TRENDY TREATS TRAIL (Koenji)

“So Many Sweets, So Little Time” in Koenji!
[updated March 2023]

In the current pandemic situation, nobody expected to have more time staying home with family. At this time, if you are near Koenji it is the perfect opportunity to stock up on cute and tasty sweets in the area. Famous as a town for its used-clothing stores and subculture, Koenji has a bunch of adorable cafes and restaurants. This guide may help you when you are looking for treats and souvenirs, and these shops should be on your go-to list when you finally have a chance to visit Tokyo after travelling is safe again.

Honey Bee Crepe

Crepes That Can Compete with Harajuku! (Shop Closed: for reference only)

Honey Bee Crepe can be found at the northern side of Koenji, and it is worth the walk down the Koshin Dori shopping street.
The sweet and toasty scent coming from this crepe stand all but commands you to stop and eat one! The crepes have two different textures: the upper side is crispy and the bottom is chewy. So when you first sink your teeth in, the texture is like mille-feuille, but later it is much softer. The shop is also selective about the crème because it's an essential ingredient for good crepes. There are flavours offered year-round as well as seasonal limited flavours, and there are many toppings available like sauce, cinnamon, butter and cream. You'll want to try new combinations here again and again!

Price:

from ¥380 (seasonal special flavours may vary)
Address:
3 Chome-35-24 Koenjikita, Suginami, Tokyo
Distance from Station:
6 minutes on foot from JR Koenji Station, North Exit
Open:
CLOSED
  • no-smoking
  • no-credit-card
  • family-friendly
  • take-out

Floresta Nature Donuts Koenji

Cute Donuts with Natural Ingredients

Can you bring yourself to eat these cute doughnuts? These cute animal doughnuts are so popular at Floresta's Koenji branch that people are always lining up. You'll find colorful cats, frogs, rabbits, bears, and other forest critters. The product line-up may differ from time to time, and the assortment varies per season, like at Christmas. This time we could get a limited chick and pink frog for Valentine's Day. Don't worry, if you feel too sorry to eat the cute ones, Floresta also has "standard" donuts like plain, natural, sugar, cinnamon, and chocolate. Best of all you don't have to feel guilty about eating Floresta's Nature Donuts (besides the cute animals, maybe) because all products are made in-shop using organic ingredients and cut out all the rubbish as much as possible. 

Price:

animal doughnuts from ¥240, regular doughnuts from ¥130
Address:
3 Chome-34-14 Koenjikita, Suginami, Tokyo
Distance from Station:
6 minutes on foot from JR Koenji Station, North Exit
Phone:
03-5356-5656 (Japanese only)
Open:
11:00am - 7:00pm (usually 9:00pm), closes irregularly
Website:
https://www.nature-doughnuts.jp/shop/018_koenji.htm (external link)
Communication:
Staff speak Japanese only
  • no-smoking
  • family-friendly
  • take-out

All C's Cafe Cake

A Jewellery Box of Cute!!

The scenery here along with cute teddy bears and gingerbread houses will take you back to your childhood. The C's stand for so much like cake, cookies, cute, chocolate, coffee, so it is a good spot to get lovely icing cookies and cute food plates. Especially you must order cake here. Each season has a specialty cake; in Halloween season the cute cake with pumpkin topping is available, and a cute strawberry cake with pink cream for St. Valentine's Day. If you feel cute is lacking in your life, you must drop in All C's to supply you with a kawaii feeling.

Address:
3 Chome-25-24 Koenjikita, Suginami, Tokyo (Miyake Building 2F)
Distance from Station:
4 minutes on foot from JR Koenji Station, North Exit
Phone:
03-5356-9914 (Japanese only)
Open:
12:00pm - 9:00pm, Closed during New Year's holidays
Website:
http://www.allcscafe.com/ (external link)
Communication:
Staff speak Japanese only
  • no-smoking
  • no-credit-card
  • family-friendly

Shin Castella

Taiwanese Sponge Cake is Golden (Shop Closed: for reference only)

"Castella" is the Japanese version of a sponge cake that was introduced to Nagasaki in the 16th century via the Portuguese. However, Shin Castella in Koenji is "New Castella", Taiwan's take on the Japanese take!

This castella is extra-fluffy and a great treat when you are feeling tired, as it will pick you right up! Opened in 2017, here they specialize in castella take-out where customers can buy it freshly made with maximum fluffiness. The fluffy texture is moist and slightly sweet, and there is a monthly flavor as well. The box has a cute illustration, perfect to take home but if you can't visit Koenji you can also get these castella online. This Taiwanese castella is a very common food sold at food stalls in Taiwan, but should become more common in Japan!

Price:

cup castella ¥400, plain ¥780, with cream ¥980
Address:
3 Chome-21-5 Koenjikita, Suginami, Tokyo
Distance from Station:
4 minutes on foot from JR Koenji Station, North Exit
Open:
CLOSED
  • no-smoking
  • take-out

Jules Verne's Fruit Sandwiches

Fruity Creamy Goodness Between Bread

Fruit sandwiches are a very Japanese concept, so if you are coming from the West you may be surprised to see them. Fruit sandwiches from Jules Verne Coffee consist of the fresh fruit (literally fresh!) and refreshing cream that are well-matched! These fruit sandwiches are popular with their colourful cut sideview, and usually they sell out in the blink of an eye.
During our visit, we got a 3 sandwich box including strawberry + orange, strawberry + muscat grapes, and strawberry + kiwi fruit + banana + orange. The fresh fruits, especially the moderate acidity of oranges and strawberries are an attractive match. The ingredients vary per each season, so you may want to go each season!

While just only 8 minutes on foot from the lively JR Koenji Station, the cafe has calm ambience, so spending time here in lovely weather with these fruit sandwiches and coffee is ideal when you want to take a break. If that weren't enough, you can also buy coffee beans and a crepes here. *Please note takeout is no longer available after the State of Emergency ended March 21, 2021.

Price:

fruit sandwich box ¥1200
Address:
4 Chome-2-24, Koenjikita, Suginami, Tokyo (A106 at Koenji Apartment)
Distance from Station:
8 minutes on foot from JR Koenji Station
Phone:
03-5356-9810 (Japanese only)
Open:
12:00pm - 4:00pm (usually 9:00pm), closed on Monday and Tuesday
Website:
http://r.goope.jp/camino-coffee (external link)
Communication:
Staff speak Japanese only
  • no-smoking

Tiger Hill Bubble Tea

Rich Syrup and Chewy Delight (Shop Closed: for reference only)

Tiger Hill is a tapioca bubble tea shop in front of Koenji Station. While there are many of these shops in Koenji right, this one is right in front of the station, so it's easy to drop by. The tapioca is boiled in the shop, so it has a chewier texture than other shops. After getting it, you'll want to give it a good shake to mix the drink with the syrup. The brown sugar flavour and is very sweet and satisfying to drink.

Address:
4 Chome-45-2, Koenjiminami, Suginami, Tokyo
Distance from Station:
1 minute on foot from JR Koenji Station
Open:
CLOSED
  • no-smoking
  • take-out

Shugoro Cat Wafers

These Yume-Neko Are a Dream!

On Koenji Look Street, not only are there a plethora of used clothing shops, but also many sweets shops. Shugoro is a Japanese wafers shop. Opened in 1990, the sleeping cat-shaped wafers have been popular. Called "Yume-neko", which means "dreaming cat" these are another example of "too cute to eat", which could be the theme of this guide! There are mainly five flavours/colours: vanilla (white), soy sauce/cream (blue), cinnamon (purple), raspberry (pink), and chocolate (black). These all have a delicious nutty filling. They also have a red and white combination that is popular as a gift from newly married couples to their guests. They may look too cute to eat, but once you get passed that you can enjoy very unique flavours and textures only available in Shugoro's Yume-neko!

Price:

1 yume-neko gift ¥320, 5 flavor set box ¥1,700
Address:
2 Chome-21-11 Koenjiminami, Suginami, Tokyo
Distance from Station:
7 minutes on foot from JR Koenji Station (South), 6 minutes from Tokyo Metro Shin-Koenji Station
Phone:
03-3314-9927 (Japanese only)
Open:
11:00am - 4:00pm (usually 8:00pm), closed on Monday and Tuesday
Website:
http://shugorou.com/ (external link)
Communication:
Staff speak Japanese only
  • no-smoking
  • take-out

Steka and Mjol Icing Cookies

Iced Cookies to Celebrate Your Everyday

You can find this fairy tale cookie shop continuing to walk down Look shopping street. There are tons of cookies, scones and cinnamon rolls. The icing cookies are ideal souvenirs and treats. Not only do they have a colourful and cute appearance, but they taste amazing. The cookies are coloured by natural food colouring for the owner pâtissier particular about using safe ingredients. You can also order original cookies, perfect gift for a special occasion. Some couples order original cookies for gifts on their wedding day. We got ourselves some really fun Valentine's cookies, which make the perfect gift for that someone special.
These eye candy cookies and a cup of tea is the best combination to spend any afternoon.

Price:

cookies from ¥380
Address:
2 Chome-20-13, Koenjiminami, Suginami, Tokyo
Distance from Station:
10 minutes on foot from JR Koenji Station (south), 3 minutes from Tokyo Metro Shin-Koenji Station
Phone:
03-6454-6718 (Japanese only)
Open:
12:00pm - 6:00pm, closed on Wednesday
Website:
https://www.instagram.com/stekamjol/?hl=en (external link)
Communication:
Staff speak Japanese only
  • no-smoking
  • take-out

Coffee Cone Tokyo

Coffee/Tea? Ice Cream? How About Both?!

This tiny coffee shop serves you amazing coffee or matcha that comes in an organic chocolate coated waffle cone. The best part is you can fill it with soft serve ice cream after drinking!
This experience is only available at Coffe Cone Tokyo. The chocolate coated cone makes it possible for even hot beverages not to leak from the cone, believe it or not. The cute latte art is stunning as well, and owner Onishi-san continues to up his game on the art. There are two variations of soft serve which you can choose to chase your beverage accordingly.

On this occasion, we ordered the coffee in the cone but a regular cup of coffee is also available, as well as snacks that are even a good size for lunch. If you are walking Look Street for clothes shopping or even other sweets options, this is an ideal spot for a break or getting take-out coffee or lattes.

Price:

from ¥350 (coffee), from ¥450 (coffee in a cone)
Address:
3 Chome-20-15 Koenjiminami, Suginami, Tokyo
Distance from Station:
6 minutes from Tokyo Metro Shin-Koenji Station, 10 minutes from JR Koenji Station (South Exit)
Phone:
050-1137-5662
Open:
12:00pm - 7:00pm, Closes Irregularly
Website:
http://coffeecone.jp/ (external link)
Communication:
Owner can speak English
  • no-smoking
  • no-credit-card
  • take-out