Where to get an awesome birthday cake in Tokyo

This seems like a strange blog post but I asked this question myself when I had to buy one recently and was truly stumped.

In my neighbourhood, Akasaka, there are two options: confectionary chain Ginza Cozy Corner and Haagen Daz. The former has pretty good cakes but they only have three designs and unfortunately I have bought the chocolate one for different people’s birthdays, maybe even twice for the kangaroo, but he didn’t notice so that’s okay. I wanted to make a little more effort in not presenting the same birthday cake twice so hence why this serious hunt for a decent (different) one.

Though Haagen Daz is always a winner (who doesn’t like ice-cream cakes?), it costs almost 5,000JPY for a small 500g one that will maybe feed five people tops. Also, if you are in a screaming hurry, this is not a good choice because you need a minimum of two hours before 6pm for them to prepare your cake.

And to make one at the last minute was just out of the question. Some expat folks do that here which is pretty impressive in my book.

So what’s an expat girl to do?

I asked around and did some research on the Internet to get ideas. What surprised me was no one has written a comprehensive post on where to get affordable birthday cakes that are of a decent size (yes, food is often served in too-tiny portions here) in Tokyo so I decided to set up a quickie guide right here.

+ Atre. This ubiquitous shopping mall (can be found in Ebisu, Meguro, Yotsuya) apparently carries delicious, luscious cakes that are ready for pick up on the spot. But this can be said for most cake shops or department food stalls — they can write a birthday message on a piece of candy or marzipan that is added to the cake and it’s a lovely, albeit convenient, touch.

+ Tokyo Food Show in Shibuya’s Tokyu department store. Don’t be deceived by what you see on the ground floor — there are more culinary treasures to be had in the basement. The veritable field of savouries and sweets will make your head spin but this is where the birthday cakes are. What’s awesome is there is such a huge variety and price range.

+ Kyle’s Good Finds is an American-style bakery in Nakano where you can buy custom-made birthday cakes without costing an arm and a leg. They do character cakes for only 5,500JPY — great if you want to splash out for your kid or friend.

+ If you need a huge cake (3kg), The Flying Pig is the answer and they deliver to your doorstep too. The catch is you have to order it a week in advance.

+ Baskin Robbins does birthday cakes too and you can pick it up whenever you need it (includes personalizing). The great thing is this ice-cream chain is pretty much everywhere so it’s very convenient. Prices start from 3,000JPY and here is a list of shops in Tokyo (central locations: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Azabu Juban).

+ Notting Hill Cakes in Nishi-Azabu does fancy custom cupcakes and you can get them to write a birthday message on them, too.

+ Zip Zap in Harajuku carries cakes where you can write the birthday person’s name on them on the spot. If you can’t understand Japanese on their access map, just start walking from Lotteria (it should be on your left), go down the street and turn left into a side lane, then turn right, and right again.

+ Other suggestions: Food halls in Shinjuku’s Isetan and Takashimaya Times Square and Ginza’s department stores, like Mitsukoshi and Matsuya.

Photo credit: here

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