Seien

Seien is the café of over 135-year-old wagashi sweets shop “Daikokuden.” At Seien, you can enjoy Japanese sweets inside a historical Kyoto machiya townhouse designated as an important building by the city with a view of a quaint courtyard. Passing through the store’s impressive noren shop curtain, you’re greeted by a display of colorful, eye-catching wagashi sweets. Heading toward the back of the store, you’ll find the entrance to Seien. One of the most important things to Seien is the forever changing natural landscapes of the seasons. That’s why they display different colored and designed noren shop curtains and change the items on their menu with each new season. Seien’s signature dish – a jelly-like dessert called kohaku-nagashi – is also subject to this fondness for change. While this is a staple dessert at Seien, the flavor of the syrup drizzled on top changes monthly to fit seasonal ingredients and specific events. The kohaku-nagashi flavor for January is white miso. Why white miso in particular? Because not only is white miso considered special to those in Kyoto, but it’s also often used in a traditional New Years' dish called zoni – a soup of vegetables and mochi. While this soup is made differently by every household – with some people using dashi stock or regular brown miso – in Kyoto, it’s often made with white miso and is simultaneously both sweet and heavily dashi flavored. Even in white miso loving Kyoto, Seien is the only place that turns the pale fermented soybean paste into syrup to be poured over agar jelly. Taking a trip to Kyoto’s cherished Seien and getting a taste of its desserts that reflect both Kyoto’s culture and seasons is sure to give you more of an understanding of those who call the ancient city home.