The mainstay confections at Shirohige's Cream Puff Shop in Tokyo are renditions in pastry of a popular anime character from Studio Ghibli. (Giselle Pinard/For Stars and Stripes)
In a hidden corner of Tokyo’s Setagaya ward, a shop selling cream puffs inspired by Studio Ghibli’s 1988 film “My Neighbor Totoro” begs for discovery.
Shirohige’s Cream Puff Shop, a quaint bakery in a small residential neighborhood, sells several varieties of treats. The most popular are shaped like Totoro, a popular Studio Ghibli character that combines a cat and an owl as a forest spirit. Totoro watches over two young girls who move nearby while their mother suffers from a serious illness.
The bakery is in a converted home, now a café filled with Totoro and other Studio Ghibli memorabilia.
The decor at Shirohige’s Cream Puff Shop in Tokyo is full of whimsical characters. (Giselle Pinard/For Stars and Stripes)
Shirohige’s Cream Puff Shop in Tokyo is popular with fans of the anime film “My Neighbor Totoro.” (Giselle Pinard/For Stars and Stripes)
Customers can pick up an order of pre-made desserts at the first-floor service counter or climb upstairs to the cottage-inspired dining area and order desserts and drinks using the QR code at each table.
If you come with friends, keep in mind that the bakery and dining area are small; seating for 12 to 14 people is available.
Shirohige’s irresistible cream puffs come in four flavors based on a seasonally rotating menu.
Some flavors are available only during specific times, such as matcha cream from April to June and raspberry cream cheese from October to December. Others, like custard and chocolate, are available year-round.
Other flavors have their seasons. January through March is for caramel banana cream, January through June is strawberry cream and July through September is blueberry yogurt cream.
Totoro-shaped pastries and cold coffee drinks pair well together at Shirohige's Cream Puff Shop in Setagaya, Tokyo. (Giselle Pinard/For Stars and Stripes)
I ordered a latte and chocolate puff, and my friend a simple ginger ale and strawberry puff. The latte was palatable, but the espresso was not very strong, like most Japanese lattes.
The cream puffs are built from a simple choux pastry with an airy filling. We found the flavors light and not too sweet. The strawberry filling, made with local Japanese strawberries, was my favorite.
Come early in morning when the puffs are freshest, though there will likely be a longer line to enter. I may return to try new flavors.
The cream puffs get you in the store, but the other desserts will keep you there.
A box of four Totoro cookies in plain, raspberry, cocoa or coffee and hazelnut sells for 600 yen, or about $3.78. A box of nine, with all of the above flavors plus cinnamon, orange, purple sweet potato, kinako and matcha, will set you back 1,600 yen.
Don’t overlook the chestnut tart cake and strawberry shortcake, both available for pre-sale at 6,000 yen with an optional edible nameplate.
Shirohige's Cream Puff Shop in Tokyo is popular with fans of the anime film "My Neighbor Totoro." (Giselle Pinard/For Stars and Stripes)
Shirohige’s Cream Puff Shop
Location: 5−3−1, 1F, Setagaya, Tokyo 155-0033
Hours: Open 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily, except Tuesdays.
Prices: 500 yen per cream puff.
Dress: Casual
Directions: From the west exit of Setagaya-Daita Station, make two right turns and follow the walking path until it forks. Take the left fork past Tolo Coffee and Bakery through the residential area greenery.
Information: Online: shiro-hige.net
