---88 Years in the Heart of Shibuya--Enjoying Beautiful Japanese Quality at a Time-Honored Fruit Parlor
Shibuya Nishimura Souhonten / Shibuya Nishimura Fruits & Parlor

Japan has lots of delicious fruit throughout the four seasons of the year. “Fruit parlors”
are places where you can enjoy this fruit in beautifully arranged desserts that will takeyour breath away. Actually, “fruit parlor” is a Japanglish term combining the two words,
with “parlor” meaning a room for conversation and relaxation. Such fruit parlors, kindof coffee shops serving desserts combining fruit with ice cream, fresh cream, and otherdelights, appeared in Tokyo more than a century ago.

First floor of the present Shibuya Nishimura Fruit Store (left) and the shop at the time of postwar recovery (right)

Shibuya Nishimura Fruits & Parlor is located just a stone’s throw from the Shibuya
Scramble Crossing by the iconic Hachiko statue of a faithful dog, an area always buzzing
with foreign tourists and young people. Nishimura Fruit Shop, a high-end fruit store

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founded in 1910, opened an outlet at the present location in1935, and the fruit parlor on the second floor opened in thefollowing year. For nearly nine decades since then,Nishimura has been continuing to serve delicious andbeautiful fruit desserts right in the heart of Shibuya.
← Executive Vice-President Mototaka Nishimura (at the front of thefruit store)

According to Mr. Mototaka Nishimura, executive vice-president of Shibuya Nishimura
Souhonten, Nishimura established an outlet in Shibuya shortly after Tokyu Toyoko
Department Store had opened in front of the railway station. At that time the legendary
Hachiko was appearing at Shibuya Station every day. Apparently Mr. Nishimura’s
grandmother used to give food to the dog.
At that time it was still uncertain whether Shibuya would develop as it has into abustling shopping and entertainment district. But believing in its potential, the founderof Nishimura, Shojiro Nishimura, went ahead and opened the fruit parlor in the centerof the area. He really did have foresight. After that, although Shibuya was reduced toashes by the air raids of World War II, the district recovered, and the Shibuya Nishimura
Main Store was rebuilt. One of the store’s traditional recipes is its pancakes, which
remain popular even today and still use an original mixed flour dating back to the Showa
period (1926–89).
↓ Original pancakes
They are carefully cooked one by one on acustom-made copperplate with good thermal
conductivity. Seasonal pancakes are also
served with the toppings of fruit and homemade fruit sauce changed depending on thetime of year.

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Located in the Shibuya area, which continued to develop as a young people’s playground,the Shibuya Nishimura Fruits & Parlor store became popular as a date spot and also asa casual place for meetings between prospective arranged marriage partners. And inrecent years its top-quality fruit and fruit desserts have delighted foreign tourists
flocking to Shibuya to see the scramble crossing and Hachiko statue.
Mr. Nishimura says he feels strongly that domestic fruit has steadily carved a niche in
the culinary culture representative of Japan. Domestic fruit is cultivated with a stresson not simply sweetness but also fragrance, juiciness, and fleshiness. It has a safe andreliable high-quality level and looks beautiful as well. This rare value and attraction areprobably unparalleled overseas.
Why does domestic fruit have such high quality? Mr. Nishimura explains that in Japanfruit has been treated not only as something to eat but also as a luxury item. Because it
is a luxury, since long ago fruit in Japan has been valued as a gift and as a dessert calledmizugashi (literally, juicy confectionery). For this reason, even better quality has been
pursued, and fruit has evolved with the creation of various new varieties.
↓ Specially selected Marihime and Hatsukoi no Kaori parfait using white strawberries

Strawberries are one of the most popular domestic fruits,
and repeated variety improvement has given rise to newtypes one after the other. These include varieties like
Hatsukoi no Kaori (Fragrance of First Love), which turnwhite when fully ripe.

Amaou is a representative variety of domestic
strawberry. It is cultivated through painstaking
methods, including fine temperature control.

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International Hospitality and Conference Service Association (IHCSA)↓ Gift of musk melon and Shine Muscat grapes

Musk melons are treated as the kings ofdomestic fruit. Every single musk melon
has the date on which it will be ready to
eat written on it. Shine Muscat grapes
are seedless and can be eaten as they are,without having to peel the skin. They
are a sweet and tasty variety. Originallythey were best in September andOctober, but the evolution of storage
technology and equipment has meantthat now they can be tastily eaten rightup until the beginning of the next year.
Placing these fruits in decorated boxes
or baskets and neatly wrapping them topresent as gifts is a very Japanesecustom.
Benishuho cherries →Early summer is the season for cherries. Their carefularrangement in rows in a decorated box is something you
see only in Japan.

In recent years there have been problematiccases of domestic fruit seedlings finding their
way overseas, but Mr. Nishimura insisted thateven the same seedlings cannot be raised to yield
top-quality and delicious fruit without soundmethods of cultivation. Traditionally, in Japan
there is a culture favoring the expenditure of much time and energy on making thingsand engagement in intricate work. This approach has led to Japan’s high level of productquality, and this spirit lives on in the cultivation of fruit as well. In addition, distributors
and retailers also make relentless efforts to carefully handle the fruit that producers
have grown so painstakingly, such as by placing them one by one on cushions, so thatthey are delivered to consumers without damaging their high quality.

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Anyway, if you want to taste this top-quality anddelicious domestic fruit in the best possible way,head for a fruit parlor. Mr. Nishimura told me
about their popular menu and its attractions. In
the case of fruit desserts, what is important firstand foremost is the combination of the fruit. As
with drink and meals, he said, the key point is the“marriage” between different fruit. For example, if
a rich-tasting fruit is matched with fruit with astrong acidic flavor, the taste is softened. And if
fruit is combined with, for instance, good-quality
fresh cream or original gelato with adjusted
sweetness for parfaits, you get a wonderful taste.
Another key point is the cutting. For each type of fruit, there is a beautiful way of cutting,and taste and fragrance change depending on the cutting method. Since the fragrance of
newly cut fruit is best, Mr. Nishimura recommended us to savor the freshness as well.
Furthermore, the readiness of the fruit for eating is also important. For some fruit,
freshness is the paramount factor. But for other produce, such as melons, pears, mangoes,papayas, and bananas, as well as some persimmons, peaches, and so on, cooking staff
force-ripen the fruit after procurement, and then professionals cut and serve it after
determining when it is best ready for eating.

← Beautifully cut macedoine

This original dessert is an arrangement of macedoine, an
Italian-style fruit punch. Fresh seasonal fruit is dipped
into a fruity syrup tasting like white wine and using
vanilla beans produced in Madagascar. Served with atopping of fluffy and foamy whipped cream.

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Pudding a la mode →The fruit, type of gelato, and fruit saucechange with the season. The puddings are
made especially for the fruit parlor in thecompany’s own confectionery factory. Theorthodox puddings, which give a sense ofegg flavor, go well with the fruit.

← Apple mango and strawberry parfait

Deluxe mangoes grown in Miyazaki Prefecture are
popular, but in recent years it has become possible
to cultivate them in the northern island of Hokkaido
too thanks to an ecological method of cultivationthat uses geothermal heat and cool air from snow
stored in winter.
Centered on seasonal fruit, Nishimura changes its
menu seven times a year. In addition, since there isalso fruit thatcan only be eaten during short periods of time,“Only now!” offerings frequently appear. The
crowning joy of a fruit parlor is that every time you
visit, the fruit menu is going to be different.
Beni-Madonna citrus and strawberry parfait→

Beni-Madonna are a high-class domestic citrus that canonly be offered for about one month. A limited-edition
phantomlike parfait?

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Domestic fruit is continuing to evolve through variety improvement. Production andstorage technologies are making tremendous advances, which mean not only even better
quality but also that the fruit can be enjoyed for longer periods. Nevertheless, Mr.
Nishimura insisted, essentially the good thing about Japanese fruit is that the season
for a certain fruit is limited and seasonal produce appears in cycles throughout the year.
If you could eat the same fruit for too long, he said, it would not be so enjoyable.

Message from Mr. Nishimura, who is helping to keep alive the traditions ofthe venerable old fruit store:“Each fruit has its own most delicious time of the year, so in Japan, which has
four seasons, I want you by all means not to miss the season and to savor fruit
in its prime condition.”

Cooperation
Shibuya Nishimura Souhonten Co.,Ltd.

https://snfruits.com/ (Japanese site only)
Address: 22-2 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0042
Tel.: 03-3463-1001 Fax: 03-3463-1007

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