My three-month stay in Japan wouldn‘t be complete without trying tons of dessert choices the country has to offer. From softserve ice creams to red bean taiyakis, even at the airport they have wide varieties of food souvenirs in each prefecture. In this post, i’ll be listing my ’sweet journey’ and where you could possibly find them.
1.) Tokyo Banana (Caramel Custard Cream & Panda Banana Flavor)
These cute, banana-shaped sponge cake is a must-try for all the tourists. Out of their more than ten flavors to choose from, these two are the only ones that I’ve tried and happily tool home with us (aside from the original Tokyo Banana).
Basically, it’s a super light and fluffy sponge cake with custard fillings inside. My special choice is the Banana Caramel since I love caramel. It’s not too sweet and I recommend placing it in the fridge to make the filling a bit soild. They come in gift boxes which is perfect for food souvenir (in the Philippines, we call it ‘pasalubong’). I found them at Haneda Airport (they can be found at Narita Airport, too!) and I think it depends on the season on what flavors they will sell.
2.) Rose Garden Iced Boba Milk Tea (Alfred's Tea Room)
I’ve tried Alfred Tea in Los Angeles and when I found out that they also have a flagship store in Shibuya, I did’nt hesitate to pay a visit. This time, I tried their famous ‘Pink Drink.’ On the menu, it’s the Rose Garden Iced Boba Milk Tea. Aside from their popular drinks, their place is very much in pink! Definitely an instagram spot for the ladies!
3.) Eddy’s Ice Cream
If there’s a milk tea place for everything in pink, there’s also Eddy’s Ice Cream as a super-kawaii ice cream parlor, with almost everything in pink, too! I’ve seen this very eye-catchy ice cream on some of the bloggers I‘ve been following on Instagram. I literally got full eating those handful of toppings or choc-covered biscuits! I prefer sharing it with someone (especially my husband) since I’m just after the photos 😛🤣. If you want to try it, this spot is located in Harajuku area.
4.) Taiyaki
Taiyaki is a fish-shaped cake which originated from Japan. It is popular with Azuki red-bean paste and now, a lot of shops came up with different fillings to choose from.
I was wandering around the streets of Akihabara when I saw a small shop displaying these babies inside a glass-
display. I tried the red bean as it’s the usual flavor. They just added some whip cream on top.
5.) Japanese Soft Serve/Ice Cream
(Blue Soda, Green Tea/Vanilla Swirl, Milk Ice)
We stayed in Japan for three months and during that time was one of their hottest seasons. That's why whenever I see soft serve's nearby, I require myself to have them! I'm not sure if it's just me but the soft serve ice cream they offer is waaaaaaay better from what we have in our country. To name a few that I've tried-
*The Blue Soda Ice Cream flavored was super refreshing! It's like eating ice cream and enjoying the thirst quench from soda. I've tried this in Huis Ten Bosch, it's an amusement park famous in Nagasaki Prefecture. This flavor is only in Japan, too bad 'cause I don't know when I'll be able to try it again.
*Green Tea/Vanilla Ice Cream Swirl-
This flavor is very usual in Japan, almost everywhere! Well, not only in Japan but matcha is almost offered in every dessert/drink menu now. For me, what made this one special was I tried it in Kyoto. It's one of the country's historically preserved city. They were offered in every corner at Ninenzaka since tourists are everywhere. It was super creamy and hint of bitterness from the match will surely make your Kyoto experience memorable while walking in a Yukata.
*Milk Ice Soft Cream-
This soft serve is most likely a vanilla-flavored made with milk. The mouth-watering texture and shape is what made me try this in the hippie place of Daimyo in Fukuoka. They also have green tea and mixed flavors. Perfect for the hot weather, this is by far one of the richest soft serve I've tried. They also looked cool with those black cones.
6.) Pablo Mini Cheese Tart
Have you heard about the best cheese tarts? If not, then you haven't heard of Pablo, yet! This the best and cheesiest mini cream tarts for me! I first tried this in Dōtonbori (Osaka) and I was so disappointed when I wasn't able to buy their bigger versions. Little did I know that I would love their mini versions A LOT. During our stay in Akihabara, there's a charming little Pablo Mini shop near the hotel we stayed where I almost bought every flavors.
7.) Fluffy Pancakes (A Happy Pancake)
We were supposed to try this fluffy pancakes in a cafe in Fukuoka called 'Manly' and unfortunately, they were closed for a private event. We just saw posters of these pancakes (but written in Japanese) and luckily, we found it in Tenjin. We waited for about 30 minutes in line to get inside and the café was pretty small. Just by looking at these photos, you'll definitely crave for those heavenly pancakes. And they really were the fluffiest! Not too soft, the texture is still there but will melt in your mouth. How I wish I could cook these pancakes at home. They're menu was presented in Japanese so we just pointed our choices to the servers. They're basically everywhere in Fukuoka (or Japan). You just have to 'yelp it. Would definitely come back if given the chance.
8.) Matcha Parfait (Café Umino)
This café is located in Sasebo Yonka-cho, a ginza mall where the U.S. naval base is just nearby. It's about 20-minutes walk from the base where my husband is stationed right now. There were a lot of café's nearby but nothing too special that I found maybe because there aren't a lot of tourists in this part of Japan (only families of U.S. Navy who resides in the area temporarily. We got the Apple Pie Turnover and a Matcha Parfait. I loved the Matcha Parfait because of the refreshing taste, perfect for the hot weather while the Apple Turnover was light and airy. They were served pretty fancy.
9.) Chocolate Mousse from Hachinoya
This resto is also located at Sasebo Yonka-cho or what we commonly call as ginza. They serve wide varieties of cakes! I remember seeing huge cream puff as well! But at the time, I remember craving for a moist chocolate cake. And this is what I tried. I'm not sure of what they really call this slice of cake since it was written in Nihonggo language. It 's a mixture of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse topped with chocolate macarons. I love how rich and creamy it was! But nothing too special and addicting. Perfect for simple choc-cake cravings anytime. Same with Café Umino, they serve everything pretty nice and a bit fancy, too. They also have wide choices of meals such as steak and Japanese curry! So if you're craving for something savory don't forget to check them out too! You won't have a hard time looking for desserts anymore.
10.) Hanami Dango
These are traditional Japanese confectioneries commonly found on the streets selling by Japanese vendors. I've been looking for these since we arrived in Japan but they're more popular during the cherry blossom season. Hanami means flower viewing. It's consists of 3 rice balls or dumplings on a stick with pink, white and green colors. They're made of sweet rice flour and tastes like mochi (just without the filling inside). I've spotted these cute little dumplings along the street of Kyoto, before heading back to the train station.
My Japanese gastro-experience was really fun and satisfying, also one of the main reason how I came up with my blog. They sure know how to make every food tasty and presentable. I'm just so happy that I was able to share a little bit of my experience through this blog. Have you tried any of these? If yes, let me know and I'll be happy to hear it, too!