Kyoto’s popular sweet shop staple: Takeout matcha-black sesame roll the way locals do

Text & Photos /The Old Man and Little Wife

Visiting Kyoto, are you walking around gazing at beautiful temples and old streets while snapping photos non-stop with your camera? Way... too touristy, don’t you think? Advice from the old man and little wife: Your right hand should be holding—pickled cucumbers, grilled dango, or tofu ice cream—eating as you stroll is the real Kyoto vibe. Then, with your remaining hand, carry some omiyage (souvenirs): yatsuhashi, warabi mochi... plus the “Kyoto Black Roll (京黒巻)” introduced in this article.

Shop Name: eX café (イクスカフェ) Kyoto Arashiyama Main Store. How to get there? Take the Keifuku Electric Railway (aka Arashiyama Dentetsu) to Arashiyama Station. Exit the station, turn left, walk about 80 meters, and you’ll see an alley on your left. Go down the alley about 20 meters to the end—that’s eX café (this place is pretty much right on the street corner).

This shop is a well-known Kyoto sweets spot. Not only are the desserts amazing, but the garden view rivals Kyoto’s temple karesansui (dry landscape gardens). It’s said that “during early spring when cherry blossoms are in full bloom, or late autumn when maple leaves are falling,” the scenery here can be so stunning it brings people to tears.

Sit in this almost otherworldly garden setting and enjoy a peaceful afternoon. Sit across from your partner (be it a person or an object), open a copy of Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle,” and lose yourself in its bizarre, mind-bending plot...

(Continued from above)...but that’s not something Kyoto locals would ever do. Seriously now, Kyoto folks live as if they’re in a giant ancient city garden. To put it dramatically, “pine forests and pagodas aren’t sights, and falling cherry blossoms are just like dust.” Bottom line: People who live in night markets don’t go wandering around night markets—simple as that.

So why is it that nearly everyone sitting inside the café are tourists?

Because dining in isn’t cheap—just two small slices of cake will cost you 1,000 yen (though honestly, considering Kyoto’s generally high prices, that’s not too bad). But if you take home a whole cake, it’s only 1,260 yen. Still a splurge, but it's takeout. And really, wouldn’t it be even more magical to enjoy it at a nearby temple, admiring the even more beautiful traditional gardens?

So the old man and little wife decided to follow the locals’ lead—buy it to go and eat it elsewhere. Some people care about the ambiance when they dine, others care about their phones. To each their own.

The garden view at “eX café” has quite a Zen feel. Want to see it but not sit inside and pay for expensive sweets?

Just “walk right in and take a look.” The café doesn’t actually prohibit non-customers from visiting the garden (otherwise, how were these photos taken?). But please stay near the fence—no stepping into the karesansui garden, okay?

The Kyoto Black Roll (also called Kyoto Black Cake Roll) gets its color from bamboo charcoal powder, resulting in a black-colored cake. The texture is wonderfully soft, with hints of honey and chocolate fragrance. The whipped cream is rich and creamy. Since bamboo charcoal itself is odorless, it helps cut through the richness, making it a perfect match with a piping hot cup of green tea.

The Kyoto Black Roll comes in three flavors:
1. 京黒巻（鲜奶油）Kyoto Black Roll (Whipped Cream), 1,260 yen 2. 京黒巻（抹茶クリーム）Kyoto Black Roll (Matcha Cream), 1,575 yen 3. 京黒巻（播磨園抹茶クリーム）Kyoto Black Roll (Harimaen Matcha Cream), 1,890 yen

Harimaen matcha is a very famous organic tea farm in Kyoto. Just 20g costs 1,000 yen. The matcha used in the Harimaen Matcha Cream Roll is of such high quality, it might make you want to grow your own someday. But the ones sold at the farm are usually only available in season.

Shop Name: eX café (イクスカフェ) Kyoto Arashiyama Main Store
Address: 35-3, Saga Tenryuji Soujimachi, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Business Hours: 10:00–17:00 (irregular holidays)

The Old Man and Little Wife
☆ Foodies, travelers, spa lovers—we’re a sweet couple on the go ☆ ★