13 utterly adorable desserts and drinks in Tokyo

Tokyo Banana has released a special collaboration with everyone’s favourite blue cat-robot to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Tokyo Banana and Doraemon's 50th anniversary. There’s a total of six Doraemon designs on those same fluffy sponge cakes filled with a rich banana custard cream. There is one small but significant difference, though: this version of Tokyo Banana is gluten-free. It's made with rice flour, giving those with wheat intolerance a chance to try out this iconic treat. ¥291 for a pack of two cakes

This adorable cake from Ginza Cozy Corner based on Winnie the Pooh features the bear's favourite ingredient: honey. It’s a fluffy sponge cake filled with rich cream laced with chocolate chips and caramel crunch. A yellow honey-flavoured icing covers the entire cake, which adds a gentle, fragrant touch. The cake is 15cm in diameter and will easily feed five to six people. ¥3,024

Baumkuchen, the German layer cake, is extremely popular in Japan, where you’ll find it in its traditional ring-shaped form, as log-shaped wedges and even in bite-size pieces. The ones at Katanukiya stand out from the crowd, though – they’re shaped into adorable little animals and characters. 

Each cake has multiple layers of buttery milk-flavoured cake with a thin layer of icing on the top. The original version is in the shape of a simple black-and-white panda, but the Tokyo Solamachi store has an exclusive version of the panda cake with a yellow star on it. From ¥540

This popular bakery is known for turning out cute cat-shaped loaves of shokupan milk bread that even come in unique, seasonal flavours. The kawaii loaves are made from a mixture of domestic wheat flour, cream, honey, and plenty of fresh milk, which makes this bread so moist and fluffy. While stocks last, you can even customise your bread when you purchase the shokupan along with a pouch filled with edible chocolate pens to draw adorable faces on your toast. Luxury Maneki Neko set ¥1,540

Styled on Totoro – the beloved character from the Studio Ghibli movie ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ – these charming choux cream pastries are come in seasonal flavours, which range from strawberry to peach and chocolate. It’s almost painful cutting into these cuties as they really do look too good to eat. From ¥420

As long as there’s steamed milk, latte art master Kohei Matsuno can transform any ordinary coffee into a tiny work of art. So show him a photo of your favourite character or animal and he’ll recreate it on the drink’s surface either as a flat or 3D rendition right in front of your eyes. Otherwise, just opt for the basic latte art and leave it to Matsuno’s imagination. Either way, you won’t be disappointed. From ¥650

If you're looking kawaii in Tokyo, head on over to Harajuku's Eiwelt Gelato for the most adorable animal-shaped ice cream in the city. Pick from a tasty zoo of bunnies, pigs or bears where this Los Angeles-born gelateria crafts all of their cuties right in front of your eyes. Quality is not overlooked here as gelato flavours are all homemade using original recipes. You can even look forward to Japan-limited ice cream flavours and characters. From ¥580

Taking the sweetest thing both figuratively and literally, Floresta’s kawaii doughnuts come in a variety of colours and characters. These ‘guilt-free’ treats are made from organic, domestically produced ingredients. Be warned, you'll need to get there early to baga box - these fly off the shelves pretty quickly. From ¥389

It’s fair to say that the people behind Sunday Brunch in Kichijoji like Shaun The Sheep. You’ll find an entire menu based on this beloved television character here, the highlight of which is possibly the cutest cake ewe will ever see. Covered with numerous sugary sheep staring up at you, its flavour changes with the seasons, but it never looks anything less than amazing. ¥1,486 per slice

Minatoya in Monzen-Nakacho has been serving delicious senbei rice crackers for 70 years, with flavours ranging from classics like salt and soy sauce to more experimental options like sweet salty sesame and miso clam. The shop is most popular for its novelty senbei that come in different shapes and sizes. You can find rice crackers decorated into animals like cats, dogs, birds and even tigers, as well as holiday-themed ones for Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day, New Year and much more. From ¥200