Toraya

20 hours ago 4

Toraya has been producing wagashi, Japanese confectionaries, since the 16th century. It has been a purveyor to the Imperial family for nearly as long. Toraya originated in Kyoto but moved to Tokyo as the noble family moved to Edo, the old name for Tokyo.

Toraya’s handsome building in Akasaka was designed by architect Hiroshi Naito. Hinoki cypress fills the space, notably on the curved roof of the cafe on the third floor. The second floors is the retail space with a colorful selection of fresh wagashi to enjoy with matcha that changes every few weeks.

The cafeteria offers a set meal with rice and a few dishes or at the moment a bowl of chilled udon noodles topped with nigauri bitter gourd and eggplant. A light and refreshing meal in this hot and humid summer. On this day many diners were enjoying kakigōri shaved ice. The Uji matcha comes with red azuki or the more rare white azuki that has an elegant sweetness to it. The seasonal shaved ice this month is anzu apricots. The month of June the seasonal shaved ice was saké from #Toyama @masuizumi.saseki. The staff said that it should be back on the menu next June. My girlfriend had it and said it was delightful.

Why I make the special trip to Toyama is to visit the free museum dedicated to wagashi in the basement of the building. The current exhibit shows the history of wagashi (parts in English!) and there is an informative movied (also in English!).

Toraya is a must visit for anyone fascinated or curious about wagashi traditional Japanese sweets.

Toraya Akasaka

Minato-ku, Akasaka 4-9-22

https://global.toraya-group.co.jp/pages/akasaka-store

The closest station is Akasaka Mitsuke. It’s about a seven minute walk from exit A.

Toraya has a branch at Tokyo Station on the Marunouchi side. There are other shops in the city.

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