On Friday it was Valentine's day, and the bars and restaurants must have had pretty expectations of a new sales record this year as well. I suppose this year the Valentine's day came as a big disappointment. It was snowing intensely throughout Friday 14th, and the blizzard continued into the evening. This is one of the sights that met me while I was walking to Kagurazaka on Friday evening:

It was probably many who had to spend Valentine's day indoors without date that day. I for my part could not have had a better evening. A small blizzard has never stopped a real Viking (haha :3..)! On the contrary, the fact that it snowed so much made ​​it possible for my boyfriend and I to get ourselves a restaurant table even without a reservation. Although I'm personally not a big fan of commercial days such as Valentine's day, I have to say that a Friday evening date without having to face overcrowded premises in Tokyo is never a bad thing. And yeah, all the snow made the day even more special.

The kitchen as seen from our table

Of course they have any garlic related food you can imagine, and for dessert we even had a garlic ice-cream.! 

Garlic ice-cream

While sitting at the table we couldn't help noticing their funny English on a card placed at out table. It read "I am available at your table accounting" (The Japanese text can be translated as "Please feel free to pay at the table") and "I will only cash settlement indeed without permission" (We are sorry for the inconvenience, but we only accept cash here). Their translation was kinda cute. Before leaving we gave them a note with our translation suggestions, which it seemed like they appreciated a lot.

"I am available at your table accounting" and "I will only cash settlement indeed without permission"

 We also visited Kagurazaka's Yebisu bar, where there were hardly any other guests. That is not exactly common on a Friday night; usually you will hardly be able to enter the premises without reservation .. So we really felt we got our money's worth when we could sit down and enjoy a glass of beer without having to deal with the huge crowds. Anyone who has been in an izakaya in Japan also know how lame it is to come home at night with clothes and hair that reek of smoke. That was another thing we totally avoided that night!

A quiet Friday night beer at Yebisu bar.

Not many people to spot in the street either!

The god of fortune and beer, Ebisu.

 The way home was somewhat cold and wet, but we were awarded with some great pictures:

A snowy night in Kagurazaka

Let it snow, let it snow..

The gate to the Ushitenjin (牛天神) shrine

A torii at the end of the white staircase

A banner that says "red plum festival" (紅梅まつり)

Plum flowers in bloom and snow

Plum flowers in bloom and snow

White shrine

A statue covered in snow

The Ushitenjin shrine

Bike-cycles in the snow

Needless to say: it was an awesome Valentines's day.

• All blogposts from Tokyo
• Second Hand Fashion Shopping in Tokyo: Mode Off in Ueno
• Bon Odori Midsummer Festival in Ebisu (恵比寿駅前盆踊り)
• The Ultimate Secret Karaoke Place in Shibuya: Rainbow Karaoke
• Tokyo Cherry Blossom Spots: Nakameguro's Meguro-gawa River (目黒川)
• Tokyo Hot Spring Theme Parks: Back to Edo with Oedo Onsen Monogatari
• Sightseeing in Tokyo: Cruising the Tokyo Bay on a Yakatabune (屋形船) Houseboat
• Summer in Tokyo: River side picnick by Futako-Tamagawa (二子玉川)
• All blogposts about Tokyo cafes
• All blogposts about Tokyo hotels

After spending some hours at a nearby Este (beauty saloon) me and Maho decided to check out a cafe in the area close to Shijyo-kawaramachi called Iyemon Salon. Iyemon is a company well known for their japanese tea, which is being sold all over Japan, and in addition to this they also have some cafés in for instance Kyoto and Tokyo.

Maho in front of Iyemon Salon. This particular café was actually awarded with the title Best Store of Kyoto 2009. In addition to having good tea combined with a warm and nice environment, it also provided us with shelter from the weather, which was kind of bad.

Iyemon Salon

In addition to the great atmosphere in the cafe, they also have a nice Japanese garden. This picture is taken from the window by our table. Bad weather is always nice when you can sit inside a warm room and look at it from behind the glass:)

The waitress bringing us tea and cake!

The cafe is not exactly cheap though.. This set consisting of two small japanese cakes and a cup of tea costed a little over 1000 yen.

From the seats you have a clear view of the kitchen area of the café

Even the design in the bathroom was so nice, I just had to take a picture of it! Haha.. It felt more like being in a fancy hotel than an ordinary café.
I guess my Valentines Day ended up being a mix between the Eastern and the Western Valentines Day: Giving chocolate and getting a rose in return.