Hop Shu-Kuri-Mu Matcha Cream Puff: I randomly passed this pastry shop in Azabu Juban and made a mental note to return based on the quality of bread in their window. I'm glad I did, because their cream puffs are insane. The exterior has a crispy baked texture, similar in some ways to dutch crunch bread from San Francisco, and the filling is of the highest quality I've had in any bakery, with a creamy and not too sweet flavor and ideal matcha bitterness. The most interesting part to me was a bruleed base that resembled a nor... (read more) 5.0/5.0
japanese exceptional azabujuban creampuff tokyo sweets hopshukurimu matcha cream puff 5.0
Nihonbashiya Persimmon Mochi: This is the second flavor mochi I bought from Nihonbashiya, the Japanese confectionary shop in Akihabara station. It features a very cute gelatin leaf. This flavor was a bit more neutral, with a dark brown taste interior that taste sweet and faintly floral but was not particularly reminiscent of persimmon. Texture was decent but not extremely fresh. 3.0/5.0
tokyo akihabara sweets japanese nihonbashiya persimmon mochi 3.0
Nihonbashiya Apple Mochi: This shop adjacent to the Akihabara station has mini fruit-shaped mochi that are incredibly cute. I bought two to try: apple and persimmon. This apple one was my favorite with a surprisingly concentrated apple-flavored paste at its center. I didn't realize it would actually taste like apple, and it was well balanced and not too sweet, even though it's covered in sugar. 3.5/5.0
recommended confectionary sweets tokyo akihabara japanese nihonbashiya apple mochi 3.5
Bake Cheese Tart Original Cheese Tart: While walking through Tokyo station, I came across this small shop with a sizeable, but not intimidatingly-so, line and the aroma of baked goods. They specialize in cheese tarts, some flavored with chocolate or seasonally with strawberry, but I went for the original, which is a little smaller than a typical Portguese / Chinese egg tart. The pastry base is twice baked, and the interior is largely cream cheese that has a baked browned crust of brueleed cheese. The texture of the cheese unde... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended tokyo tokyostation dessert tart creamcheese bakecheesetart original cheese 3.5
Gomaya Kuki Sesame Ice Cream: This is a rare spot I had actually bookmarked before arriving in Japan in my search for top ice cream shops. At Gomaya Kuki, off of a side street in Shibuya, you have only the choice between black and white sesame ice cream, but each comes in three varieties. For the black sesame, you can choose between triple rich, rich, and salted, while for the white sesame, they have triple rich, rich, and chunky multigrain. I decided to try the triple rich black and chunky multigrain. On the side ar... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Nico Sweet potato donut: There's a pocket-sized store close to the train station that sells freshly made donuts about the size of a Montreal bagel. They're a bit pricy relatively, compared to how inexpensive most things are in Japan, but a purple Japanese sweet potato donut caught my eye, and I purchased one at about $2.50. The texture of the donut was very unique, not crumbly like cake donuts, but also not oily at all like heavily fried donuts. Almost like a very light pound cake, but barely sweetened. In fact, th... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended tokyo japanese dessert nico sweet potato donut 4.0