Popular matcha chain Tsujiri has taken off in Toronto so I had to visit the original Tsujiri in Kyoto. This matcha heaven put Toronto’s Tsujiri to shame. Though there are a number of locations, I opted for the main one in the Gion district. Located minutes away from the Yasaka Shrine (pictured below), you can’t miss Tsujiri due to the line outside. However, it moves quickly so don’t let it keep you from the best matcha. In addition, in the summer, they offer you a cold towel to make the wait all the more bearable. If you’re in a hurry, there is always the option of grabbing tea or soft serve to go.
After a 15 minute wait, we were seated and served cool green tea. The original Tsujiri’s menu has various options ranging from parfaits to cake to cooked food. One thing to note is that Tsujiri parfaits are pricey – with parfaits costing upwards from 1000 yen (approx. $13 CAD). This is likely due to the fact that the parfaits are extremely large (double the size of Toronto’s).
As seen above, we got 3 parfaits – the Tokusen Tsujiri parfait (1383 yen), the Tsujiri parfait (1178 yen), and the Yogurt parfait (1134 yen). All were extremely delicious with various toppings. Firstly, the Tsujiri parfait (the one in the back) is composed of matcha whipped cream, chestnuts, matcha jelly, azuki bean paste, matcha ice cream, hojicha jelly, vanilla ice cream, matcha syrup, and agar jelly cubes. With all the above plus matcha castellas, iced mochi (yum!), and matcha sherbert, The Tokusen Tsujiri was my favourite! The Yogurt parfait has matcha cookie, whipped cream, banana, kiwi, iced mochi, matcha yoghurt ice cream, matcha jelly, yoghurt ice cream, matcha syrup, and agar jelly cubes.
Upon finishing our parfaits, we had hot roasted matcha tea, which was the perfect end to our matcha meal. In conclusion, I would highly recommend Tsujiri for the food, service, and experience. The original Tsujiri is a must when in Japan and definitely worth the hype, the wait, and the money.
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573-3 Gionmachi Minamigawa,
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
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Stone & Fern is a travel and lifestyle blog started by friends who have a passion for exploring cities, capturing moments, and trying new food. To see more of Asia, click here.