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A Rainy Afternoon in Tokyo
Cake and Coffee Near Hachiko’s Grave
One rainy afternoon in Tokyo, I happened to walk past Ginza West in Aoyama and decided to go in for some cake and coffee.
Ginza West is a long-established Japanese confectionery shop, founded in 1947. It is particularly known for its baked sweets, especially the Leaf Pie, which has been loved in Japan for many years.
The history of the shop is a little unusual. Ginza West originally opened as a Western-style restaurant after the war. Later, changes in regulations made it difficult to continue operating as a restaurant, so the business shifted toward Western-style sweets and coffee. That became the Ginza West we know today.
The Aoyama café is in front of Aoyama Cemetery. On this particular day, it was raining, so I was quite happy to step inside and spend some time there.
Cake and Coffee
I ordered a cake set.
One thing I found interesting was how the cakes were presented. The staff brought several cakes to the table and let me choose one. They had a slightly retro look, the kind of cakes that reminded me of an older style of Japanese Western confectionery rather than the elaborate desserts you see at modern patisseries.
