松月堂

I had spent nearly six weeks in Tokyo, and after asking someone «what’s something unusual I might have missed?» they responded «go to Sugamo. It is like Harajuku for senior citizens.» The thought of a funky, fashion-​forward area filled with unusually dressed seniors was enough for me and I made my way there.
Sugamo is an interesting area in and of itself, with an old fashioned shopping district filled with things like granny panties in whimsical prints and patterns. It’s quite the sight. On my trip, I was hot, and knew that Sugamo had a lot of traditional food stores. I spotted a sign here that showed adzuki and matcha and ice on a cone and thought «that can only be good». It turns out it was a soft cream stand at the front of a dessert store, and I waited for the older attendant to notice me.
After about thirty seconds, the attendant– a woman in her seventies– noticed me and then apologized profusely in Japanese. This is a good place to practice basic Japanese– do not count on anyone speaking English. I ordered my matcha soft cream, and the attendant showed me that she had ¥50 coupons and applied one to my order, making it ¥270, which is fairly cheap. I paid and she was very kind, offering for me to eat my ice cream inside and sit down. I chose to walk and eat, but before I left she almost chased me down the street to give me another ¥50 coupon for a future visit.
There’s lots of soft cream and lots of snack stalls in this area and you probably can’t go wrong but for me the kindness and sweetness of the employee really sold it for me. The soft cream had good matcha flavor, the cone was fresh, and the portion was generous, but it was served with an abundance of sweetness and that made it even better.