I’ve heard about a cafe that serves Totoro Cream Puffs for years, and it popped up on my instagram feed many times, but I just simply never had the chance to visit it due to.. reasons.
Sigh, I’m a such crappy Totoro fan
So, I finally had the chance to visit it last weekend.
Shiro-Hige Cream Puff Factory, Located in Setagaya ward, it’s only 5 minutes walk from Setagaya-daita Station on the Odakyu Odawara Line (which is 11 minutes away from Shinjuku Station).
Many claim that the shop is pretty hard to find. I had no difficulties locating the shop; I just simply followed my GPS, walked on some green shaded path and BOOM, found it.
While the cafe is pretty to locate, the adorable signboard is pretty hard to miss
The area surrounding the cafe is pretty chill.
Since they only make a limited amount of cream puffs per day, me and friends went there at 11am. Rumours has it that they usually run out of puffs before 2pm (no idea, don’t quote me on this).
Also, I shall not mention that my friends were fashionably late, due to getting lost here and there. Oh wait, I mentioned it.
Totoros everywhere
Officially recognised by Studio Ghibli itself, the cafe is filled with Ghibli thingamajigs.
Being a dumb gaijin, I had no idea what I’m supposed to do when I entered. Apparently you’re supposed to just go straight upstairs if you wanna dine in.
The cafe space upstairs is pretty small (and cozy). And very Ghibli-ish. Reservations are highly recommended. I was lucky that it was empty when I arrived (then it went full house in 10 minutes). You can only stay there for 2 hours, so scrap your group study plans, this ain’t Starbucks.
The puffs, in 4 different flavours.
Naturally, gotta snap photos of it and tell the internet about it.
The inevitable fate of all the cream puff. How you have the heart to munch on these delicious Totoros filled with glorious cream, is beyond me.
Naturally, they served other food too, not just cream puffs. This was the result of me pointing at a random item on their morning menu. It taste as good as it looks.
The cream puff comes in various flavours, depending on the season. I tried Strawberry and Cream Custard. I had a hard time eating the cute puffs, how do I even eat this adorable creatures? YOU CRUEL, CRUEL PEOPLE. I started from the back, because ya know, it might be less painful for them if I start on their spine. I’m not making sense, I know.
My friend removed the eye and nose before eating them, so they look more like a cream puff than cute creatures. Tch, why didn’t I think of that?
How was the puffs?
Umm, honestly, there’s nothing special about the taste. While filling is fantastic, the crust is… “okay”. Beard Papa’s cream puffs are definitely far more superior than these. I wanna believe that I was unlucky as many others mentioned that the crust is supposed to be “crispy”. A friend told me that I might spent too much time taking photos, instead of eating them.
Update: I went there for the second time, and I was right, I was unlucky on my first time. The crust is fantastic.
BUT, that’s the point isn’t it? THEY’RE TOTORO PUFFS. They’re look fantastic. You can instagram them and make your friends hate you.
Will I go all the way there again for the Cream Puffs? Maybe. It’s a nice place to chill. Definitely I’ll go again if I have the chance to drag someone with me.
Information about the shop if you’re interested to know more. Please check out this page too.
Shop Information
Business Hours
10:30 to 19:00 (I’d recommend going there early, with reservation)
Closes every Tuesdays (Wednesday, if public holiday falls on the week’s Tuesday).
Address
5-3-1 Daita
Setagaya, Tokyo 155-0033
Japan
Telephone
03-5787-6221
Official Site
Official site: http://www.shiro-hige.com/