For everyone who wants to experience Kyoto to its fullest, apart from Gion Area I really recommend Higashiyama.

Demachi Futaba was founded the year 1823 and has been making Japanese confections (wagashi) using traditional methods ever since.

I love Japanese traditional sweets (wagashi), especially everything that has to do with mochi and dango. In fact, dango is the first wagashi I ever tried when I visited Japan for the very first time in 2016. When I ate aburi mochi a while ago I noticed for the first time how connected some Japanese sweets are to religious believes or places, which I find quite interesting. So, when I found out about where and how mitarashi dango were invented, I had to go there! (Especially b

Especially if you're vegan like me it is nearly impossible to find bread at supermarkets. Some bakeries do offer vegan breads but they too are usually sweet. However, I recently discovered an amazing little bakery in Kyoto which not only offers delicious savory and sweet bread. Everything is vegan as well! APELILA "Apelila" is a small vegan bakery near Demachiyanagi station, locaded next to a river with lots of sweet but also savory vegan baked goods. When you come inside, yo

Last Sunday, on Februrary 23rd I visited a kofun (ancient burial mound) in Kyoto together with four Japanese people. One of them had been there before and knew a lot. We also visited a few other interesting places which I am going to introduce in this post as well. Koryu-ji Temple At first, before going to the kofun, we visited a famous temple called Koryu-ji Temple 広隆寺. It was founded in 603 and is the oldest temple in Kyoto. Imperial Prince Shotoku Taishi 聖徳太子 (574 – 622) d

About Ichiwa and Aburi-Mochi Ichiwa is a over 1000 years old shop right next to the Imamiya Shrine and therefore the oldest sweets shop in Kyoto. It has been open since Heian-era and specializes in aburi-mochi. "aburi" stands for "grilled" and "mochi" for a rice cake made from glutinous rice powder. As the name suggests, aburi-mochi is a rice cake which has been grilled over hot charcoal after being rolled in kinako (roasted soybean powder) and then coated in a sweet sauce ma

When talking about Kyoto, most people think of the most famous temples and shrines such as Kyomizu-dera or Fushimi-inari as well as traditional houses with Maiko walking by. However, Kyoto is also widely known for its green tea, so why not visit the place where it is coming from? Uji Uji is a city in the southern outskirts of Kyoto and most famous for it´s matcha. The cultivation of tea in this area was promoted by Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimisu (1358-1408) and Uji became an impor