Kitayama is five stops on the subway from downtown Kyoto, but it might as well be a million miles away for the tourists who trudge around the city in search of Kyoto tropes: temples, shrines, teahouses and geishas who are more than likely tourists dressed up for the day.
Sure, Kitayama (literally ¡°north mountain¡°) is not without its attractions, among them Kyoto Concert Hall, Kyoto Botanical Garden and the Garden of Fine Arts, the latter designed by Tadao Ando and featuring a life-size replica of ¡°The Last Supper.¡± But I went north not for supper but for dessert: rare cheesecake, Linzer torte, macaroons, pancakes, mascarpone, whipped cream, dacquoise, carrot cake. The list goes on. And on. It¡¯s a good thing I have a sweet tooth.
I spent two afternoons in Kitayama recently in search of cake shops, cafes and patisseries, and finding them was the easy part. Discovering why Kitayama has become a sweet center proved a little more elusive.
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