Enjoy a Cup in Old Tokyo – Ningyocho

A visit to Tokyo’s shitamachi (downtown), Ningyocho, and we stumbled across Mori no En,  a tea shop that sells a variety of tea related products.

They offer a selection of tea leaves and one of their main tea product is homemade roasted Houjicha tea leaves. You can pick whether to enjoy a warm cup of Houjicha there or to have them at the comfort of your home. At the shop, there is an array of choices of sweets to spoil yourself – from the traditional Houjicha anmitsu (a Japanese desert that includes jelly, red beans and fruits), Houjicha parfait to Matcha beer (yes, you read it right!).

The rustic feel of the shop invites customers young and old to stop by and enjoy a cup of warm tea accompanied by sweets or senbei (Japanese rice crackers). Or, you might want to give the matcha beer a shot.

When you are in town, have a visit to one of Tokyo’s old towns and transport yourself to Japan’s old days of teas and cheers.

Getting there: Take the Tokyo Metro (Subway) Hibiya Line to Ningyocho Station. Take Exit A1, head left after you get to street level, turn the corner left, and Mori no En is just 30 seconds away. You can’t miss it.

Find out more about Houjicha (Roasted green tea) and Matcha by clicking on the names of the products.