Pastry and Chocolate shops in Tokyo

[confiseur]

I am five days in Tokyo in early May and would be extremely grateful for any recommendations with regards to top quality pastry and chocolate shops worth visiting in Tokyo...both Japanese and European style...

Also any recommendations for a few must see/do's for general tourists, places to visit etc.. ( unfortunatley I do not speak Japanese)

All help much appreciated!

[prasantrin]

Another topic on pastry shops in Japan can be found here.

Just to clarify--you want Japanese shops that offer French or Japanese-style pastries and chocolates, but not necessary French or European shops? Laduree, for example, has a tea shop in Tokyo, but it may not be something you're interested in.

There's a French-style Japanese pastry shop called Henri Charpentier that I quite like. They have a tea shop in Ginza that you can try.

Morozoff and Goncharoff are two old-time chocolate (and cake) shops. Morozoff doesn't have a shop in Tokyo, but Goncharoff does. I'm not quite sure where it is, though.

Depachikas (the basement floor of department stores) are great places to browse for different Japanese chocolates and cakes. Mary's is another famous chocolate shop that has branches in almost every depachika I've ever been in. I don't particularly care for their chocolates, but they're well-regarded by others.

There really are too many places to list, but starting with a department store depachika (like Isetan Dept. Store or Takashimaya) would be easiest.

If you're interested at all in Japanese-style snacks, my favourite sweet snack is called "karinto". It's basically fried dough (hard) that has been coated in a brown sugar syrup. I've always wanted to visit Kagetsu http://www.karintou-kagetsu.com/tenpo/index.html which is supposed to have really great karinto. I've been told it's in an area that's great for walking around, and it's near a relatively famous shrine (???), so it might be a good place just for browsing.

[confiseur]

Another topic on pastry shops in Japan can be found here. 

Just to clarify--you want Japanese shops that offer French or Japanese-style pastries and chocolates, but not necessary French or European shops?  Laduree, for example, has a tea shop in Tokyo, but it may not be something you're interested in.

There's a French-style Japanese pastry shop called Henri Charpentier that I quite like.  They have a tea shop in Ginza that you can try.

Morozoff and Goncharoff are two old-time chocolate (and cake) shops.  Morozoff doesn't have a shop in Tokyo, but Goncharoff does.  I'm not quite sure where it is, though.

Depachikas (the basement floor of department stores) are great places to browse for different Japanese chocolates and cakes.  Mary's is another famous chocolate shop that has branches in almost every depachika I've ever been in.  I don't particularly care for their chocolates, but they're well-regarded by others. 

There really are too many places to list, but starting with a department store depachika (like Isetan Dept. Store or Takashimaya) would be easiest. 

If you're interested at all in Japanese-style snacks, my favourite sweet snack is called "karinto".  It's basically fried dough (hard) that has been coated in a brown sugar syrup.  I've always wanted to visit Kagetsu http://www.karintou-kagetsu.com/tenpo/index.html which is supposed to have really great karinto.  I've been told it's in an area that's great for walking around, and it's near a relatively famous shrine (???), so it might be a good place just for browsing.

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....thanks for this...a mine of information!...

Ideally what I would like to see is the Japanese take on European pastrys/chocolates as going to Tokyo to visit Pierre Hermes shop seems a pretty pointless exercise for me as Paris is a lot nearer and I can see the original rather than the copy..

Over the years I have been to various world wide competitions/exhibitions and have always been tremendously impressed by the skill shown by the Japanese contestants making what is for them a 'foreign' product..so..ideally I would like to see shops where the owner/staff are Japanese but making a European style product.

[sanrensho]

Ideally what I would like to see is the Japanese take on European pastrys/chocolates as going to Tokyo to visit Pierre Hermes shop seems a pretty pointless exercise for me as Paris is a lot nearer and I can see the original rather than the copy..

You might find the CakeChef site to be a good resource for shops. Due to an emphasis on seasonality and local ingredients (reflecting the expectations of Japanese customers), I think you will find that almost all higher end pastry shops feature some unique take on European pastry. Obviously, some more than others.

Good luck with your search!

http://www.cakechef.info/

[NickLam]

Hi all,

I just returned from Tokyo having attended Salon du Chocolat there and thought for future reference for others visiting Tokyo, here are some cool sites I found.

Tokyo ChocolateT - Website listing chocolate shops with maps, not all are on here though

Tokyo Cake - Same as above...but for cakes

Allsweets Tokyo Area - Japanese only site, so just open the links in new tabs to view and choose.

A few places that I visited this time around were:

(1) Le Chocolat de H

(2) Mont St Clair

(3) Tadashi Yanagi

(4) A tes souhaits

(5) Toshi Yoroizuka

(6) Sadaharu Aoki

(7) Henri Le Roux (Isetan Shinjuku)

(8) Waraku Beniya

(9) Hidemi Sugino - Went there 3 times! (No website, search hidemi sugino in google maps Japan)

Gave this guy a miss coz of time, but will visit him next time round

(10) TakagiPatissier Takagi

In the name of shameless self promotion, you can read about some of my Japan experiences here atEat that Yellow Snow

The last time I was there in 2006, I went to

(1) Antenor (In Kobe though, but they are in department stores, nothing special)

(2) Toraya and Toraya Cafe

(3) Qu'il Fait Bon - Specialised in Tarts

(4) Oriol Balaguer - Search his name on g-maps japan, the station is SHIROKANEDAI on the Namboku line

(5) Pierre Marcolini

(6) Babbi - Hip designs, crap chocolates

(7) Pierre Herme

(8) Jean Paul Hevin - Isetan Shinjuku, Midtown Roppongi, etc...

(9) Theobroma Musee du Chocolat

(10) Decadence du Chocolat

(11) Meiji 100% Cafe - Cool designs, crap chocolates

(12) Richart - In Ginza

(13) Del Rey - Omotesando Hills, Hevin + R-Style + Toraya Cafe are there, LMDC across the road

(14) R style - Nice wagashi desserts, really great!

(15) Kyotofu - Tofu dessert cafe

And a few others I cannot remember.

There are lots to eat and see over in Tokyo, and time + stomach space + $ are the main problems!

Hope anyone going over there has a hell of a time!

[NickLam]

Some further tips for anyone visiting Tokyo.

Figure out how many days you want to stay in Tokyo and to get more bang for the buck, get the Metro pass for every day of your stay. Check it out. Tourist Pass Metro Only

Beware that you can only use the Metro line, but that will basically cover every area. If you have to hop over on the JR or any other lines to save time, just pay for it. I take a train at least 8 to 10 times a day whilst in Tokyo to cover as much ground as possible within as short a time as possible. Walking briskly in between stations for transfers will burn off what you ate to ready you for the next one.

When you get into Tokyo, your first destination should be either Kinokuniya at Takashimaya Times Square in Shinjuku (South Exit, huge station, make sure you get out at the correct exit) or Book 1st in Shibuya or Shinjuku.

I found this book on patisseries and chocolates in tokyo at Book 1st in Shibuya.

Browse the cooking section and look for the food magazines area. You will find magazines detailing shops in Tokyo with pictures and more importantly, maps.

The book in the amazon link above has maps.

If you get lost, just ask for the nearest police station, show them the map and off you go. Alternatively, download the maps beforehand into your mobile from google or if you have GPS, all the better!

Alright, have fun and enjoy!

Edited March 1, 2009 by NickLam (log)

[confiseur]

Thanks Nick, much appreciated, I think I will need to extend my stay to a bit more than 5 days!

[prasantrin]

The current issue of Kateigaho International (Spring 2009) has a great section on sweets in Japan, with listings of various shops, mostly in the Tokyo area. I think it's mostly a translation of an article which was published in the Japanese version of Kateigaho a year or so ago, but the photography is beautiful, and they've got quite a few shops listed that you could visit (the issue is at work, so I can't list them right now).

As part of the article, they have an interview with the pastry chef who was part of the team that placed second in the World Pastry Cup (or a similar competition), Norihiko Terai. He owns (or is part owner?) of Aigre-Douce in Tokyo, and is a member of Relais Dessert.

Relais Dessert also has three other members in Japan, in addition to are in the Tokyo area. (Sadaharu Aoki is a member, as well, but he's listed as a member in France.)

[NickLam]

Its Salon du Chocolat time again in Tokyo come end of January and I'll be headed there again. Besides the usual suspects, does anyone know any new exciting Dessert/Chocolate/Cake place having opened in Tokyo this past year?

Cheers!