Saganoyu

真っ白基調で日当たりはよくて 居心地がいい場所と思います。
Feel so cozy and relax with white color based decoration when you sitting there
cannot believe its reform by ancient public bath pool.

Even when it’s not a public bath house, this place is super relaxing. Saganoyu is a bath house-​turned-​café. The interior is au natural and the staff is super nice. There is an array of seating for large parties of 6 – 8, or smaller tables for one. This is one of the nicer places in the area and is a great stop any time you want to take a break from sightseeing.
I grabbed dinner here and stared and stared at the menu… finally decided to go with a Matcha pancake and salad. Odd choice for dinner? Maybe, but no regrets. The pancake comes with red bean and fresh beaten cream, as well as a small pot of decadent chocolate matcha syrup. It is the fluffiest pancake I’ve ever had. You have the option of getting two, but since I got it with a salad, I only had one. The salad was lightly dressed, and I got a hot milk tea to end my meal. You have the option to add syrup to the milk tea yourself, which is great.
Would definitely stop by if I were in the Saga-​Arashiyama area again: the other pancakes are begging to be tried, plus they have some interesting pasta dishes on the menu as well! Make sure to hop upstairs to check out the boutique area upstairs which feature some unique crafts.

Do you like public bath house? When I was in my college days, I stayed at female dormitory where I could take a bath there every one day. When I couldn’t enter the dormitory bath, I went to a nearby public bath house. It was relaxing time for me to enter a large bath.
I knew this café of a former public bath house on a free magazine and was interested in it. After listening to the lecture meeting of Ryuho Sasaoka at Shigureden hall, I got off Saga station of retro Keifuku railway to have tea here. An old Japanese house built as a public bath house in the Taisho era was renovated to be a Western-​taste café. At the entrance a cotton curtain with the shop’s name is hanged and I entered the café with beating heart. After entering the café a shop dealing in food or general articles is annexed. I bought Japanese roasted tea and had tea and a sweet at the café.
Tables and chairs are installed with space, also terrace seats are available. When I dropped in, it was humid in early summer so I chose indoor table. Everywhere old bath house tastes remains such as taps, a large mirror placed on the washing place, a large weighting machine, old telephone, register counter, porcelain tiles… Very nostalgic atmosphere!!! Japanese old culture harmonized Western culture.
I ordered a pancake and macha la tea. The macha late was served with a cup without handle. So my fingers felt hot when I drank. The pan cake was fluffy and nice. Lunch menu or other sweets are provided. As for atmosphere, taste, price, you will be satisfied with everything. I would like to go to another public bath house café in Nishijin in the near future.

Definitely check out Sagano-Yu’s parfaits. They are top notch and are for sure the best in the Sagano-​Arashiyama area.
The décor here is contemporary vintage. Very appealing. There’s even a shop upstairs for those who are interested.
But dessert and drinks here are clutch. The parfaits are definitely a must. Get the classic green tea ones. The iced drinks are pretty neat too. Never seen ice in one large block before. But it worked well.