Kyoto’s Specialty Goods Department Store — The CUBE

As a symbol of classic elegance in Kansai, Kyoto is always full of surprises. Beyond wearing kimono and enjoying kaiseki cuisine, or exploring the quaint stone lanes, you’ll surely want to take home as many specialties from this ancient capital as you can. Today, we’re introducing a shopping center where you can effortlessly browse all of Kyoto’s specialty goods and traditional items.?? The CUBE.

The CUBE is a large department store that gathers all kinds of goods, located in Kyoto.In a bustling hub — JR Kyoto Station. The specialty shops are divided into two locations: the “Kyoto Delicacies Corner” on the second floor, and “Specialty Lane Kyoto Komachi” on the first floor.The second-floor shop is hard to miss with its eye-catching storefront right after exiting the West Ticket Gate of JR Kyoto Station. This floor mainly sells Kyoto sweets and side dishes. The entrance is already quite spacious, but once inside, you’ll be amazed by the crowds and the endless array of famous sweets and other specialties.

The store adopts an open-department-store counter style, with brand names clearly displayed. You can pick up a guide sheet at the entrance to more easily find the items you’re looking for.

Aside from the large department-style shop on the second floor, there’s also a smaller shop on the first floor called “Specialty Lane Kyoto Komachi.” Though compact in size, it offers a full range of brands. Anything you forgot to buy on the second floor can be picked up here.

Next, we’ll give a detailed introduction to the shops inside, along with some of our heartfelt recommendations...

Not far from the entrance, you’ll see this Honke Kayazou shop, with its huge sample catching your eye. It’s a senbei (rice cracker) specialty store, using natural shrimp and Japan’s traditional nine-row green onions. It makes a great drinking snack, and just looking at it tells you it’s super crispy.

This Mitsushodo Ogura shop is absolutely adorable, and it’s also a very traditional Kyoto wagashi (Japanese sweet). A family gathered together eating dango (sweet rice dumplings), feeling the sweetness brought by tradition, and experiencing the happiness of togetherness — perhaps that’s the original intention of this shop.

This area is called “Kyōmeishi” (Kyoto Sweets). Just from the name, you can tell it’s the place to find those Kyoto wagashi traditional sweets loved both in Japan and abroad.

They’ve even thoughtfully listed all the brands in the shop for reference.

Here you’ll find the most natural sencha (green tea) and matcha (powdered green tea).

The wagashi from Kyomeishiten even has a Kyoto-limited sakura (cherry blossom) mochi. Just look at this sakura-colored, semi-transparent mochi skin — who could resist not buying it? And you might even hesitate to eat it, just admiring it because it’s so cute and makes you feel all kinds of happy inside.

When it comes to souvenirs, you definitely can’t forget matcha. How about trying a matcha sandwich cookie? In the store, it’s known as one of the best souvenirs to give to colleagues or classmates. The crispy, fragrant cookie paired with the refreshing matcha filling — what a delightful Kyoto-flavored surprise.It’s really perfect to bring back for friends back home.

One of the characteristics of wagashi is their delicacy, and you can clearly see just how exquisite they are here. They change beauty with the seasons and are designed to be bite-sized — perfect for taking photos, so girls, definitely get some.

Aside from traditional Japanese-style sweets, there are also these super cute designs — soft marshmallows made from egg whites and bouncy agar, creating little chewy delights. You’ll want to buy a whole bunch, imagining being the cutest kid in kindergarten.

Speaking of cute, many shops won’t want to be left out — this shop’s Japanese-style slippers and little fruit-themed items come in dozens of styles.

Candy wrapped in traditional Japanese-style purses also looks like something straight out of an anime. You’ll just have to marvel at how stunningly beautiful they are.

Established brands like Honke Nishio Yatsuhashi are naturally not to be missed. Aside from traditional flavors, they’ve developed many novel tastes to satisfy taste buds around the world. You’ve got to admit — Japanese sweets truly take their craft seriously.

There are also various senbei brands available, with samples of different flavors for tasting. The editor’s eyes lit up — this one’s delicious, that one’s great too — completely lost in a sea of deliciousness, or rather, not wanting to escape it at all.

Aside from all kinds of sweets, there are also beautifully presented freshly made drinks. Made from lactic acid bacteria and rice fermentation, it’s somewhat similar to China’s rice wine, with a slightly sour flavor after fermentation — a totally new taste experience. The editor and friends bought strawberry and carrot flavors. Surprisingly, the strawberry flavor had a stronger sour taste than the carrot one. Either way, it feels healthy to drink a cup, haha.

We have to give a shout-out to this chocolate — after tasting it, the texture was incredibly smooth and creamy. The editor confidently told the shop assistant that it must contain sweet potato, only to be corrected. It’s actually made from natural cocoa beans using the world’s only machine capable of creating this texture.Suddenly, you’ll have a newfound respect for every bite of chocolate.

The editor also discovered a takeaway shop from a currently super-popular tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) chain across Japan. Aside from the wildly popular tonkatsu, there are also seasonally limited items made with ingredients that change with the seasons — be sure to give them a try.

There are also various Kyoto-characteristic products such as jams and matcha liqueur. One thing about buying souvenirs in Japan is that not only are they visually stunning, but they usually also taste great — truly considerate.

The first-floor souvenir shop is also quite unique. There’s a counter where old shop noren (doorway curtains) are designed as product packaging, combining design and retro vibes. Plus, small packs of souvenirs are very affordable, so you can collect one bag of each style — or think big, as a grand collection of traditional Japanese brand culture.

On the first floor, in addition to brand-name goods, there are also great little items worth browsing—such as handkerchiefs, Japanese-style handbags, and balm-style pocket perfumes—all reasonably priced and perfect as gifts.

In the end, I also bought two boxes of the popular press butter sand to take home~they're really delicious!(The matcha flavor is only available here in all of Japan!)

Besides specialty snacks, it's said that a drugstore and a new coffee shop will open on the B1 floor on March 19th—how much more convenient for shopping!With all that said, there are still many premium products we haven’t mentioned—you’ll just have to explore this giant treasure trove located at Kyoto JR Station for yourselves.