If you're not familiar with the brand, established in 1904, Yojiya is most famous for its iconic blotting paper featuring a drawing of a face on the package.

The founder, Kunieda Shigeo, who was once consulted during movie production regarding facial gleam, created a product to remove facial oil from paper used in gold foil production.

The product worked extremely well at reducing facial gleam on camera, and its popularity began to expand throughout the ‘Kagai’ - traditional areas in Kyoto full of teahouses and geigi/maiko.

After spreading across Japan, Yojiya’s products eventually began to be exported overseas, marking the peak of their success.

In 2003, Yojiya opened a cafe to provide sightseers with a place to unwind and escape the crowds often found around Arashiyama.

There are now two Yojiya Cafes within Kyoto City. One of these is the Sagano Arashiyama outlet near the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and a roughly 7-minute walk west from Saga-Arashiyama Station.

Bearing a laid-back, tranquil atmosphere, they specialize in luxurious sweets often considered an integral part of the Arashiyama sightseeing experience.

Yojiya Cafe has set up the ‘Ocha no Crepe’ take-out store specializing in their acclaimed ‘Tea Crepes.’ Freshly opened in March 2021, this brand new venture will operate alongside the Sagano Arashiyama cafe.

Using their ‘Face Parfait’ as the base, the Tea Crepe is an authentic, high-quality dessert vastly superior to your average fast-food crepe.

In addition to the Tea Crepe, a stylish cappuccino featuring their logo on the foam is also on offer, along with coffee, tea, and a wealth of other drinks. Aside from Japanese, staff speaking English, Chinese, and Korean are available. All varieties of credit card and other cashless payment systems are also accepted.

This brand new outlet will serve Tea Crepes order-made, fresh, and ready to go. The puffy pastry is packed with a smorgasbord of tantalizing sweets, all designed to be conveniently eaten on the go!

Naturally, the crepe is made with matcha from Kyoto’s legendary green tea town of Uji. Blended with flour, it forms a delightful squishy bite enhanced by ample helpings of sweets and cream firmly packed in to prevent spillage.

The cream is an exciting blend of matcha cream, plain cream, and raw cream, creating a silky finish that bursts with flavor. The fillings consist of rice-flour mochi with tea leaves, anko beans, bite-sized pieces of pastry, and more, leaving you with invigorating mouthfuls to the end. Of particular note is the pastry, which is freshly baked on-site every morning.

The crepe’s handy size makes it easy to handle while walking the streets and hills of Arashiyama. It acts as both an after-meal dessert or between-meal pick-me-up.

Adding to the excitement is a limited-edition seasonal menu boasting exquisite ‘Amao’ strawberries from Fukuoka (available until the end of April).

Limited to just 20 servings a day, the Amao Plate presents an extravagant lineup of 7 different sweets, including strawberry macarons packed with an original blend of cream.

Also on the menu is the Amao Cheesecake, which uses two kinds of special cream cheese, the Amao Shortcake Parfait, and the Yojiya Special Amao Cappuccino. These dainty and delicious items can only be enjoyed this season, so don’t miss out!

Yojiya Cafe’s Gion and Sagano Arashiyama outlets both stock sweets and treats intended as souvenirs. These are given the same love and attention as their regular products, allowing the authentic taste of Yojiya to be brought back home.

Here are 3 Yojiya Cafe souvenirs we recommend:

First up, we have two kinds of cookies! The Cafe Baked Latte Cookie sees a scrumptious coffee-flavored cookie filled with white chocolate ganache culminating in a crisp bite with a dynamic bitter and sweet flavor.

Next up, the Matcha Sandwich Cookie combines luscious matcha cream wedged between slices of crisp matcha-flavored cookie. Perfect for those who can’t get enough matcha, its brittle texture born from high-quality cookie dough makes it hard to resist!

Yojiya Matcha Milk provides a quick and easy fix of authentic Uji matcha-flavored milk at home with just the addition of boiled water. The cute pouch-like package decorated with the Yojiya logo also makes for a great souvenir!

Instead of waiting in a crowded cafe, Yojiya’s new innovative take-out system allows travelers to enjoy the stunning scenery of Arashiyama while munching on a satisfying crepe, coffee, or sweet.

Completely different from your average fast-food rendition, the artisanal, premium-quality Tea Crepes and more are the perfect accompaniment to the dazzling Kyoto surroundings.

*All prices are including tax

Covid-19 Countermeasures
Store and facilities are sanitized, disinfected, and cleaned/ Disinfectant spray is provided/ Facilities are disinfected after each customer/ Store is thoroughly ventilated/ Partition boards are in use/ Staff wear masks, wash hands, disinfect, gargle, and check temperatures/ Capacity and seating arrangements have been adjusted/ Orders are by reservation only/ Customers feeling unwell will be denied entry/ Customers are required to wear masks and undergo temperature checks

*Due to the impact of COVID-19, changes to business hours, temporary closures, and alterations to service may occur.