Nice quiet restaurant on the main minami shotengai. The cold beef udon was tasty, nice chewy noodles and sweet beef, I'd eat that again for 900. The kakigori I ordered was the 'rare cheese cake' it was alright, Although compared to other kakigori I've eaten lately it wasn't great. Bit pricey at 1100yen the other Japanese sweets look pretty tasty though.

Soba dango was tasty but small.

Great strawberry shaved ice!

This is the only directly operated branch of「ちもと総本店」, a wagashi shop founded 300 years ago with its main store in 軽井沢. Being a wagashi shop, I imagine sweets are the main focus, but the soba is quite delicious too. I tried 肉そば, and the meat simmered in a sweet-and-salty sauce paired nicely with the strong broth. For dessert, I chose 軽井沢の天然氷生いちご. Its vivid red appearance, almost alarmingly so, really makes an impression. As the「生」in its name suggests, it's sweet, delicious shaved ice with a clear sense of real strawberry fruit.

+3

A long-established sweets shop that's very clean after its renovation. They also have a shop in 八雲, but it hasn't offered café service since the pandemic, so I'm happy to be able to eat on-site here. Apparently the main store is in 軽井沢. It seems their shaved ice made with natural ice is available year-round. It was a hot day, so I was reluctant to pass it up, but I ordered the あんみつ I'd come for. The shaved ice doesn't come with tea, but the 白玉クリームあんみつ did. I'd walked from 永福町 that day, so I was pretty exhausted and took a short break. The male staff member was calm and set the tone of the shop. They didn't immediately clear the plates or anything, and you could tell they wanted you to enjoy a leisurely time. The 求肥 in the あんみつ was soft, fragrant, and very delicious. Next time I'd like to try the ice, but the あんみつ was delicious too, so I'll probably have trouble deciding again. Thank you for the meal.

+3