matcha Jelly Parfait with red bean paste, which was surprisingly huge. It had soft serve ice cream surrounded by overflowing matcha jelly and matcha sauce, all handmade. I was overwhelmed by the portion size and value for money. Even though the hotcakes are on hold until September, I might still visit Umekodo during the summer for their huge parfaits. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal!

I visited Umekodo in Kyoto Imakumano. The shop is located near Toji Temple and has a nostalgic atmosphere. It is a local favorite sweet shop where you can enjoy soft serve ice cream, parfaits, shaved ice, and pancakes. The specialty is the "All Topping Hotcakes" which comes with red bean paste, cream, ice cream, and butter on top of the pancake. The pancakes were delicious and made with a unique recipe. The service was warm and friendly, and the prices were very reasonable. The pancakes are not available all year round, so be sure to visit before May 15th or after September. I highly recommend this shop for anyone who loves sweet treats.