I heard from my friends that Marublanc tea sweets are recommended as souvenirs from Kyoto, so I went to the store at the Hachijo-guchi exit of Kyoto Station and bought the recommended Tea Sweets 16-piece set for 2,223 yen including tax. That night, I enjoyed them! The matcha flavor is strong and just right, with a perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness. They are so crispy that I couldn't stop eating them!

I went to Kyoto after a long time. I was returning from a business trip and planned to do some sightseeing, but I was feeling tired so I decided to have a meal at Kyoto Station and head home. I usually eat matcha sweets when I visit Kyoto, but today I tried a limited edition mango roll cake that was absolutely delicious.

The chilled tea sweets are summer-style souvenirs. I went shopping at night to buy the summer-style cool tea sweets. There is a store near Hachijo-guchi that is easy to stop by, and I was surprised to see that the store is spacious and easy to shop in. The cool tea sweets are perfect for summer souvenirs. They are like matcha langues with white chocolate mixed in. The classic version is a white chocolate sandwich, which I prefer over the improved version that is less likely to melt. The taste is rich in matcha flavor and of high quality. There is also a summer tea dessert that costs around 500 yen per piece, which includes a matcha mousse milk panna cotta with mascarpone cheese. It is delicious when chilled, especially with the rich matcha sauce. The packaging is also lovely and easy to give as a gift, with a paper package that resembles traditional wrapping. Lastly, there is a milk tea sweet that is milky and delicious when chilled, with a rich flavor. The white and green colors of the fondant chocolat are beautiful.

This is a branch of Marunouchi located in Kintetsu Miyakomichi near Kyoto Station. It is right in front as soon as you get off the escalator next to the Kintetsu ticket gate. Although it was the last day of Golden Week, I had plenty of time, so I wrote my name on the waiting list and waited for about 30 minutes. However, most of the people who came after me were able to enter without much waiting, so it all depends on timing. They do not have a time limit for use, and there are about 10 seats, so it's all a matter of luck. I had Mont Blanc for the first time in over ten years. I remember it being quite large and difficult to eat back then, but this time it was just the right size. The alcohol flavor is quite strong. It might be tough for children. The chestnuts inside were not overly sweetened, and the cream was light, which was just right. I could really taste the flavor of the chestnuts. Since they have a cafe in the retail space, it's good to visit when there are empty seats. The staff were efficient, and the service was fine.

The sweetness spread throughout my body, making me feel extremely happy♡ I enjoyed dipping it in the raspberry sauce on the side, as well as adding different toppings for a change in flavor. Despite the generous portion, I was able to enjoy it until the very end without getting tired of it.

Today, there were many people lining up again. I didn't miss the chance and went for it. The limited freshly squeezed Mont Blanc is made with chestnut cream right in front of you. There were only 12 available today and no reservations were allowed. Other sweets are also excellent. I paired it with Kyoto black tea, similar to Darjeeling, and a combination of rare and baked cheesecake.

Located on the street lined with souvenir shops on the first floor of Kyoto Station Building. There are a few seats for eating in as well. This shop is especially convenient during holidays such as the New Year when many others are closed. A representative shop of Kyoto. Before 6 pm on holidays, there were a few customers. The aisle is spacious and easy to enter even with a stroller. [Purchased items] Tea sweets 5 pieces ¥750. This snack has become a representative souvenir of Kyoto. There are variations such as canned or paper bag packaging depending on the number of items, making it easy to buy. The taste is also excellent. There is also a shop in the Shinkansen building and Kyoto Tower Sand just across from Kyoto Station. It would be good to use them according to your schedule! Thank you for the meal.

The day before heading out on a trip to visit my daughter's workplace, I decided to make a stop in Kyoto. I left my home slowly and bought some souvenirs at Kyoto Station. I was planning to choose something at Isetan, but I was running late and ended up rushing from the Hachijo exit into the station. Inside, there were plenty of souvenirs and bento boxes being sold. When I think of Kyoto, this is what comes to mind. I remember that they don't sell this in Tokyo. It's individually wrapped and has a good shelf life, so I decided on this. I even got one as a freebie and enjoyed it with my coffee on the Shinkansen. It was delicious, just as I remembered. I also got another treat, a piece of Ajari mochi. With my large bag in tow, I arrived at the hotel. I had some time before dinner, so I took a short break and then went out for a bit of sightseeing in Tokyo. It was a warm day with great weather, marking the beginning of my 2-night, 3-day trip.

Marie Blanche is famous for their Mont Blanc cake. However, this time I was tempted by their Christmas limited edition caramel-flavored cake. Although Mont Blanc is tastier, this cake was also good. It was sweet, so I could enjoy it slowly, making it a nice cafe time. The coffee was served generously. The atmosphere was calm for a cafe near Hachijo-guchi.

Marbranche is the only place where you can get a drink in an iron teapot. The Kyoto tea is good, but the Ronnefeldt tea is delicious, so I ended up buying some later. I went with a friend who came from Tokyo around 3 pm, but it was crowded and we had to wait quite a bit. It was a shame that most of the cakes were already gone. It would have been better if the floor was more spacious in the front...

My husband stayed behind and I went home alone for a visit (*^^*) Well, it can be a hassle to travel with your in-laws. Every time my husband goes back to Kansai, he looks forward to the souvenirs I bring back. So, I always stock up on 551 and Akafuku, among other things. The line at 551 in Kyoto Station was so long that it delayed my reservation for the Shinkansen. Even though I was running out of time, I still managed to get some sweets for myself to take on the train! The Mont Blanc from Marublanche was a Western-style Mont Blanc with a hint of liquor, not the traditional chestnut taste. I'm not a big fan of this type of Mont Blanc, but I couldn't resist when I saw a poster saying it had become even more delicious. And the cream puffs that were not so great last time! There was a three-generation family (grandma, mom, and a little girl) in front of me who ordered "X cream puffs and X puddings," but then the girl started crying because she didn't like strawberries. Oh no, the Shinkansen departure time is approaching! The grandma and mom kindly tried to calm her down by saying, "Let's not get strawberry cake to go, okay?" but the conversation continued... I was getting anxious. In the end, I barely made it onto the Shinkansen (;´д｀) and ate the sweets on board! The Mont Blanc was delicious, but still not quite to my liking. However, the cream puffs were just amazing. I should have devoured more cream puffs. But, I couldn't help myself and indulged in sweets instinctively, eating and eating and eating, so I had to mourn from Sunday to Tuesday... (abstaining from sweets and practicing self-control)

Marl Blanc in Kintetsu Kyoto Station is a great place to shop for delicious pastries and sweets. I bought a variety of items including cookies, pies, madeleines, and chocolates, spending a total of 6,597 yen. The packaging of the sweets was impressive, and they make perfect souvenirs with their convenient sizes. This was my first time visiting this store, but I found it easy to shop there before catching the Shinkansen. I will definitely visit Marl Blanc again when I return to Kyoto.

Located in Kintetsu Meiten-gai Miyakomichi, just a short walk down from the Hachijo exit of Kyoto Station, is Marburaunche. They sell delicious sweets perfect for souvenirs, such as Marondomaru chestnut cookies and Landocusha tea sweets. I visited around 6 pm on a weekday with the intention of trying their Mont Blanc at the salon cafe, but unfortunately, the freshly squeezed Mont Blanc is not available from November 1st to January 3rd. The Tamba chestnut Mont Blanc available from October 1st to November 30th was also sold out. However, I opted for the Specialty Mont Blanc. It was delicious, with a hint of alcohol in the European chestnut, and the slightly sticky chestnut paste had a great melt-in-your-mouth texture. I recommend coming earlier to try their limited edition Mont Blancs. They accept payment through PayPay.

A three-day foodie trip in Kansai, Japan. On the third day, we left my family's house in Nara early in the morning and walked from Kyoto Station towards Kawaramachi area, passing by the Kamo River and exploring the shopping streets of Kyoto. We indulged in mackerel sushi and inari sushi, followed by a parfait in Gion, before walking back to Kyoto Station. We searched for souvenirs for my husband at Kyoto Station, avoiding the crowded Isetan underground shopping area. Instead, we wandered around the Eightjo Exit of Kyoto Station, where we found Inoda Coffee and Maaru Buranshu cafe. I have a sweet tooth, so I always seek out desserts until the very end. I enjoyed a cake and a cream puff at Maaru Buranshu cafe, which were delicious. The cream puff was surprisingly good, with a perfect balance of crisp pastry and creamy custard filling. I used to enjoy Maaru Buranshu's cakes when I lived near Hankyu Tsukaguchi Station, but it seems they are no longer available at Hankyu Umeda Department Store. Regardless, I had a great time savoring the sweets in Kyoto before boarding the Shinkansen back home. I always look forward to indulging in delicious food, as it brings me true happiness.

Personally, I think that the number one souvenir to give from Kyoto is no longer Yatsuhashi, but rather tea sweets. They come in individual packaging, making them easy to distribute even to those who are not fans of traditional Japanese sweets (especially red bean paste), and they have a long shelf life. On a Sunday evening on the way back from Kyoto, I stopped by the Marunouchi JR Kyoto Isetan store and was met with an unbearable long line...!! I couldn't bear to wait in line just to buy souvenirs... The store at Isetan wasn't the only place selling them! But if they were sold out at the store inside the Shinkansen gates, I wouldn't be able to go back... So my husband found and bought them for me at the Marunouchi Hachijo-guchi store in Kyoto Station. The "Cool Tea Sweets" with 14 pieces cost 2,100 yen (tax included) and are a summer limited edition tea sweet. By the way, they were almost sold out of the tea sweets too. The "Cool Tea Sweets" were also almost gone. The evening rush at Marunouchi is truly something to be reckoned with! If you are planning to buy tea sweets as souvenirs, make sure to take precautions early! Because of its popularity, a regular "tea sweet" would probably be more appreciated as a souvenir. Plus, the price for both the regular tea sweets and the "Cool Tea Sweets" is the same, but I haven't compared them side by side, the "Cool Tea Sweets" seem surprisingly "thin" for what is supposed to be worth 150 yen per piece. If you are giving the souvenirs to someone who can appreciate the value of the "Cool Tea Sweets," then that's great. But for me, I actually prefer the taste of the "Cool Tea Sweets" over the regular tea sweets when eating them myself. As a sweet tooth in my 50s, the white chocolate sandwiched in the regular tea sweets is just too sweet for me. The "Cool Tea Sweets," on the other hand, have a stronger matcha bitterness as the matcha is kneaded in rather than sandwiched with white chocolate. The texture of the langue de chat is firm, more like a very thin crispy cracker than a langue de chat cookie. Marunouchi is a place where you can't usually buy in Tokyo (Kanto), so that adds a lot of value to the souvenirs, right? Next time I choose Marunouchi as a souvenir from Kyoto, I will make sure to buy it when the line is short, rather than right before boarding the Shinkansen.

I received a souvenir from someone in Kyoto. It was a type of snack different from the delicious things I usually buy in Kyoto. Even though I love matcha ice cream, I have been avoiding matcha-colored snacks at department stores and souvenir shops. I regret that now. Maruburanshu's Matcha Langue de Chat has a strong matcha aroma, is elegant, not bitter, and has a perfect combination of white chocolate and matcha cookies. The matcha-colored cookies with the "菓" character imprint look stylish, and I will definitely include this in my souvenir purchases next time.

While passing through Kyoto, I stopped by and purchased some Kagami no Kashi (traditional Japanese sweets) at Mauresque. I got the limited edition Valentine's Day series of Kagami no Kashi, which included the regular matcha Langue de Chat and the cocoa versions of Langue de Chat and Nama-cha no Kashi. Personally, I prefer the Kagami no Kashi series. I like the chocolate flavor more than matcha, and these sweets were not too sweet, so I ended up eating them all at once. The Mont Blanc cream was a soft, brown paste with a hint of rum aroma. I'm not a big fan of alcohol (I prefer the non-alcoholic version of Mont Blanc at the main store), but I was still able to enjoy it. Mauresque is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and the package came with a message from the company president. However, the message included stories of working overnight, which made me wonder what the intention was behind sharing such experiences in this day and age.

Due to the impact of the coronavirus, the opening time was set at 10 am. I really wanted to get my hands on the Sencha sweets here, which are my favorite souvenir that I always buy when I come to Kyoto. I passed the time nearby and arrived just after the store opened. The staff's service and the atmosphere of the store were very nice. I found it! I got the Sencha sweets I was looking for! I'll enjoy them at home after drinking in the evening. The chewy texture, rich matcha aroma, and the slow melting matcha fondant chocolate in my mouth. Delicious. I still love this. I resist the temptation to eat 2-3 pieces at once and close the box. I can enjoy this again tomorrow. Thank you for the meal.

This is a visit to the entrance of Miyakomichi. There is an eat-in corner and a quite spacious area is taken up. The background music in the store is the sound of a koto. I tried the "Kitayama Main Store Chef Cookie" as a takeout. It was a very sweet butter cookie.

During my return trip from Kyoto last week, I decided to stop by another shop before boarding the bullet train. I visited Maarl Blanch at the Nankai Meiten-gai Miyakomichi near Kyoto Station's Hachijo Exit. This shop is famous for its "tea sweets." I tried their freshly squeezed Mont Blanc, which was made right in front of me at the spacious counter seats. It consisted of layers of cold vanilla mousse glace, sponge cake, and a generous amount of chestnut cream with a hint of rum. Topped with chestnuts and almonds, the Mont Blanc looked amazing from every angle. The berry sauce surrounding it added a nice touch of acidity. You can also sprinkle almonds and cranberries on top as you like. The Mont Blanc, freshly squeezed with rum, was absolutely delicious! The coffee served came with a "tea sweet" as well. It was a luxurious way to end my business trip in Kyoto, enjoying high-quality sweets that truly captured the essence of Kyoto.