Enjoying summer with Kakigori!

Summer in Japan can be a big challenge - especially because of the heat. But there are several dishes and snacks to cool you down. While hiyashi chuuka (cold noodles with toppings such as egg, cucumber, ham and soybean sprouts) and zaru soba (cold buckwheat noodles with a dip) are great for savory dishes, I love to enjoy cold sweets in summer.

My number one: Kakigori - shaved ice!

A must during summer in Japan and something you can find at every summer festival. Also, many restaurants put kakigoori on their menu in summer and the cafés that offer special types of kakigoori are run over during the hot months. Let me introduce three kakigori cafés in Tokyo in this article, so you can enjoy it by yourself. 

Café Lumiere

One of Tokyo's most famous places for fancy kakigori is Café Lumiere in Kichijoji. Next to creative-looking shaved ice, one of their mains is yakigori - flambéed shaved ice. It is amazing to see how your ice is set on fire just right in front of you. And it is even really delicious!

Be sure to make a reservation before you visit during the busy season of summer. Booking is possible 7 days in advance on their website. Without a reservation, they ask you to line up for a seat from 5 p.m.

Links: Website / Instagram

Wa Kitchen Kanna

Wa Kitchen Kanna (和kitchenかんな) located about 10 minute walk from Sangenjaya station is a restaurant for Japanese food and shaved ice, however, during summer, you only can get kakigori there as their main. They offer various flavors, such as strawberry yogurt, sweet potato, tiramisu, matcha and more. 

During our visit in August, they had Okinawa mango and pineapple as premium kakigori and I could resist trying it. It was really amazing and fresh.

Reservations for Wa Kitchen Kanna are open two weeks in advance. It is also possible to line up for a seat or get kakigori for take-out.

Links: Website / Instagram

CUPS

Located in Machida, CUPS is a muffin & bowl café in the western part of Tokyo. In summer, they switch to kakigori with different flavors and timely limited editions.  My all-time favorite there is the choco mint shaved ice. I especially like that you get a cup of hot tea served together with your ice - great to warm up your mouth and throat again.

It was a well-hidden secret the last years and I never had problems entering it, however, this year they also got an online booking system. 

Links: Website / Instagram

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Are you a kakigori-holic in summer, too?
Feel free to comment on your favorite kakigori places!