Gyokusuien, Honten

As soon as you enter the store, you can smell the rich aroma of Japanese tea. The store is very narrow, with only one table for making tea and two small stools. You can eat and drink tea in the store. The popular product is the Snow Meng Parfait. I recommend the matcha cone, which is very crispy and will break all over the table after taking a bite. It is said that the matcha cone is purely handmade. The store will give you a cup of Japanese sencha. You can also buy some Japanese tea as a souvenir.

Yucui Garden has a very nice and elegant environment. It is quite famous in the local area!

This was discovered through the Welcome Sapporo City website. It is located a few minutes from Nijo seafood market. Be aware that it is closed on Sundays. The establishment itself is run by the original founder's grandson and his younger brother. They both have good English, and there is an assistant (his nephew) on hand to help with translation when required. Like many small businesses in the area, the setting is quite intimate. You will be guaranteed attentive service, and there are pairs of seats at varying distances from the tea brewing action. Now for the fun part: consumables. The two main beverage choices are loose leaf and matcha. It might be worth starting with a recommended loose leaf tea (sweet or bitter) to get a feel for what's on offer. If the owner asks if you're tired, it's so he can gauge the brew temperature. From there, you could progress to a cup of venison soup. The real showpiece, essentially, is the matcha ice cream. It is paired with "strong milk" Hokkaido soft serve (delightful) and if you arrive before afternoon you should be able to have it in a green tea waffle cone. For ¥400 you can taste authentic, top-grade matcha prepared by an expert. Prices for the menu items are comparable. There are over a dozen packaged tea varieties available for purchase. We also found the teaware to be well-priced. There is no sales pressure. Throughout the service, we were given excellent advice on the varieties, properties and preparation methods of Japanese tea. Our questions were all well-answered. If you are interested in knowing more about the subject, drop in. If you're after some top-tier Hokkaido ice cream, you'll be pleased you went. It's a cosy and personable shop. We saw a lot of local regulars stop by, and it's easy to understand why the community values Gyokusuien. There's something for anyone who enjoys culture and original fare.