Kakigōri (かき氷) or Cool Summer Treat at Little Nap

Little Nap is small coffee shop located a short walk from the Yoyogi-Kōen Station Exit 3 that makes a lovely kakigōri (かき氷) during the summer.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f5.6, ISO 100, 1/125 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f5.6, ISO 100, 1/160 sec.

Matsumoto's Shave Ice in Yoyogi 2013

I was going through some old shots and thinking about summer the other day when I came upon these taken in August 2013 near Yoyogi National Gymnasium and NHK Hall across the street from Yoyogi Park. Although I didn't take the opportunity to buy a cone of shave ice for a taste from Matsumoto's, it sure looked delicious! They are a famous shave ice shop that started on the Oahu's North Shore in Haleʻiwa. Their neighbor and competitor, Aoki, isn't as famous but is quite delicious and usually has a shorter line. When my family lived in Honolulu, our trips to the north shore usually included a stop for shave ice, and we were never patient enough to wait in line for shave ice from Matsumoto's.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f5.6, ISO 100, 1/100 sec.

Best Kakigōri

On Saturday, we took a Sumida River Cruise from Hinode Pier to Asakusa.  After a little wandering around Asakusa and Sensoji Temple with the family, the sight and smell of the food stalls, got us hungry and were drawn to this shop selling soft cream and kakigōri (or shaved ice).  They also sold soba and tempura, but we weren't interested in having those at the time.

The bowls of kakigōri are huge!  My wife had strawberry with condensed milk. Her verdict was that it was the best ever, even better than Aoki, Matsumoto or Waiola Shave Ice in Oahu.

I tried the caramel soft cream. It was great!.

Check out the list of flavors! They included sesame, mango, almond jelly, azuki bean, rum raison, ramune, caramel, green tea, and others.