Tucked away on a quiet backstreet near Nippori Station, Himitsudo is famous for its traditional kakigōri (shaved ice).
Inside the shop, a crystal-clear block of ice from the mountains of Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, is loaded into a hand-powered ice shaver. As the machine's crank is turned, blades begin to spin around the block of ice. Fluffy pillows of snow-white flakes begin to fall into a waiting bowl, piling into a small mound. Before the ice has time to melt, a sweet, bright-red syrup is ladled over the top along with some condensed milk. This is how Himitsudo makes its most popular flavor of kakigōri, Himitsu no Ichigo Miruku (secret strawberry milk).
Koji Morinishi, a 48-year-old former kabuki actor and the owner of Himitsudo, has good reason for doing things by hand. "Motorized kakigōri and hand-shaved kakigōri are very different," he says. "The speed and rotation frequency is not adjustable with a motorized machine. When we make it by hand, the taste changes depending on the person shaving the ice. This creates a story within the bowl, it keeps people from becoming bored."