Totoro Creampuffs, Tokyo
The Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory is owned by the sister in law of Hayao Miyazaki. The cafe itself was decorated a lot with characters that was created by Mr. Miyazaki, the founder of the Studio Ghibli.
A very cute sign!
We took the Odakyu line from Shinjuku Station which was followed by a 5-10 minute walk. The walk to the cafe had a few inclined roads so it felt like a 15 minute walk for me (heheh...).
I didn't know that the name of the cafe was Tolo Coffee and Bakery. It was also only after my visit that I found out that they also sell some Western food such as pasta and salad!
Custard cream puffs
I wonder how many Totoro they create on a daily basis...
I was queuing downstairs and was informed that I should have gone upstairs if I wanted to order some Totoro cream puffs for dining in. The mini fondant on Totoro's head signified a different filling inside it.
We went upstairs through a narrow staircase and I asked the staff for an outdoor seating. We were shown to a cute little balcony that could seat 4 people.
The staff informed us that each cream puff order will need to be accompanied by a drink order. We found out later that this was a normal custom for some restaurants in Japan.
We took a lot of photos of our chocolate and strawberry Totoro cream puffs before digging in. Hubby removed their eyes right away because he wanted to enjoy it later on.
I cut my cream puff in half and found out that the flavour of the filling was just right. It wasn't too sweet and the flaky pastry wasn't too dry.
Ready to be eaten!
We didn't make any reservation when we went there early December but I know that some people were waiting to get indoor seating during the peak holiday season. It's definitely worth the trek to Setagaya to try the Totoro cream puff! I only wish that I can bring all flavours back to Perth!