While Markus and I were in Japan, it was ridiculously hot. We went in the beginning of August, so it was the height of the summer. The minute I stepped outside it was like stepping into a bright sauna. Everyday I would be covered in sweat. It was great. So as you can imagine, I would constantly search for shade or refreshment. In Korea, they have this amazing shaved ice dessert called patbingsu. We also have an equivalent in the Philippines called halo-halo. These shaved iced desserts are the perfect remedy for hot days.
Markus and I were exploring the Gion district. We were sort of aimlessly walking in direction of a temple, but would stop at anything that peaked our interest. We passed this really cool place and thought the outside looked interesting, but we didn't know what it was. When we saw a sign for kakigori, the Japanese version of shaved ice, I asked Markus if we could try it. He didn't really want to stop, so we kept going. We walked about 500 feet and he stopped. He turned to me and said, "You really want to eat that patbingsu don't you?" I eagerly nodded my head and he smiled.
We ordered the green tea kakigori and it was freaking amazing. I ate a lot of green tea patbingsu in Korea in the two years I was there. This was probably, if not, the best green tea shaved ice I've ever had. I'm so glad that we didn't pass up on the opportunity and we were able to try real authentic kakigori.