The 10 Best Dessert Shops You Must Eat in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Ikebukuro is a 5-minute-ride on a train on the Yamate-line from the Shinjuku station. There are sightseeing spots such as the aquarium and the planetarium in this town. As it is a bustling area the shops where you can have the delicious gourmets are standing close to each other. Among them, there are the shops where you can taste the gorgeous sweets. I’m introducing the 10 recommended sweets’ shops which you shouldn’t miss in Ikebukuro.

1. The superb sweets in Ikebukuro! The café run by the famous skin-care brand [L’Occitance Café]

Surely there is no female who doesn’t know the famous skin-care brand, [L’Occitance Café]. I guess that quite a few women received their products on their birthdays. Did you know that this brand has a café?

Downstairs there is a shop for the L’Occitancce goods, so you can strike 2 birds with one stone, you can taste the sweet just by the way of your shopping. The most recommended sweet is Brulee L’Occitance (￥820) with the vanilla ice-cream (￥210) as an option. If you would like to go to the fashionable café in Ikebukuro, this is it.

2. Spend a quiet time sometime, having the Japanese-styled sweet Directly connected to the Ikebukuro station [Kyo・Sabo TSURU]

The [Kyo・Sabo TSURU] is 109-meters away from the Ikebukuro station on every JR line. This is just the right café for people who want to relax over a Japanese-styled sweet. Every one on the menu is tasty, but the most recommended one is on the summer regular menu, Ujishigure (￥1,080) . If you don’t want the one with the vanilla ice-cream, you can have Ujikintoki (￥1,026).

They also have the tokoroten (gelidium jelly), kuzukiri (cold kuzu noodles) which are most suitable during summer and the cream-anmitsu (mixture of boiled beans, agar-cubes fruit-pieces and syrup topped with bean jam). For the people who want to enjoy the authentic Japanese-styled sweet, they offer the maccha (powdered green tea) and the seasonal unbaked sweets. It is in the Seibu-store, so it is directly connected to the station. You can drop in at this café using a short space of time.

3. Relax to your heart’s content, tasting the superb sweets at the hideout café! [ZOZOI]

The [ZOZOI] is a hideout café in Ikebukuro which is a 2-minute-walk from the Ikebukuro station on the Fukutoshin line. In the open-feeling fresh atmosphere, the cakes which only this shop can offer are all home-made. The okara-tart with strawberries and chestnuts, the cheese cake with the sake chaff and rice seems to be healthy.

They also have the caramel-banana tart with vanilla ice-cream and apple strudel with vanilla ice-cream which are very popular with females. The selection on the menu is outstanding! It is just the right place to take a rest at the weekend, isn’t it?

4. The meal as well as the sweets is first-class! You can experience the resort feeling in Ikebukuro! [Big Island café]

You can experience the Hawaiian beach resort feeling without thinking you are staying in Japan at this [Big Island Café]. Out of many sweet items, the waffle is substantial with plenty of whipped-cream on the top! The full-sized waffle is ￥1,200 and the half sized one is ￥820.

The variety on the menu has the Hawaiian berry using strawberry, blueberry, chocolate and the Big Island flavour using papaya, taro-ice-cream and coconut syrup. You can enjoy a special combination of sweets which you can’t taste in other shops.

5. Being comforted by the fluffy chiffon cake [La Famille]

The [La Famille] is a leading chiffon cake specialist not only in Ikebukuro but also in the Kanto area. It is a 5-minute-walk from the Ikebukuro station on every JR line. There are some table-seats in the shop, so both eating-in and takeing-away is available. They have various chiffon cakes, such as the plain one, cheese one, coffee one and vegetable one with a colourful finish.

At an event season like Christmas, they sell the limited seasonal menu. The texture is fluffy, but it is quite filling. Your stomach will be full! Please pop in when you visit Ikebukuro!

6. The beautifully arranged sweet will satisfy you just by looking at it!The [Café Comme Ca] is directly connected to the Ikebukuro station

The [Café Comme Ca] is one of the chain restaurants of Comme Ca which is the poplar fashion brand. It is standing at the best place which is connected to the Ikebukuro station on every JR line. As you’d expect of a fashion brand chain restaurant, they are particular about the looks of the cakes in an uncompromising manner. Which cake can you take, it is an art form. They are all beautifully made articles! There is no wonder that you want to show them off to your friends and family, taking photos of them.

The restaurant is always full, so I warn you to be ready to wait for a while. It would be a good idea to pop in at this restaurant to taste the delicious sweets when you use the Ikebukuro station.

7. If you like fresh fruits, this is the shop! The super popular sweets in Ikebukuro [Kyobashi Senbikiya]

You can have the sweets, using plenty of fresh fruits at the [Kyobashi Senbikiya] which is a short walking distance from the Ikebukuro station on the Tobu-tojo line. As they use the top-class fruits, the mask-melon parfait, for example is ￥1,350 and the fruit yoghurt is ￥1,404. The prices are too high for regular visits, but it is just perfect for the occasional luxury!

The baked whole apple with the vanilla ice-cream (￥1,404) will come in the whole apple shape. It is a very luxurious item. Why don’t you have a luxurious sweet in Ikebukuro?

8. You can experience the girlish feeling as if you were in the story [Designer’s Café STORIA]

The [Designer’s Café STORIA] was opened in 2016 in Ikebukuro and is a short walking distance from the Ikebukuro station on every JR line. The inside of the shop has a bright and warm atmosphere. It is very cosy.

The monumental aspect of this shop is the presentation of each dish. The Berry, Berry, Berry (￥1,150) and the Apple & Cinnamon (￥850) look lovely with their instagrammable appearances. You can feel as if you could have strayed into a story. Please visit this brand-new café in Ikebukuro.

9. It will comfort your tired body from the sightseeing. The famous shop [Yukinoshita] in Ikebukuro

The sweet shop, [Yukinoshita] which is famous for its pan-cake as well as the shaved ice, is a 2-meter-walk from the Ikebukuro station on every JR line. They are proud of offering the fresh taste all the time, as they have been using the ingredients from the carefully selected farm.

They have variety of choices from the simple one like pan-cake with fermented butter and orange-honey (￥760) to the Japanese-styled one with the green Japanese fresh cream from the Shizuoka tea and the smashed sweet red beans (￥864) and also the unique one, the full ripen apricot shaved ice (￥864). It is the best place to cool down in the coming hot season. It is the recommended shop where you can enjoy the cold sweets in Ikebukuro.

10. Enjoy a matured person’s time on the open-feeling terrace [Gelato Pique Café Creperie]

Talking about crepes, many people may be reminded of the eating around in Harajuku. But this crepe at the [Gelato Pique Café Creperie] has a little different taste. You can enjoy the French-styled eating-in crepes to the full.

Choosing from the dough, such as the cacao-crepe (￥520), maccha-crepe (￥520) is characteristic. And by adding the topping, you can customize your favourite crepe. For females who have a sweet tooth, this is the best gourmet spot, isn’t it?! Please pop in.

Let’s eat the superb sweets in Ikebukuro!

How did you find this article? I’ve introduced the 10 selected sweets’ shops which you shouldn’t miss in Ikebukuro. Have you found any sweet which you want to try? In Ikebukuro which has many large shopping facilities, there are various shops and among them those sweets’ shops. When you go all the way to Ikebukuro on holiday or on an outing, please look for the shop which offers the delicious sweets, strolling around.