In the hot summer, what we miss is cold food, shaved ice.
Japan has been experiencing a shaved ice boom for the past several years. In proportion to this boom, more and more stores are offering unique shaved ice, not only the simple ones with syrup, but also those with fruit on top, or flavors of ice itself.
In this issue, we will introduce you to some of the best places to enjoy delicious shaved ice in the Kansai region. Try to find your favorite!

１．Specializing in sweet potatoes Ranran, specializing in ice and sweet potatoes, Ibaraki (Osaka)

２．Shaved ice like a Western-style pastry Yamato Kori, Minoh (Osaka)
３．The birthplace of mixed juice SENNARIYA COFFEE, Umeda (Osaka)
４．Matcha shaved ice at a teahouse Kyuemon Ito Gion Shijo Store Sabo, Kawaramachi (Kyoto)
５．Chocolat specialty store BEL AMER Kyoto-bettei Sanjo store, Karasuma (Kyoto)
６．Individualistic shaved ice Un berger manquant, Takarazuka (Hyogo)
７．Inherit traditional architecture ROKKOSAN SILENCE RESORT, Rokko (Kobe)
８．Long-established brand hospitality Salon Naramachi Store (Nara)
９．Japan’s first beauty shaved ice onna wa utsuwa (Nara)

A popular store in Ibaraki, Osaka is “Ice and Sweet Potato Specialty Shop Ranran”. In a space renovated from a 50-year-old old house, customers can enjoy fluffy shaved ice and sweet potato sweets made from special sweet potatoes. Originally an ice wholesaler, the shaved ice made by ice professionals is highly reputed.

Our recommendation is the “Imozukushi,” which is a perfect combination of sweet potato and ice. The fluffy ice is filled with sticky sweet potato paste. It is served with sweet potato skin caramel sauce and salt for a change of flavor. Enjoy the rich shaved ice until the very end.

Opened in August 2021, “Yamato Kori” is a shaved ice and Mont Blanc specialty restaurant produced by the popular western-style confectionery store Chez Nakatsuka. Its popular Western-style shaved ice combines shades of flavor and volume with the melt-in-your-mouth and refreshing taste that only shaved ice can offer.

The ice is carefully shaved with the surface temperature as close to 0°C as possible, and is combined with homemade syrups and toppings.
From left to right: “Two kinds of strawberry syrup and homemade condensed milk sauce,” “Raspberry sauce and Italian pistachio sauce,” and “Uji-Wazuka-cho green tea and homemade brown sugar straw rice cake. These three are standard menu items.

New for summer 2022, the “Honey Kiwi and Yogurt” combines yogurt ice cream in ice with refreshing yogurt syrup and fresh kiwi syrup. It is topped with a gorgeous butterfly pea jelly that evokes the coolness of summer.

A popular restaurant where you must wait in line. Try Yamato Kori’s shaved ice, which feels like a sweet even though it is shaved ice!

“Sennariya Coffee” was established in 1948 as the birthplace of mixed juice, and in May 2022, the grand opening of Senjya Coffee Umeda took place. In the old-fashioned atmosphere of a junsha-style cafe, you can fully enjoy the retro Showa-era, photo-worthy menu.

The very popular “Mixed Juice Frappe,” which is shaved ice with Sennariya Coffee’s signature mixed juice, is a milky, fruity concoction of homemade mixed juice sauce and milk ice.

“Retro Pudding Frappe” is a sweet and rich dish of Sennariya Coffee’s retro pudding snuck into a bowl of shaved ice and topped with a generous dollop of homemade pudding cream.

There is also a “Sennariya Stand” on the first floor where you can take out coffee. Please enjoy Senariya Coffee as a souvenir or a snack!

In addition to more than 100 types of Uji matcha sweets, Ito Kyuemon, which has been pursuing the possibilities of Uji matcha by combining Uji matcha with various ingredients, will offer Uji matcha shaved ice.
The “Uji green tea parfait ice” is made with a base of flavored ice mixed with green tea and milk, and topped with shiratama (white rice balls), anko (red bean paste), ice cream, green tea jelly, etc. The taste of the ingredients is very strong.

The classic “Uji Kintoki” is made with different types of ice depending on the store. At the Gion Shijo Branch Sabou, you can enjoy Uji Kintoki with melt-in-your-mouth, fluffy ice.

Enjoy the summer in Kyoto with “Uji green tea x shaved ice,” which only a tea shop can offer.

” BEL AMER Kyoto-bettei Sanjo store ” brings you chocolates from Kyoto, connecting Japan and the world. The showcases and shelves are lined with a variety of chocolates and confections.
At the “Chocolat Bar” on the second floor, you can enjoy chocolat sweets and drinks that only a specialty store can offer in a quaint machiya-style townhouse.

This chocolat specialty store has a shaved ice menu available only during the summer. This shaved ice combines ingredients such as chocolate, green tea, and peaches, and combines them with fluffy shaved ice.
The “Shaved Ice Peach x White Chocolate” is gorgeous, topped with flowers and peaches. Peach compote, vanilla ice cream, white peach ice cream, and custard cream are sprinkled with fluffy shaved shaved ice.

A fusion of Japanese and Western flavors, the “Shaved Ice Green Tea x Bitter Chocolate” is a shaved ice with an adult atmosphere tinted with deep green tea.

Please try the special shaved ice only available in summer, along with the chocolatey sweets that only a specialty store can offer.

“Un berger manquant” is located in a building just a short walk from Hankyu Sakasegawa Station. This adult café serves baked goods and sherry, but it is also attracting attention from shaved ice lovers all over Japan as a place where shaved ice can be enjoyed all year round.

The shaved ice menu changes every three weeks, which is surprising. There are always 3-5 varieties offered.
The menu at this restaurant is full of strange combinations of ingredients. Pictured is the “Salted Caramel Rare Cheese Shaved Ice”.

In the past, the shaved ice menu has included tomato cream with basil sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, garnished with lemon jus and fresh small tomatoes!
Check out our Instagram for details on menu offerings!

The former Rokkosan Hotel, recognized as a national Heritage of Industrial Modernization in 2007, was reborn as the “ROKKOSAN SILENCE RESORT” in 2019. You can enjoy the best views and gastronomic delights in a warm and true Italian architecture that blends in with the surrounding deep greenery.

The cafeteria in the old building, which serves sweets and snacks, offers shaved ice only during the summer months.
The “Honey Lemon” is a refreshing shaved ice with a sauce made from Awaji Island lemons down to the peel and plenty of home-made raw honey from Silence Resort’s apiary.

The “Mixed Fruits” is a luxurious shaved ice made with plenty of seasonal fruits. The aroma of fresh mint, the rich sweetness of dried fruits, and the refreshing original yogurt cream create an exquisite harmony.

How about refreshing and rich shaved ice on Mt. Rokko, where the temperature is -5 degrees Celsius compared to the city even in the hot summer?

The “Salon” is the tea ceremony brand of Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten, a long-established brand in Nara that has been in business for over 300 years. We offer original products for enjoying tea at home, as well as delicious seasonal sweets and selected teas.

Centered around Himuro Shrine, which enshrines a guardian deity of ice, Nara is home to a variety of shaved ice every year. For a limited time only, “Salon Naramachi” will offer “White Shaved Ice with Dark Green Tea Topping,” a shaved ice that can be changed to your own taste by pouring thick green tea on it. Enjoy the contrast between the pure white snow and the dark green of the shaved ice.

The “onna wa utsuwa”, a shaved ice store that makes you feel more beautiful the more you eat, was established in Ikoma City, Nara. It offers shaved ice with a completely original menu created by a beautician.

Fluffy shaved ice made with ice from Hinode Ice in Nara City is filled with rich, flavorful, and plentiful strawberries, blueberries, and pistachio sauce. In addition, the gentle sweetness of the milk syrup is added to the ice, ensuring that you will never get tired of eating it until the very end. All syrups and sauces are handmade.

There is also a beauty ice menu that allows you to eat and become beautiful, such as “Blueberry x Placenta Beauty Ice,” which is shaved ice made with plenty of blueberries produced in Uda, Nara Prefecture, and a placenta extract drink.

Eat our stylish original shaved ice and become beautiful!
*Reservations required; please reserve in advance via Instagram.

How was it? All of the stores offer a variety of ice and syrups that make the most of the season. Let’s get through the summer with some cool and delicious shaved ice!