Hello and welcome to the 2nd post of many more to come documenting my recent trip to Japan.

If you missed the first post, go read it and come back! Here it is: Arriving in Japan | Shinkansen Bullet Train from Tokyo to Kyoto. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. This post picks up after we arrive in Kyoto and get settled into our hotel – our first night in Kyoto exploring the local shops and stuffing our faces full of savory gyoza and mouth-watering Japanese desserts.

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Gyoza at Chao Chao

By the time we had settled into our hotel room and set out to explore the surrounding area, we were starving. All we had eaten that day was the early morning hotel breakfast in Tokyo and the small treats from 7/11 we had indulged in during the bullet train ride. Erica did some quick-on-her-feet research and found a highly recommended gyoza shop but a stone’s throw away from our hotel called Chao Chao Gyoza. The internet dubbed it the “best gyoza in Kyoto”, so we were excited to see what all the fuss was about. Down a winding street parallel to a babbling stream, we reached the unassuming gyoza shop. From the outside one could almost miss it, but inside was overflowing with life. Cash only and tightly packed with tables filled with people laughing and enjoying their meals, we knew immediately the recommendations must have been accurate.

Gyoza: Japanese Dumplings

The menu was pages after page of various gyoza, both traditional and unique, simple and more complex. Deciding what to get was a difficult task in and of itself. We ended up ordering 3 different kinds of gyoza to share so that we could try more: deep fried chicken and mozzarella, mushroom, and okinomiyaki. The deep fried chicken and mozzarella flavor was definitely the most non-traditional (pictured below). It almost reminded me of a mini pizza pocket. The mushroom was the most traditional, presented with a soy sauce dish and seasonings to mix together to create your perfect dipping sauce. Finally, the okinomiyaki flavor was the most unique with dumplings sporting the dried squid flakes and other toppings of a signature okinomiyaki dish. They were all mouthwateringly delicious.

Lemon Sours

Before coming to Japan, I had never had a Lemon Sour but had heard of them from watching Japan travel videos. They are made of Shochu, soda water, and lemon juice. So when we saw on the menu that the shop offered this Japanese signature beverage, of course we had to try it. They were amazing. It was love at first taste. They were reminiscent of a lemon candy, sweet with the perfect balance of sour, and you couldn’t taste any of the alcohol. And the bite of the lemon cut through the grease of the gyoza as is it was made for it. Lemon Sours quickly became the drink of choice for this trip, so expect to hear more about them in future blog posts. (Since coming home and craving them, I’ve convinced Peter to attempt to make some for me since there is a Japanese marketplace nearby. Not yet as good as the ones I had in Japan, unfortunately.)

Desserts in Shinkyogoku

Now that our hunger had been more than addressed – we were stuffed – we continued on our exploration of the charming downtown area. Earlier on our quest to find our hotel, we had spotted a large, roofed market-looking structure at the end of our street. At closer inspection we learned it was Shinkyogoku Shopping District. The walkways within bustled with people and were lined on either side with shops offering a variety of wares. We spent hours strolling through the labyrinth of shops that made up the market. The maze-like connecting streets and shops seemed to go on endlessly. We perused souvenir shops, clothing stores, accessory stores, and so much more. There was one shop that sold only silk bomber jackets with elaborately embroidered designs adorning the backs and sleeves. Unfortunately they were far outside of my price range. Eventually our eyes began to strain from looking over shop after shop.

White Bean Paste Castella Buns

In the window of one store a massive, rotating mechanical device caught our attention. It was making tiny, fat pancakes! Each pancake was stamped with a Japanese character. They were adorable and the smell emanating from the shop doors was too enticing to ignore. Upon some research, I learned the name of the shop was London-ya. And these “pancakes” were Japanese sweets called castella buns. We each got one, freshly made from the machine and still warm in our hands. The inside was filled with a sweet white bean paste in classic Asian dessert fashion. Sweet, but not too sweet.

Cheese Tarts

Not long after our indulgent castle buns, we came across BAKE Cheese Tarts. The shop itself was hip and chic, decorated with well-designed posters and a counter made of grey and black legos. Music that I believe was in French played softly on the speakers. But most importantly, the smell from the cheese tarts freshly baking was tantalizing. Obviously, we had to buy some to try. The tart itself was crisp and flaky. The cheese within was warm and soft, smooth and almost seemed to melt in your mouth. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water as I write this blog post.

Sweet Potato Taiyaki

Sweet, precious taiyaki. Probably one of my favorite desserts. So it goes without saying that as soon as we spotted the modest taiyaki stand amid the shops before us we leapt into line without hesitation. The shop was called Naruto Taiyaki Hompo and it did not disappoint. They offered two primary flavors as I recall: red bean paste and sweet potato. In the past I had only ever tried red bean paste and custard, so I chose the sweet potato flavor. Not by any surprise, it was delicious. How can you go wrong with sweet potato? Now we were really full. It looked as if our dinner for the night would be made up entirely of various desserts… No regrets.

What are your favorite Japanese desserts?

As always, thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you enjoyed the video! Stay tuned for the next blog post and video about the most beautiful place that we visited during my trip to Japan… And many more posts to come about my recent trip to Japan! Until then, you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

What are your favorite Japanese desserts? What are some interesting and delicious desserts that you’ve tried during your travels? Tell me in the comments!