MoMo & Coco

Kyoto & Nagoya’s Most Instagrammable Character Themed Dessert Cafes (Japan)

Introduction 

Japan was the site of these Dessert Correspondents’ very first solo dessert travel way back in 2015, and just over ten years later, we still love it. From Tokyo to Kyoto and back again, we have published guides to the best wagashi in both cities (see here and here), Tokyo’s best sakura cherry blossom high teas, and Kyoto’s most evocative traditional tea house, ryokan tea experience and its prettiest flower desserts and cherry blossom spots. In this volume of our Japan dessert adventures, we round up the cutest — and of course, most Instagrammable – character themed dessert cafes to check out on your next visit to Nagoya and Kyoto.

Piyorin chicken cake 

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Piyorin Patisserie, JR Nagoya Station.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (Approx USD $2)
  • ☑ Short and sweet story: Nestled within the labyrinth that is the JR Nagoya Station is a little counter shopfront that makes tiny chicken-shaped cakes by hand. Each little chicken apparently takes over six hours to craft, yet most certainly less than six seconds to gobble. The result is a bouncy custard pudding creation enveloped in a soft mousse and breadcrumbed with sponge cake. As with most East Asian desserts, they are barely sweet. Good luck transporting them intact to their final destination though – one of ours lost its red comb crest and side wings 😦
  • ☑ Dessert adventure tip: The longest lines are towards the end of the day, around the 5-7pm mark, and the little birds do sell out. Try to buy before this time.  
 

Snoopy Cha Ya dessert cafe 

  • ☑ Dessert destination:  Snoopy Cha Ya Dessert Cafe, Nishiki Market, Kyoto.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (less tha USD $10).
  • ☑ Short and sweet story: Snoopy is an American cartoon creation, yet strangely, it is very very popular in Asia, particularly in China and Japan. In Japan, there are four Snoopy-themed dessert cafes, and one is located in the centre thoroughfare of the touristy Nishiki Market in Kyoto. The custard taiyaki and hot coffee and matcha lattes are all embossed with this canine cartoon, and are certainly tempting. Don’t miss however, the “Snoopy Parfait“, where matcha jelly, red bean paste, corn flakes, and cream are successively layered into a tall plastic glass and topped with mochi, marshmallows and chocolate soft serve ice cream.
 

Rilakkuma Bear dessert cafe

  • ☑ Dessert destination:  Rilakkuma Bear Dessert Cafe, Arashiyama, Kyoto.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (less than USD $10).
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Since having had the privilege of staying at Hoshinoya Kyoto more than ten years ago during sakura season, no hotel we have stayed in since has surpassed that experience. Accessible only by a yakatabune boat, it’s like entering another world when you float towards it with mountains studded with sakura framing your pathway. This part of Arashiyama is in short, our happy place. The other part of Arashiyama however is, ten years since our last visit, as crowded with daytripping tourists as we remember. Whereas the area aroud Hoshinoya hears only the flutter of maple leaves and soft gurgling of the Hozu River, the main township is a sensory overload. Towards the northern end of it, we escaped to the Rilakkuma Bear Dessert Cafe, where one level up from street level, we found a slightly quieter cafe space. Here, there are onigri rice balls and even noodles all shaped into this cartoon bear. Skip all of this and focus on the desserts. We loved the large plastic cup filled to the brim with warm tiny bear taiyaki bites, as well as the ice cream parfait, lined with the obligatory Japanese trifecta of green tea jelly, red bean paste, mochi balls, and a lot of cream. One bite and all that noise fell away…
  • ☑ Dessert adventure pro tip: The souvenir shop opens at 9.30am, whereas the cafe starts operation at 10am. Get a ticket when the souvenir shop opens, and you won’t have to wait long. Otherwise, we read stories on Dianping that by 11am, you can expect hours-long wait.
 

Miffy Dessert Kitchen 

  • ☑ Dessert destination:  Miffy Dessert Kitchen, Arashiyama, Kyoto.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (less than USD $5).
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  If we were kids again, these Dessert Correspondents would have had a veritable party at the Miffy store in Arashiyama, a short walk south from the Rilakkuma Dessert Cafe above. Similar to the Rilakkuma store, the Miffy store is a glorious shrine to the white cartoon rabbit – from drink bottles to towels, pens to bags and tshirts, this cartoon has been affixed to everything and anything. There isn’t a sit-down dessert cafe, but there is a take-out bakery. Average in taste but aesthetically pleasing otherwise, they make for great snacks while hunting down sakura or maple leaves in the surrounding areas.

Dessert adventure checklist

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Kyoto, Japan.
  • ☑ Budget: $.
  • ☑  Sweet irresistibles: Bakery goods, custard pudding cakes, and ice cream parfaits.
  • ☑  Travel notes:
    • How long? Kyoto is a compact historic city, whereas Nagoya is larger and more modern. If you are a first-time visitor, plan for a minimum of 3 days in each place. We stayed in Kyoto for a week though.
    • When to visit? March-early June (i.e. Spring), or September-early December (i.e. Autumn).
    • How to get there? We flew from Hong Kong to Nagoya direct using HK Express. To get to Kyoto from Nagoya, we took a Shinkansen train. It felt significantly less smooth and more sardine-packed a ride than the high speed trains in China. As much as we love Kyoto, flying in and out of Kyoto is painful — there is no international airport nearby, you have to train to Osaka airport.
    • Where to stay? In Nagoya, we stayed near JR Nagoya station as we were sightseeing in the countryside, rather than the city. In Kyoto, we recommend Southern Higashiyama (such as the Hyatt Regency) for the first-time visitor, or otherwise Gion, which is more well-connected with the bus system.

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