Tokyo is a paradise for food lovers, especially for adventurous eaters with a sweet tooth. If you’re searching for the cutest and most Instagrammable desserts and dishes in Tokyo, you’ve come to the right place. This blog post is your ultimate guide to the most adorable, or kawaii foods in Tokyo, Japan. From character cafes and crepes to ice creams, candies, and cookies that make perfect souvenirs, Tokyo offers countless options for cute and delicious food. Get ready to indulge in these cute foods in Tokyo!
If you’re a fan of things cute and kawaii, be sure to check out my other blog post about other cute and kawaii things to do in Tokyo.
1. Shirohige Cream Puffs
Shirohige Cream Puff Factory is at the top of my, and everyone else’s lists of cute food in Tokyo. Shirohige is an official, Studio Ghibli licensed bakery that sells cute and delicious Totoro-shaped cream puffs. The are four standard cream puff flavors and seasonal flavors as well, all of which will have you craving for more!
Shirohige has two locations, one in Kichijoji near the Studio Ghibli museum which is take-out only, and one near the Shimokitazawa neighborhood. The Shimokitazawa location is a full cafe with seating on the second floor, so guests can enjoy their cream puffs on-site.
Studio Ghibli fan? Don’t miss my list of kawaii Ghibli things to do in Tokyo.
2. Harajuku Rainbow Food
The Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo is known as the kawaii culture capital of Japan. It’s no surprise that many street food options here, especially on Takeshita street, also fit the cute and kawaii theme. Harajuku’s most famous treats include rainbow cotton candy from Totti Cotton Candy Factory, colorful crepes, and rainbow grilled cheese and ice cream from Le Shiner.
Cute and kawaii food in Harajuku is so popular that there are food tours specialising in kawaii food experiences.
3. Character Cafes
One of the best places to eat adorable and Instagrammable food in Tokyo is at the many character cafes located around the city. These cafes design their entire menus as well as the store interiors around one character or anime, making it a great place to visit to anime fans and kawaii culture fans alike.
Here are some links to the best character cafes in Tokyo:
- Pokemon Cafe in Nihonbashi and its sister store Pikachu Sweets Cafe in Ikebukuro.
- Kirby Cafe at Skytree with a mini store at Tokyo Station Character Street.
- Miffy Cafe in Shibuya and Asakusa.
- Shaun the Sheep cafe or Shaun Village in Minamimachia.
- Hello Kitty character cafes including the Sanrio Cafe in Ikebukuro, Cinnamon Roll Cafe in Shinjuku, and Pompompurin Cafe in Harajuku.
- The Snoopy or Peanuts Cafe in Nakameguro.
- The Sesame Street cafe in Ikebukuro.
4. Hat Coffee 3D Latte Art
3D Latte Art has taken Instagram and TikTok by storm, and Hat Coffee in Tokyo is the perfect cute and kawaii store to get your version done. Located in the back streets near Asakusa, guests can submit their preferred Latte Art character or animal to the talented baristas here to get an adorable 3D figure on their latte. Even if you’re not a big fan of coffee or you’ve visiting later in the afternoon it’s no problem: decaf and tea-based drinks are available here as well. In the summer, iced lattes can also be purchased!
Common characters requested include Ghibli characters like Totoro, Pokemon characters like Pikachu and Snorlax, and Disney animals. Cute and kawaii regular animals like cats, dogs, bears, and piglets can be requested as well.
5. Maidreamin Maid Cafe
One weird and unique Tokyo activity is to visit a Maid Cafe, where waitresses are dressed up as maids. Although some Maid Cafes in Tokyo can get weird and pervy, Maidreamin is a family-friendly chain that actually serves really cute food! The whole experience here is cute, including pink and bubbly interiors and a mini singing and dancing show by the waitresses.
Top it off with kawaii photos together with your maid waitress, and you have yourself another unique cute and kawaii food experience in Tokyo. To help get a table, I recommend booking through a platform like Klook.
6. Hanakagura Pandayaki
Hanakagura Pandayaki is a kawaii Tokyo dessert shop located in the Ueno neighborhood of east Tokyo. Giant Pandas are a popular animal to see in Ueno souvenir stores and cafes for one key reason. Ueno is home to Ueno Zoo, Japan’s oldest and most visited zoological facility founded in 1882, and the most famous inhabitants of Ueno Zoo are its pandas, including twin baby pandas born in 2021.
Hanakagura Pandayaki capitalizes on the popularity of the Ueno pandas by making taiyaki, or Japanese bean or custard-filled pastries, into panda bear shapes. Here, the panda-yaki was born! This kawaii Tokyo food is great when eaten fresh off the stovetop, but can also be purchased in a package to take home as a souvenir as well.
7. Cafe Zingaro
Cafe Zingaro (also called Coffee Zingaro) is a super cool, retro cafe located in Nakano Broadway in West Tokyo. This colorful cafe features the rainbow flower artwork of Takashi Murakami in their parfaits, pancakes, and cookies. This cafe also serves up hearty meals like burgers and offers alcohol drink options as well.
Food and drinks are served in a delightfully retro cafe space, with neon lights, flower cushions, and colorful and artistic wallpaper.
8. Cafe Nekoemon
Cafe Nekoemon in the Yanaka Ginza neighborhood of Tokyo is a cute and kawaii cafe centered around cats. Why cats? Yanaka Ginza is a historic Tokyo neighborhood and shopping area known for its many temples, traditional homes, and stray cats!
Cafe Nekoemon serves cute cat-shaped cupcakes and pastries, as well as colorful sodas and cookies. Located in a historic Japanese building, it’s the perfect place to relax after exploring Tokyo. Guests also get their own Maneki-neko or beckoning cat figurine that they can color while enjoying their kawaii food and drinks.
If you’re a fan of beckoning cats or cats in general, check out Gotokuji beckoning cat temple in west Tokyo, which is on my list of off-the-beaten-path things to do in Tokyo!
To continue your cute food in Tokyo experience, try some of the other cat-themed street food in Yanaka Ginza like cat tail donuts at Yanaka Shippoya.
9. henteco forest-themed cafe
henteco is a kawaii cafe located in the Meguro area of Tokyo. This cafe serves adorable squirrel-shaped cookies, bear-shaped omurice Japanese omelettes, and more as part of its forest-themed shop.
This off-the-beaten-path cute cafe in Tokyo gives visitors a unique and personal experience, and is a great option for enjoying kawaii Tokyo food like a local.
10. Kumasan Onsen Hot Pot
One of the cutest food experiences in Tokyo is having a hot pot at Kumachan Onsen. This is one of few savory cute Tokyo food experiences on my list!
The name of this restaurant literally translates to “little bear hot spring” or “cute bear hot spring” (kuma is bear in Japanese). Every hot pot order here comes with a super cute and round teddy bear that melts to become the tasty and warming broth of the hot pot. Just like a cute bear sitting in an onsen hot spring!
The main Tokyo Kumachan Onsen branch is in Shibuya, walking distance from Shibuya Scramble. Because of the popularity of this store, a number of Kumachan Onsen stores have popped up around Japan as well.
At the time of writing, unfortunately no vegetarian options exist at Kumachan Onsen. If you’re looking for great veggie-friendly meals in Tokyo, check out my list of recommendations here.
11. Kawaii Afternoon Tea at Haute Couture Cafe
Haute Couture Cafe is one of the most charming, adorable, and Instagram-worthy cafes located in Nakameguro in Tokyo. The intricate drinks and desserts served here are sure to impress all visitors to this elegant cafe.
The only item on the menu are variations of high teas and afternoon teas, so be ready to eat lavishly at this cute cafe in Tokyo!
12. Neko neko shokupan
Neko Neko shokupan is a cute and kawaii Tokyo bakery which sells cat-shaped foods and breads. Their breads come in multiple colors – milk-flavored white bread, chocolate-flavored brown bread, and even tri-colored bread that looks like a calico cat!
Although their main store is located a bit out of the way in West Tokyo, Neko Neko shokupan also has an online store where you can have this super kawaii bread shipped to you around Tokyo and Japan.
13. Cute and Kawaii Donuts
Floresta Nature Doughnuts in Koenji, West Tokyo is known for creating some of the cutest donuts in Tokyo! Floresta sells seasonal donuts as well as donuts with kawaii animals and Japanese anime icons. Some examples from the past include Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters, Gudetama, and even Shaun the Sheep. As much as possible, Floresta Nature Doughnuts tries to use natural and additive-free ingredients, so you can eat these guilt-free too.
If you love kawaii donuts, Tokyo offers other cute options: check out seasonal character donuts at Mister Donut, and the picture-perfect donuts at Hello! Donuts and I’m donut? as well.
14. Louange Tokyo
Louange Tokyo is a high-end patisserie in Roppongi with a branch in Ginza that serves up some luxurious, but still kawaii food in Tokyo. This is the perfect place to go for a celebratory or romantic occasion, where you can still find cute food but within a gourmet and chic setting.
Adoring Louange Tokyo anniversary, birthday, and even wedding cakes by request is their signature adorable bear. Honestly, it’s too cute to eat! For occasions like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, you can also order this bear-shaped chocolate together with colorful and lavish bite-sized chocolates.
15. Cute and Kawaii Macarons
Another food made cute and kawaii in Tokyo are macarons. Colorful, creative, delicate and flavorful, these bite-sized treats are super kawaii.
Check out the colorful macarons from the store Macaron Cherie in Shin Koiwa, West Tokyo. Their macarons come in every flavor you can think of, and are presented with matching colors and decorations. Buy a set of these and you’ll have the hardest time deciding which one to eat first.
Macaron D’Or is another great cute Tokyo food option, this one in Tsukiji. They are known for putting kawaii Japanese-themed prints on their macarons, making them a great cute food souvenir option from Japan. In fact, Macaron D’Or even offers options to print your own image on their macarons, so you can make them as cute as you want!
16. Luna Cafe and Laundry
In need of some cute and kawaii food in Tokyo as well as a laundry wash? Look no further than Luna Cafe and Laundry in Takadanobaba near Shinjuku. Luna Cafe Organic is a cute Tokyo cafe that’s attached to a 24-hour coin laundry facility.
Although the cafe is only open from 10:00am to 6:00pm, it’s a convenient place to take a break, wash some clothes, and have a yummy cake with an adorable sleeping teddy bear on it. The cafe also sells healthy breads and light meals, as well as other cute foods like bear-shaped cookies and drinks.
17. Pudding from Namchini82Cafe
Tokyo’s Shin-Okubo neighborhood just north of Shinjuku is Japan’s largest Korea-town, known for many cute shops selling Korean skincare products, character goods, and don’t forget the kawaii street food stands too! If Takeshita Street in Harajuku was a hit for you, Shin-Okubo is another great cute and kawaii place to visit in Tokyo.
Shin-Okubo is also home to the kawaii and colorful Namchini82Cafe which makes floppy pudding animals, their cuteness which has been taking TikTok by storm. The below video shows their cat-shaped pudding and its unmatched jiggle. Spanking the pudding is optional!
18. Colorful Kintaro Ame
Japanese Kintaro Ame (am-eh meaning candy) is a traditional sugary sweet that is made from a long pipe of sugar. The pipe is cut into small pieces, revealing an intricate design in the middle that is created using different colored sugars. The first version of this candy was made over 120 years ago and had the face of a boy named Kintaro, hence the name of the candy. In typical Japanese fashion, the original Kintaro Ame store is still selling the exact same candy: 120 years and several generations later.
Currently, Kintaro Ame can be found in a myraid of cute designs, which make amazing cute food gifts from Japan. One example is the store Papabubble north of Asakusa which sells themed candies including Star Wars, Disney, and Minions, as well as seasonal candies.
19. Cute and Kawaii Fruit Parfaits
Some of the most Instagrammable and popular treats in Tokyo loved by both tourists and locals is the fruit parfait. These elaborate and kawaii desserts consist at its core of fruits, ice cream, and whipped cream come in a variety of flavors and colors, and often with intricate or at least cute and kawaii decorations. Especially with the popularity of high-end fruits in Tokyo, you’ll never run out of beautiful parfaits that delight both the eyes and the stomach.
The OG fruit parfait store in Tokyo is Sembikiya in Ginza, which is known for their expensive fruit selection which they also use for their seasonal fruit parfaits. Due to their popularity, Sembikiya can often be found in high-end department stores around Japan, selling both cakes, fruit sandwiches and fruits too.
Another option is Kannonyama Fruit Parlour, a competitor store in Ginza that also sells picture-perfect fruit parfaits using seasonal ingredients.
20. Join a Kawaii Cooking Class
One creative way to experience cute food in Tokyo is to enroll in a cooking class to make it yourself!
If joining a cooking class was on your list of things to do in Tokyo, knock two birds with one stone with super cute cooking class options. Participants here make kawaii chara-ben, or character-themed bento lunch boxes. Character bento boxes were started by Japanese housewives, who were, and still are, making elaborate lunches for their kids to bring to school each day. Chara-bens usually feature a pop-culture character or other cute animal, plus other decorations.
These kawaii Tokyo cooking classes will seriously up your lunch box game.
Two options for kawaii chara-ben cooking classes are available through GetYourGuide, including one with classes near Shinjuku and Shibuya and one with classes further south in Shinagawa.
That’s a wrap for my list of cute and kawaii food in Tokyo! The beauty of Tokyo is that in no means is this a comprehensive list. There are plenty of hidden gems and cute cafes to discover across this metropolis, so I hope you find your own favorite cute foods as well.
Inspired by this list? Order a box of treats from TokyoTreat
You can order some cute and kawaii treats straight from Tokyo to your front door with TokyoTreat! TokyoTreat is a Japanese snack subscription box that sends seasonal, unique, and popular Japanese food and drinks to patrons worldwide. Learn more by visiting their website here.
Lastly, if you’re a fan of all things cute and kawaii, check out my list of cute and kawaii things to do in Tokyo, which also includes some of these cute Tokyo foods.
Are You Prepared For Your Trip To Japan?
Be sure to check out my Japan home page for Japan travel information, insider tips, reading list, and must-haves for traveling to Japan!
- Book Your Flights – To find the cheapest flights, flexibility is key. I use both Google Flights for their low fare calendar, and Skiplagged, which uses airfare loopholes to get the lowest prices. For a trip to Japan, check flights to both Tokyo airports (Haneda, Narita) and to Osaka (Kansai).
- Getting Around Japan: Prepare your JR Pass and Suica transit card before you depart.
- Book Your Accommodation – Check out Booking.com for the largest selection of accommodation in Japan. Consider having a bit of fun at one of these Weirdest Hotels in Japan too 🙂
- Book Local Excursions – Don’t miss out on world-class experiences, like Teamlab Borderless or Tokyo Disneyland, by booking tickets online now. Check GetYourGuide and Klook for fun experiences all around Japan.
- Stay Connected: Order a pocket WiFi for airport pickup if you’re traveling with family or with a large group. Solo traveling to Japan? Order a SIM card just for you.
- Pack Your Essentials – Check out my posts about Long Term Travel Gear, and Carry-On Luggage Packing Essentials.
- Read more on my Travel Resources page!
