Manjuen

One of my favorite places in the area, which sells handicrafts and at the same time, is a quaint, cozy café/​crafts shop featuring Japanese sweets and tea. Cakes and coffee also available.
The shop is half the first floor of a house, with the entrance area the shop and the back half the café. In the late afternoon as the sun is going down, it streams in at just the right angle, complimenting the traditional Japanese architecture.
You can choose to sit outside as well — the outdoor tables are for couples as they’re lined up under the wide roof eaves to be protected from rain. If you smoke, the outdoor seats allow this.
The food and dessert menu changes throughout the year, but they offer green, brown (barley «mugicha») and black tea to accompany your dessert. Coffee is pretty standard but made with care.
The handicrafts range from textiles to kitchen accessories to decorative items. A few imports are mixed in but most are hand-​made crafts — all quaint but useful. The mix of visual textures in the colors, shapes and variety of goods is heaven if you love exploring among the goods for a hidden gem.
Stop in before visiting Jindaiji — then at the end of your temple tour, you can enjoy soba at one of the many restaurants on the grounds.