Gourmet Chocolate Near Me in Ginza: Le Chocolat de H's Salon

Le Chocolat de H's flagship sits on the ground floor of Garden Square Ginza No. 4 Building, 6-7-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061, one minute from exit B3 of Ginza Station. Pastry chef Hironobu Tsujiguchi's 12-piece Ash Selection box costs ¥5,610, and the salon's Parfait Royale is ¥1,600. It opens 11:00 to 20:00 Monday to Saturday and 11:00 to 19:00 on Sundays and holidays. For gourmet chocolate near me in Ginza, this is the competition-chocolatier pick.

Leave Ginza Station on the Tokyo Metro by exit B3 and the shop is about a minute's walk; the official access page also puts JR Yurakucho and Shinbashi stations a few minutes away. The phone number is 03-6264-6838. Last orders in the salon are at 19:00 on weekdays and Saturdays, and 18:00 on Sundays and holidays, and closing days are irregular, so the store does not keep a fixed weekly holiday.

The boutique is compact: a glass case of bonbons and baked goods at the front, and a small salon with five counter seats plus three tables seating six people in total. Seats cannot be reserved. When the salon is paused, the shop sells takeaway only, and the FAQ warns that the salon may close in peak gifting seasons such as Valentine's Day and White Day. Plan a sit-down visit outside February and March.

Tsujiguchi is one of Japan's best-known pastry chefs. He has represented Japan at contests including the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie and runs Mont St. Clair, the patisserie in Jiyugaoka. The H in Le Chocolat de H stands for Hironobu, according to the brand's about page. His company, Fortissimo H, was founded in 2003, the year the first shop opened in Roppongi Hills; that branch closed in 2013, and the Ginza store opened on 12 May 2015.

His chocolate record is the reason to come. The chef's page lists the top rating from the Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris six years running, from 2013 to 2018, and a Best of Best award in 2019. He also took gold in the bar category of the International Chocolate Awards world final in 2015, and the brand grows organic cacao on its own farm in Peru. His career was the subject of a documentary film, also titled Le Chocolat de H, released in January 2019, which followed him through the Paris competition season and the long hours behind each new collection of bonbons.

The Ash Selection is the signature box: 12 bonbons for ¥5,610, 17 for ¥7,710 and 34 for ¥15,020, all tax-inclusive on the official online shop. Flavours lean on Japanese ingredients, including yuzu, matcha, and apricot and plum with Noto salt. Each piece is small, glossy and decorated differently, so the box reads like a tasting menu rather than a uniform assortment. The 12-piece box includes a chocolate that won the Gold Tablet, the club's top award, which makes it the sensible single purchase.

For a smaller gift, Nihon Kanko is a four-piece box built around Japanese citrus, including Yamato-tachibana, priced at ¥2,600 and labelled a Salon du Chocolat gold medal winner. New this autumn, announced on 15 September, are bonbons named Pomme and Potiron, apple and pumpkin. The baked-goods assortment of six pieces costs ¥2,500, and a six-piece lemon cake box is ¥2,980 for those who want something less rich.

The salon menu is short and chocolate-led. Parfait Royale costs ¥1,600, and the Tarte Chocolat set is ¥1,800. The Chocolat Set is ¥1,700. Hot chocolate, Chocolat Chaud, and its iced version, Chocolat Froid, are ¥1,500 each, while a hot coffee with one bonbon is ¥900, a cheap way to taste the case. The Chocolat Royale soft-serve is ¥800 to eat in or take away.

The most elaborate order is the Ginza Monburin special menu at ¥3,500, served with a drink. This autumn the salon added a Parfait Hojicha Marron, a roasted-tea and chestnut parfait launched on 1 September. If you want one honest recommendation, skip the ¥1,500 hot chocolate in warm weather and order the coffee-and-bonbon at the counter instead, then buy a box to take home.

The 2026 Christmas collection is taken by order at the Ginza store from 1 October to 13 December, and phone orders are not accepted, so you need to visit in person. On Saturday 14 November the store hosts a tasting of the chocolates being entered for this year's C.C.C. judging, in sessions from 12:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 15:00. Tickets cost ¥6,000 per person through the online shop and cannot be cancelled.

The shop has no wrapping paper, though carrier bags are available, so bring your own if presentation matters. Weekday mornings after 11:00 are the calmest time for a salon seat; Saturday afternoons, when Ginza fills with shoppers, are the hardest. If all eight seats are taken, buy a four-piece Nihon Kanko box to go and eat it later with coffee somewhere nearby. Because the salon serves desserts and drinks rather than full meals, most guests stay for a parfait or a set and then leave, so seats do free up through the afternoon.

GINZA SIX, at 6-10-1 Ginza, is a few minutes' walk away; its shops open 10:30 to 20:30 and its restaurants until 23:00, which helps if the salon has closed. With dozens of shops and restaurants, it is the easiest backup when the salon's eight seats are full, and it stays open later than the boutique. From there, Ginza 4-chome crossing is a short walk north-east along Chuo-dori.

Address: Garden Square Ginza No. 4 Building 1F, 6-7-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061. Hours: Monday to Saturday 11:00 to 20:00, Sundays and holidays 11:00 to 19:00, irregular closing days. Phone: 03-6264-6838. Station: Ginza, exit B3, one minute. Seating: eight seats, no reservations. Prices are tax-inclusive, from the official menu and online shop: Ash Selection 12 pieces ¥5,610, Parfait Royale ¥1,600.