Delicious & Instagrammable Desserts in Tokyo, Japan

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Mouthwatering Tokyo Desserts

Tokyo is known for the busy streets, the alluring neon lights, unique shopping centers, and charming temples. But one other thing that Tokyo is known for its delicious food, specifically Tokyo sweets.

If you’re looking for an itinerary to follow for your time in Tokyo, we’ve got you covered here. Otherwise, get ready to put on your stretchy pants because we’re about to take you on a yummy tour of a few of the best desserts in Tokyo!

Rainbow Cotton Candy from Totti Candy Factory

Get it if you’re a fan of cotton candy, and get it even if you’re not. Totti Candy Factory has by far the best cotton candy we’ve ever eaten and no, not JUST because it was larger than my head! It was so fluffy and there’s none of that sticky residue or artificial aftertaste in your mouth like the cotton candy from carnivals. The best part though is that you can actually taste EACH flavor. The flavors included are grape, ramune (soda), lemon, melon, and strawberry flavors all swirled up into one tasty Tokyo sweet.

Kinako Dango from Asakusakibidango Azuma

We can’t get enough of kinako powder (soybean powder). It’s got that perfect sweet and salty flavor – kind of like powdered peanut butter but better, probably cause there’s more sugar but who knows. You’ll find kinako powder on a ton of Tokyo desserts like dango, daifuku, coffee jelly and even ice cream parfaits.

The kinako dango that we tried from Asakusakibidango Azuma were small sticky rice dumplings served hot and rolled in this delicious powder – they are also served with a small glass of complimentary tea. It becomes a match made in heaven that will have you buying more immediately.

Daifuku from Ginza Akebono

If you are looking for the best mochi in Tokyo, the daifuku from Ginza Akebono is hands down one of the best desserts in Tokyo. This Japanese specialty sweet often has sweet red bean paste inside and is occasionally filled with a seasonal fruit. We were salivating over the thought of the legendary strawberry daifuku at this shop after we had some at Kyoto’s Nishiki Market, but sadly it was out of season when we went to this Tokyo sweets shop.

Instead we got to try the seasonal apricot daifuku and the traditional red bean. Apricot is a fruit that is seriously underrated. The mellowness of the flavor complimented the red bean paste perfectly, although I won’t lie, the strawberry daifuku is still my favorite.

Boba Tea from Alfred Tea Room

Although Alfred Tea Room is a chain with a few locations around the globe, the Alfred Tea Room you’ll find in Tokyo has a few specialty drinks that you’ll find nowhere else and an equally adorable atmosphere with bubble pink decor and cozy places to relax. The hojicha boba tea was my favorite drink here, but you can also get a number of other dessert drinks too.

Kit-Kat Candy from Kit-Kat Chocolatory

The Kit-Kat Chocolatory doesn’t have just any ol’ regular Kit-Kat candies that you buy at your grocery store or gas station back home. Japan is known for having a plethora of Kit-Kat flavors. In fact, in my opinion, Japan dominates at having the most variety and best flavors of Kit-Kat. At this confectionary, you can purchase individual or packages of specialty flavored Kit-Kat. A few of our favorites include Matcha Double Berry and Almond, Uji Hojicha, Matcha Kinako, and Butter. If you’re looking for something easy to bring back home with you, this is the perfect option!

Sweet Crepes from Harajuku

You most definitely cannot leave Tokyo without getting one of the infamous crepes in Harajuku. There are quite a few crepe stands to choose from (not to mention unlimited flavor choices too!), but we’ve been to both Santa Monica Crepes and Angel Crepes – both were ah-mazing. If you really wanna go all out on your Tokyo sweets tour then get one that has a slice of cheesecake AND ice cream in it. They’re the perfect size for sharing but we definitely won’t judge you if you decide to eat it all by yourself.

Fluffy Donuts from Good Town Donuts

Japan has a variety of donut shop chains including the ever so popular, Mister Donut and even Krispy Kreme which has completely different flavors than we have in the United States, but we often found many of the chain donut shops a bit dry and disappointing.

The next place to fulfill your Tokyo desserts sugar coma is Good Town Donuts which has seriously delicious, fluffy donuts that will make you want at least half a dozen and a coffee or glass of milk. We tried the Sicilia Lemon Poppyseed and the White Chocolate and we immediately wanted to try two more although after having as much dessert as we had this day, we reluctantly decided against it.

Adorable Animal Donuts from Floresta Nature Donuts

Floresta Nature Donuts are not nearly as good as the ones we had at Good Town Donuts (above) but they’re awfully cute and unique! The frosting covering these donuts has different flavors such as black sesame, strawberry, and matcha. But what stopped us in our tracks were the adorable designs on these donuts. In case you were wondering like we were, they make the ears with almonds! If anything, grab one to share and don’t forget to snap a photo.  

Baumkuchen from Nenrinya

Baumkuchen is a dessert that originated in Germany but is now hugely popular in Japan. You can find it at most convenience stores like 7Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson which we eat our fair share of every time we visit Japan but Nenrinya specializes baumkuchen that will knock your socks off.

The buttery, sugary, dense baumkuchen at Nenrinya is so good you won’t want to share, although we do recommend bringing some back to share with your friends and family… or just enjoy yourself. Sadly we didn’t take a picture of the baumkuchen we bought at Nenrinya, but we still have two in our freezer that we’re waiting to break out on a rainy day – maybe we’ll get one for ya then!

Animal Shaped Melon Pan from Lumine Building

Melon pan is a sweet bread made from enriched dough and covered with a sugary crust that resembles a melon, thus the name melon pan. These adorable melon pan are available in two different flavors, traditional or chocolate. But, there are plenty of options when it comes to design! There are all different animal faces on these melon pan which definitely makes this one of the cutest Tokyo sweets on this list. We don’t have the stand name but you can find them in the Lumine Building in Shinjuku!

Pastries from Dominique Ansel Bakery

Dominique Ansel Bakery is famous around the world for its pastries so you might consider enjoying one in store or getting a few to go. Since we were visiting Japan in the summer we decided to try the seasonal watermelon ice cream sandwich which to our disappointment, didn’t have a lot of flavor and was pretty expensive. We’d recommend sticking to what this specialty shop knows best, pastries like the award-winning cronut or salted caramel eclair.

Melon Pan Ice Cream Sandwich from Asakusa Kagetsudo

While this might not be the most Instagrammable in our list of Tokyo sweets, this one is sure delicious! I mean, what’s better than having two of my favorite Tokyo desserts paired together? I’ll tell you, not much. Asakusa Kagetsudo has some of the best fresh melon pan that you can buy individually or you can get melon pan made into an ice cream sandwich to enjoy in the small store. I opted for the matcha soft serve in my melon pan ice cream sandwich but if you aren’t a fan of matcha they have vanilla and occasionally a seasonal soft-serve flavor as well.

8 Layer Ice Cream from Daily Chico

So if you haven’t already guessed it, Tokyo sweets are definitely out of this world! This 8 layer ice cream at Daily Chico is no different. Daily Chico is a little off the beaten path in the outskirts of Tokyo but there are a lot of street markets and indoor shopping centers that you could enjoy in the area after indulging in this refreshing dessert.

We actually ended up stopping here when we were heading back to Tokyo after visiting the Ghibli Museum. The location can be a bit tricky to find, so we’ll do our best to get you there! It is located in Nakano City inside the Nakano Broadway building. After getting in the building head to the basement floor (-1 is the button you’ll push on the elevator). The flavors change daily so you never know what you might get but they’re all tasty! Our flavors this day included green tea, banana, ramune, Hokkaido melon, chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry (from bottom to top).

Instagram-worthy Ice Cream from Eddy’s Ice Cream

Just when you thought that the 8 layer ice cream was the craziest thing you’ve ever seen, Eddy’s Ice Cream goes a step up by adding cookies, chocolates, and even cereal covered sweets. Located in no other than the world of kawaii Tokyo desserts, Harajuku. If the ice cream isn’t adorable and hashtag extra enough, you’ll also enjoy how cute the store is itself to make you Instagram dreams come true.

Animal Lollipop from Amezaiku

Not only is this one of the coolest Tokyo sweets on this list it’s also the most intricate. At Amezaiku these lollipops are handcrafted and completely fascinating to watch as they are shaped into all different animals that resemble glass figurines. Interested in creating your own art? Amezaiku also offers classes where you can make your own adorable lollipop to keep as a souvenir. Is it weird that instead of eating these, we kind of want to keep them on display? 😉

Pastries from Dean & DeLuca

Dean & DeLuca is a chain bakery with a number of locations in Japan, the United States, and other locations but just like we mentioned with Alfred Tea, there are a number of select items that are only available in Japan. We recommend getting here early and be prepared to wait in a line with a bunch of people trying to get a coffee and pastry to-go before work. But, it’s gonna be worth it. The Oreo muffin was pretty dang delicious and arguably an unfrosted cupcake but we digress. We also recommend trying one of the specialty matcha pastries as well.

Tokyo Banana

Last but not least on this list of the best desserts in Tokyo is of course, the infamous Tokyo Banana. These banana shaped sponge cakes resemble the ever popular American cake known as the Twinkie, but instead of being filled with a sugary cream, Tokyo Banana have a light banana custard cream inside. There are all different flavors of Tokyo Banana such as chocolate, matcha, and strawberry. But make sure you try the original one too! You can get these all over Tokyo but Tokyo Solamachi in the Tokyo Skytree (Sumida) has a large Tokyo Banana store inside.

Now that we’ve both ate an astronomical amount of sugar we better get ready to hit the gym. 😉 Which of these Tokyo desserts would you be most excited to try?!

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