Paul Apple Kougin Amann: Paul is a French bakery chain that has locations in several popular spots around Tokyo. I went to the one in the cute Kagurazaka neighborhood of Tokyo. Having not had any European pastries in a long time, it was definitely a treat to see rows of croissants and tarts; you could smell the butter from around the corner. I decided on a kougin amann topped with a couple slices of apple and a thin caramel glaze. It had definitely been sitting out for a while, lacking the comforting warmth of a... (read more) 3.0/5.0
paul tokyo pastrykouginamann apple kougin amann 3.0
Sogetsu Kuromatsu Doriyaki: This doriyaki was an unexpected special gift from someone I met who knew about my snack blog. Because it was given to me, I didn't get to visit the shop directly, but the red bean pancake comes from Sogetsu, an almost 100-year-old brand whose shop in Kita-Ku attracts very long lines. The doriyaki has a marbled color, which is where its name Kuromatsu (black pine) comes from, as it resembles the bark of a tree. This coloring comes from a combination of brown sugar and honey used in the bat... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional japanese tokyo redbean sogetsu kuromatsu doriyaki 4.5
Sun Fruits Apple Juice: In the basement of the swanky Tokyo Midtown department store is a speciality fruit shop called Sun Fruits, the type of shop where sumo oranges (dekopan) are individually wrapped in a form-fitting web of styrofoam and boxes of pale white strawberries go for 8,000¥ ($73 USD). The one item I felt I could afford, and also I was most interested in trying, was a bottle of what I presumed to be a barely-pink fruit soda, which cost $3.50. It turns out that it was a bottle of apple juice, with frui... (read more) 4.0/5.0
exceptional drinks applejuice tokyo japan sunfruits apple juice 4.0 japanese
Tokyo Banana Pokmeon Edition Tokyo Banana: Tokyo Banana is a brand of cake only available in Japan that's marketed as the #1 souvenir. I bought a few boxes to mail as gifts when returning to the states, along with this single serving pouch of their special Pokemon edition. As far as I know, it's the exact same flavor as the original Tokyo Banana but features Pikachu printed on the sponge cake. The cake itself is very fluffy and soft but has very little flavor to it on its own; inside is a banana cream with a slightly brownish-yell... (read more) 2.5/5.0
japanese tokyobanana pokmeon edition tokyo banana 2.5
Tou Lan Tea Strawberry Latte with Boba: I had some bad experiences with several bubble tea shops when I first came to Japan (ones I didn't bother to review), but there was a highly rated spot not too far from the university that I decided to check out. They feature a handful of classic herbal teas along with a wider menu of fruit teas, smoothies, as well as a whole section of banana lattes (I'm not sure why!). The strawberry latte was excellent, like a milder and less sweet version of strawberry ice cream (I had it at their "les... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks tokyo toulantea strawberry latte boba 4.0
Yifang Matcha Brown Sugar Bubble Tea: I was delighted to come across the Taiwanese bubble tea shop Yifang in Shin Okubo, the Koreatown of Shinuku in Tokyo. I wish I were able to read the menu of fruit tea options, but I had to go by the pictures and decided to try their matcha latte with brown sugar, a drink that has a fixed amount of sugar (unlike some other menu items, where you can adjust how sweet you'd like it to be). I did find the drink to be sweet for my taste, but the combination of bitter matcha with sweet brown suga... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks tokyo taiwanese boba bubbletea yifang matcha brown sugar bubble tea 4.0