Takarazuka Hotel Lounge Renaissance Afternoon Tea Date

Lounge Renaissance Autumn Afternoon Tea Four sessions of afternoon tea in one day! This is my first attempt at such a 'popternoon tea' experience. The 10 AM afternoon tea is my second time having tea at this hour, the first being at Granvia Hiroshima. Since the first session starts at 10 AM, it made this popternoon tea challenge possible. I had breakfast in Kyoto and set off early in the morning. I arrived in Takarazuka around 9 AM. This is my second visit to Takarazuka, the first being 10 years ago when I visited the Osamu Tezuka Museum. Not much has changed since then. It already felt beautifully complete back then. I spent about an hour strolling around and soaking in the Takarazuka atmosphere. The Takarazuka Grand Theater is right next to the hotel, so I took a look inside. I also encountered the 'cannon brigade' waiting for the actors on their way to work. It seems that 98% of the audience are women. The weather was great, with clear blue skies and the beautiful scenery of Takarazuka all around. Around 9:55 AM, I headed to the hotel. There were already more than 7-8 groups waiting. The lounge is called Renaissance, and the hotel building itself is a perfect embodiment of the Renaissance style. I have a hobby of browsing the official websites of Japanese hotels to look at the lists of hotels within the same group. The parent company of this hotel is quite interesting. It's part of the Hankyu Group, a hotel chain that anyone who has traveled to Osaka might have heard of. It seems railway companies are indeed wealthy. I've stayed at many Hankyu hotels that don't have 'Hankyu' in their names, such as Remm Kagoshima, JR Hotel Clement Takamatsu, Tokushima, Imabari Kokusai Hotel, and Dai-ichi Hotel Ryogoku.🤣 I've also enjoyed afternoon tea at the two Clement locations and Takamatsu Kokusai Hotel. This was just a fun little hotel exploration moment. Even though it was 10 AM on a weekday, quite a few stylish people were enjoying afternoon tea. The theme of the afternoon tea was autumn, fitting for the season. The menu started with a seasonal dessert and an antipasto service. Then came the three-tier tray, which included two types of savory items, six types of sweets, and two stick-shaped scones. The dessert-focused menu was well-suited for the morning. When participating in more than two sessions in a day, I always check for simplified menus and plan my movements in advance before making reservations. It was a delightful way to start the morning. Thank you.