Azuki to Kōri

The Azuki bean meringue at Azuki to Kouri is their signature kakigori: a towering mound of ultra-fluffy hand-shaved ice that’s light and milky, layered with sweet azuki red beans for earthy depth, soft shiratama mochi dumplings for chew, rich meringue cream, and crunchy meringue cookie bits on top that add a toasty contrast. It’s balanced, not too sweet, with that perfect mix of cold melt, soft textures, and crisp crunch making every bite addictive. The strawberry creme danjou (often listed as strawberry chiboust or strawberry crème brûlée kakigori) is a seasonal standout featuring the same feather-light shaved ice infused with bright fresh strawberry flavors through syrup or puree, topped with airy chiboust cream (a light meringue-folded pastry cream) that’s torched tableside for a thin crackly caramelized shell, delivering a refreshing tart-sweet fruitiness paired with the warm brittle contrast against the icy base for an elegant temperature-playing treat.

I came across this shop on social media and made a reservation for it. Other than the kakigori, I also got their mushroom soup, french toast, and tea that could be brewed 3 times. Overall, it was not bad but I left feeling that I should have chosen another place for my brunch and came here just for the kakigori.

The food is amazing if you like shaved ice. The best I've ever had. We may not have understood how reservations worked here so when we went we had to come back in around an hour, but it was worth the wait.

The shaved ice here was absolutely delicious. It was the best dessert we had in Japan hands down. One would think it is a bit ridiculous to spend so much money on a dessert but they have truly perfected their craft. The desserts were not too sweet, with interesting flavor combinations and definitely something unique. The reservation is absolutely necessary and can be done via their website. Payment is card only.

We came to Japan to try kakigori - having first tried it at Ivan's ramen in Manhattan. (To be clear regarding a previous reviewer - we have had fantastic shave ice in Hawaii many times, but kakigori is not shave ice. It's the godfather to hawaiian shave ice and a completely different product). We traveled in the spring, when kakigori is difficult to find, so securing a reservation at Azuki to Kouri was key. It was a cold weekend, which may be why we were able to reserve just 24 hours in advance, but she also took a walk-in that was squeezed into the corner. There were six flavors on the handwritten menu - we tried four of them, as well as the soup. My favorite was the apple and chiboust carrot and kumquat - the ice was perfectly shaved using clear ice and a Hatsuyuki block shaver. There were at least four layers created around a center of fruit, home baked cookie or crust for texture, chiboust, or other cream. Some had bruleed meringue on top. The desserts were not sweet but were very flavorful. Soup of the day was rapeseed flower with a dashi base. Not my favorite. An enjoyable time and definitely worth a visit.