Sitting down to enjoy a parfait is pretty relaxing in itself, but this Japanese restaurant's impressive dessert goes even further, by recreating the tranquil setting of a zen garden.

This beautiful dish was created in Kyoto, a town which is fittingly known for its historical Zen Buddhist temples. The restaurant is called ‘The Living Pavilion’ and it’s located at the foot of Takagamine Sanzan. To celebrate early summer, the ‘Niwa Parfait Zen Garden’ pays tribute to the lush verdant forest which can be viewed from the restaurant.

Matcha flavoured sponge and cookies are used to make ‘moss’, and arare rice crackers resemble stones for the garden. There’s also bigger rocks made from hojicha (roasted green tea) flavoured cookies, wrapped in sesame nerikiri (a type of traditional Japanese sweet). The intertwined tree branches are made from langue de chat biscuits coloured with cocoa powder. One of the most recognisable parts of a zen garden is the gravel or sand which is raked into perfect lines or concentric circles. This look has been achieved for the parfait with pannacotta on a base of white chocolate.

Once you crack through the white chocolate layer, there’s an impressively layered tiramisu made with organic matcha from Uji. There’s rich matcha cream, light matcha sponge, yuzu ice cream and even yuzu jam to enjoy hidden in the depths of the garden. Overall, the dessert has nine layers to enjoy.

Even the bowl the parfait comes in was especially created by ceramic artist George Nakamura, and can be purchased separately for 15000 yen.

But this calming experience doesn’t come cheap. The elegant parfait will set you back 5300 yen, which is about $48. It also requires an advance reservation via the restaurant’s website, and will only be on the menu until 30th June.