Azuki to Kōri — Restaurant in Tokyo

I don’t live very far from this place and I always see people lining up at the front of the store, so a few days ago I was lucky enough to see an open for a booking - so I made it! I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. I went at 2 PM and it was nearly full when I entered, and when I left, it was about half full as they had some walk in customers. It’s not 100% necessary to make a booking, you can walk in, but often you’ll need to wait for an opening.

The staff were very friendly and welcoming when I entered and gave me some water while I selected my dish. Some of them also speak English making this easy for tourists to access. I ordered the chocolate and raspberry shaved ice for ¥3000. When it was served it looked absolutely huge - shaved ice with a layer of raspberries and raspberry sauce, another layer of chocolate sauce with a chocolate mousse on top and shaved chocolate all over the top. Outstanding!!!!It was not overly sweet and the shaved ice dumb down the sweetness a little, making it very pleasant and not overwhelmingly sweet to eat. There also seem to be some marshmallows in a bottom layer, underneath the raspberries, adding to the different texture of the dish.

I made friends with the people next to me and they ordered the sweet potato shaved ice. This came with a sweet potato purée and crisps - almost like a biscuit scattered throughout the ice with a sweet potato mousse on top that was given a brulé top with a small kitchen torch at the counter, adding to the showmanship! The kitchen is open from the counter so you can watch dishes being prepared, which is pretty cool. It also seems to be very clean and well maintained by the 3 female staff

They run a cashless business so you need to pay via card.

I will return in the future and hope to bring guests from overseas as this place is very unique and the dishes are super tasty and...

This shop has been featured on multiple social media sites and is quite famous for its out-of-the-box shaved ice menu. My husband found it and made it one of our must-do items in Tokyo. Due to it’s popularity, it’s quuite difficult to make reservations, not to mention we had to do it cross multiple time zones. To my husband’s credit, he woke up at 5am and successfully made a reservation a few weeks before our trip.

When we followed google map to the location, we walked back and forth looking for the shop. Then we realized it was right on the street without any logo or signage, and we passed by many times. 

Once we entered the shop we could finally relax. In a glance everything felt very minimistic, with a giant granite table occupided the entire space. I went to the restroom to wash my hands and I was pleasantly surprised that everything was automatic, even though it was quite small.

We ordered two shaved ices: a banana Kakigori with meringue and potato chip kakigori. Both were very delicious and interesting, as they torched the banana meringue and the contrast of the freshly made and piping hot potato chips on the sweet shaved ice. My personal favorite was the banana meringue, but we both agree the the pototo chip one was very unique in texture and flavor (it has pickle in it). 

Overall, I would recommend Asuki to Kori. However, You do need to make reservation in advance and make a trip to a quiet...

A very small place focused on a special type of ice cream(?) called kakigōri. The owner, a young woman, is apparently a known chef, having previously worked at a Michelin-starred place.

The place is very small, has no sign on the front and if you want to enter without waiting, you should have a reservation. I arrived without one, on a rainy day, and had to wait for 15 minutes out in the rain. During my short visit, several people ended up having to do the same.

The service was good, and quick. I did have to wait quite a bit for the ice cream, but the tea arrived quickly. English worked well.

As this was my first kakigōri ever, I didn’t really know what to expect when I ordered the Matcha Azuki (they do have an English menu). It’s a really weird ice cream, made up of shaved ice. It’s huge, but has a very low density, so it’s not as much to eat as images would make you believe. Which is good, as you’d probably get a heart attack otherwise.

Taste-wise it’s a bit like slushed ice, without the sweetness. Inside you have a heart of something that I think is chocolate with those darn beans you get everywhere here. And here and there I got pieces of meringue. Pretty good, overall. But it kind of breaks my heart to admit I’d prefer a normal ice cream…

Still, well worth a visit if you want to try it out. Do note that it’s a pretty expensive place. You can probably find it cheaper elsewhere. I paid about 3 000...