Have you ever dreamed of being surrounded by shortcakes and cream puffs, as if in a fairy tale, and eating your fill of sweet treats?
In fact, an event that makes the wishes of sweet-toothed people come true is being held in Kurashiki.
Kurashiki Afternoon Tea 2022 (Winter) is an elegant tea party held at 27 cafes in Kurashiki City, where you can enjoy light meals and sweets.
You can enjoy sweet treats and desserts made with seasonal fruit from Okayama to your heart’s content.
Kobayashi Chieri and Kanehira Minami visited Cafe＆Restaurant Bonvoyage in Sasaoki, Kurashiki City, to enjoy Kurashiki Afternoon Tea.
Here’s a look at the elegant teatime enjoyed by the two high school students!
The information presented was current when this article was published in February 2022. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Kurashiki Afternoon Tea at Cafe＆Restaurant Bonvoyage
What is Kurashiki Afternoon Tea?
Kurashiki Afternoon Tea is an elegant tea party adapted for Kurashiki from the British tradition of afternoon tea.
It is held every year in summer and winter, and the winter 2022 event is being held at 27 cafes in Kurashiki City.
The sweets always feature seasonal specialty fruits from Kurashiki and Okayama, and the theme for winter 2022 is “strawberries.”
Each cafe offers a different menu, so you can enjoy sweets specially created by each establishment.
For participating cafes and reservation details, check the Kurashiki Afternoon Tea 2022 (Winter) website.
Cafe＆Restaurant Bonvoyage
Cafe＆Restaurant Bonvoyage is a cafe in Sasaoki, Kurashiki City.
Stepping into the log-cabin-style building on a hill with a lovely view makes you feel as if you’ve traveled to another country.
It’s the perfect place to forget everyday life and enjoy an elegant afternoon!
Kurashiki Afternoon Tea menu at Cafe＆Restaurant Bonvoyage
When you order Kurashiki Afternoon Tea at Cafe＆Restaurant Bonvoyage, three main items are brought to your table.
- Chocolate fondue
- Cake stand
- Ferris wheel
You can also enjoy up to two drinks per person.
▼Don’t miss the drinks, which are just as cute as the food.
You cannot order Kurashiki Afternoon Tea at Cafe＆Restaurant Bonvoyage on the day of your visit.
Be sure to make a reservation by phone at least two days before your visit!
Meet the two reporters
Meet the two people who will be trying Kurashiki Afternoon Tea at Cafe＆Restaurant Bonvoyage.
Kobayashi Chieri, whose smile and conversation never fade, is the very picture of cheerfulness and energy.
Kobayashi is a third-year high school student and will be attending a school outside Okayama Prefecture starting in April.
Her bright expression as she spoke happily about her new life also revealed her positive nature.
Kanehira Minami, who speaks thoughtfully, carefully choosing each word, is a second-year high school student with a calm demeanor.
With her final year approaching, she is thinking about her future plans.
The way she seriously considers how she wants to live showed Kanehira’s earnest nature.
We hope she can take a break and enjoy some time surrounded by sweet treats.
Kobayashi and Kanehira are senior and junior students, and they visited Cafe＆Restaurant Bonvoyage to enjoy Kurashiki Afternoon Tea on their day off.
Enjoy Kurashiki Afternoon Tea!
Before enjoying a blissful time
Of course, the taste of the sweets matters, but when faced with such adorable desserts, you can’t help taking pictures.
First, they take out their smartphones and capture photos of the cute sweets.
Photographing each beautifully decorated sweet with a smartphone is part of the fun.
Start with chocolate fondue
The first sweet the two chose was chocolate fondue.
They chose it as their first treat so they could enjoy the chocolate, melted to a smooth consistency over a candle flame, before the flame went out.
▼The items to dip in the chocolate are strawberries, kiwi, bananas, marshmallows, and baguette.
Everything looks delicious, so it’s only natural to have trouble deciding what to eat first.
They each choose what they like and dip it into the chocolate.
The best part of chocolate fondue is the moment you dip fruit or sweets into the melted chocolate.
Being able to enjoy the process before taking a bite is one of the charms of chocolate fondue.
The sweetness of the chocolate spreads through your mouth, and needless to say, it’s so delicious your cheeks could fall off.
A towering cake stand!
▼The cake stand is generously loaded with both light bites and cakes.
The top tier held crab-claw fritters, mini Margherita pizzas, and roast beef pinchos.
The bottom tier was lined with strawberry shortcake, chocolate raspberry mousse, pistachio cookie choux pastries, and sweet potato creme brulee.
▼The mini Margherita pizza is palm-sized, with a bowl-shaped crust topped with cheese and cherry tomatoes.
▼ Bite-sized roast beef pinchos.
The savory snacks served alongside the sweet treats were actually very welcome.
As you keep eating sweet things, you start to get a little tired of them, so you begin to crave something savory.
It resets your palate, letting you enjoy the sweets even more.
▼ After finishing the snacks and sweets on the cake stand, it was finally time for the strawberry shortcake.
Carefully carry it to the plate so as not to ruin its shape.
▼ Not just the shortcake, but the decorations on all the sweets were so cute that we couldn't help taking photos again and again.
Making Time for Conversation, Too
Enjoying afternoon tea isn't just about eating.
The two friends, meeting face-to-face for the first time in a while, seemed to have plenty to catch up on.
It also became an important time to share with a friend about school and the future.
A Spectacular Ferris Wheel!
▼ The last thing the two tried was the Ferris wheel!
The sweets displayed on the Ferris wheel are also quite varied.
Macarons, coffee jelly, tigres, and bear-shaped daifuku.
The excitement starts even before you take a bite.
Each basket holds one sweet, and, just as it looks, it spins around and around.
Watching the sweets sway gently, deciding which one to take first is a happy moment, too.
▼ The first thing taken from the Ferris wheel was a macaron.
▼ The macaron was coffee-flavored, and its subtle sweetness spread through our mouths!
Which Sweet Was Chosen Last?
The last sweet chosen was a bear-shaped daifuku!
It seems both of them had decided from the moment they first saw it that they would save the bear for last.
▼ With affection, they pick up the last sweet.
▼ A commemorative photo with the bear, the last sweet.
By the way, there was a strawberry inside the bear!
They savor it, taking small bites.
▼ They finished everything: the chocolate fondue, cake stand, and Ferris wheel!
The presentation and portions were spectacular, but before we knew it, we had eaten everything!
Our stomachs are full of sweets, and our hearts are full of happiness!
Thank You for the Meal!
It was probably the first time in my life that I had ever had so many different kinds of sweets in front of me all at once.
I love sweets, too, so I watched with excitement as the sweets were laid out on the table.
In the calm, log-cabin-style interior, the sweet aroma of chocolate fondue made me feel as if I had stepped into a fairy-tale world.
Just gazing at the sparkling sweets displayed on the cake stand and Ferris wheel felt like a dream.
The time spent enjoying Kurashiki Afternoon Tea became a blissful time that filled not only our stomachs but our hearts, too.
- Model: Kobayashi Chieri
- Model: Kanahira Minami
Kurashiki Afternoon Tea 2022 (Winter), Cafe & Restaurant Bonvoyage Information
| Name | Kurashiki Afternoon Tea 2022 (Winter), Cafe & Restaurant Bonvoyage |
|---|---|
| Address | 875 Sasaoki, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-454-8635 |
| Parking | Available 15 spaces |
| Business hours | <Cafe & Restaurant Bonvoyage business hours> 11:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. (except Tuesdays) 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (Tuesdays) <Kurashiki Afternoon Tea 2022 (Winter) held> Winter 2022 event period: January 15–March 31, 2022 |
| Closed | Wednesday |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Available Reservations must be made two days in advance when ordering Kurashiki Afternoon Tea |
| Seating | 50 seats |
| Restroom | Western-style toilet |
| Website | Kurashiki Afternoon Tea |
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