Formerly an old traditional style house, newly in the ITOCiA Annex

Okame is a sweet parlor that I used to visit frequently with my friends after work.

It used to be an old fashioned wooden house with a traditional atmosphere, but it is now located on the first floor in the annex building of ITOCiA, a department store including many shops, restaurants and cafes.

When I got to the new location, I was surprised to see how fashionable the interior and the exterior had become.

A lot of improvement had been done to the menu that used to be very simple without any photographs.

Entering the café, there is the cash register on the left. The newly high ceiling and the spacious room create a comfortable atmosphere.

The café can contain up to 28 people. All are table seats.

The deliciousness of the sweets of the long-established café was undoubtedly maintained

I took a look at the menu on the table once more. My pick is the “Soft cream Mitsumame” (soft ice cream with boiled sugary beans).

Being served by a well-mannered and efficient waitress, I felt very welcomed and relaxed.
I was pleasantly surprised to see her explain the menu in English to the Asian tourists.

“High quality” soft ice cream

Just a few minutes later, my Soft cream Mitsumame arrived!
I could see it was high quality just by looking at it. I can barely wait to taste it!

When eating this type of dessert, I usually hesitate cutting through the ice cream part, just because it’s so pretty as it is. But hey, the way it slowly and elegantly melts is not bad either.

The “kuromitsu” (dark honey) has also a delicate and gentle flavor.

I savored carefully each spoonful of the soft ice cream. This is sheer bliss. I then mixed it with “kanten” (Japanese jelly) and “mame-kan” (bean flavored jelly) and enjoyed the even richer texture.

The fan-base of this café is predominantly women. “Okame” certainly knows how to capture a woman’s heart.

At my next visit I will order the famous “ohagi” (sweet gummy rice with red bean jam) and other salty dishes such as “oden” (boiled vegetables, balls of mince fish and hard boiled eggs in a soy sauce based soup). I’m sure it will be another wonderful moment.
Okame made me feel proud to be born in Japan. Thank you for such a pleasant time.

writer：Yoko