During the Heian period around the 11th century in Japan, ice was collected from the mountains in the coldest months of winter. The ice was shaved with a knife into a bowl and eaten together with the sweet sap from flowers and vines topped with syrup. A luxury reserved for royalty and Heian nobles. Today, Japanese shave ice, called Kakigori is a fluffy mountain of thinly shaved ice made to perfection topped with natural fruit syrups and other local and seasonal ingredients. Taking care that each element is represented beautifully.