Vanessa Visits

Japan has a way of turning food into a delightful spectacle, from rainbow colored desserts to themed cafes and character dining experiences. As someone who loves Sanrio, cute cafes, and all things kawaii, I was excited to eat some cute meals during my 18 day trip to Japan! Here are 5 of the cutest foods I ate while visiting last fall.

1. Hello Kitty apple pastry at Universal Studios Japan

Universal Studios Japan has a dedicated Hello Kitty area in the park. There is a Hello Kitty bow museum with an opportunity to “meet” Hello Kitty at the end of your visit, a teacup ride, a gift shop, and a food stall called “Hello Kitty’s Corner Cafe”. This is where I picked up this adorable apple pastry with a mascarpone topping. Decorated with a pink bow and pearlescent sprinkles, and placed in a cute pink box depicting Hello Kitty herself, this dessert was a visual delight, as well as very tasty! It was almost too cute to eat (key word: almost!), but we enjoyed sharing it as a mid-day snack before continuing our adventures at USJ.

The Hello Kitty area of the park is small but very charming and well themed. I saw lots of Hello Kitty fans in cute HK-themed dresses just hanging out, taking selfies, and snacking on the cute desserts on offer. I wish that Universal in Florida had this much Hello Kitty representation. And yes, I made my husband meet Hello Kitty and ride the teacups with me! Sometimes you just have to fully embrace your inner child.

2. Rainbow French toast at Pink Kawaii cafe

While exploring Osaka, we stopped into a cafe called Pink Kawaii. The bright colors and over the top presentation made it impossible to resist coming in. This place really committed to the bit, and the execution was on point. While there, we had some cute drinks and one of the most colorful desserts I’d ever seen. And thankfully, it wasn’t just pretty… it was really tasty, too!

The rainbow French toast we shared was impressively colorful, with saturated rainbow hues swirled into the bread. It also came with a scoop of ice cream served in a star shaped dish, and a cute little ceramic pitcher for maple syrup.

We also ordered a couple drinks to refresh and rehydrate in the middle of our long day in Osaka. I got pineapple juice, and Tim got some kind of blue soft drink. I can’t remember exactly what it was, but it came in a souvenir cup shaped like a duck that we got to keep as a memento to remember the cafe by. Pink Kawaii is definitely worth checking out if you are a kawaii lover visiting Osaka. The food is good and there are many opportunities to get some very instagrammable shots.

3. Duffy-themed lunch at Tokyo DisneySea

For those unfamiliar, Duffy is a widely beloved character in Japan. He is Mickey Mouse’s teddy bear, and he is so popular that entire shops are dedicated to him and his friends. He was created for Tokyo DisneySea, and he is undeniably the face of the park. It wasn’t uncommon to see park visitors carrying around Duffy stuffed animals or otherwise donning Duffy merchandise. I fell in love with some of these characters myself during my day spent at the park, and indulged in Duffy photo ops, purchasing multiple stuffed animals and keychains, and ordering this themed meal for lunch.

The meal was offered for Duffy’s 20th anniversary celebration, which happened to be going on while we visited. It consisted of Japanese curry with rice, pumpkin soup, and a small salad. I also ordered a fun boba drink with a scoop of kiwi.

As you can see, the rice in the curry dish resembles Duffy the bear! Between the adorable presentation and the fact that I had just fallen in love with this sweet little guy, this meal quickly became one of my favorite memories from visiting Tokyo DisneySea.

My love for this bear knows no bounds!

4. My meal at the Cinnamoroll Cafe

I go much more in-depth about this dining experience here, but despite having already written about it, the Cinnamoroll Cafe needed its own spot on this list.

This cafe was whimsical, adorable, immersive, and everything a Sanrio fan would hope it would be. My husband ordered Japanese curry, and I ordered omelette rice. As you can see from these pictures, the sheer cuteness factor alone makes this cafe worth a visit. There are locations in both Tokyo and Osaka, and I’m sure you cannot go wrong with either location. We went to the location in Tokyo. I truly can’t recommend this place enough.

Along with our main entrees, we got a dessert to share and a cheesecake flavored milk. The dessert, as seen above, featured a scoop of ice cream made to resemble Cinnamoroll’s friend, Chiffon. It also had whipped cream, fruits, and some Pocky for good measure.

If you are interested in visiting the Cinnamoroll Cafe on your upcoming trip to Japan, please refer to my post dedicated entirely to my experience here!

5. Rainbow cheese corn dog on Takeshita Street in Harajuku

On our final full day in Japan, we visited Harajuku. Harajuku is a neighborhood in Tokyo known for its over-the-top street fashions, often called J-fashion. It is also known for it’s many novelty food items, including this Korean style corn dog filled with rainbow colored cheese.

Taste wise, it was a pretty basic street food. It was fine. Visually, it was much more impressive than it was taste-wise. As soon as I pulled it apart, colorful strands of melted cheese stretched between my hands. I wish I had better photos!

Takeshita Street was far too crowded for my tastes, and in some ways our visit there was a bit disappointing, but at least I got to eat rainbow cheese.

Final Thoughts

Japan is famous for its incredible cuisine, but one of my favorite discoveries was how cute and fun the food can be too. The foods I listed above were just as much experiences as they were meals. Most of them made me smile as much as the theme parks, temples, and other attractions did. As a foodie traveler, I absolutely cannot wait to experience even more cute food on my next trip to Japan. I already have some places in mind!

Whether it’s a rainbow dessert or a curry resembling the world’s cutest teddy bear, Japan has a way of making themed dining experiences feel like you’re a little kid again. These meals may not have been the most authentic or sophisticated things I ate in Japan, but they captured another side of the country that I fell in love with over and over again: its willingness to embrace joy, fandom, and whimsy.

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