StickyMangoRice

Harakjuku crepes are some of the most eye-catching sweet treats in Harajuku. You can’t miss them; Cream-filled, brightly-coloured, packed with strawberry and chocolate and slices of cake! This Japanese version of the French crepe are synonymous with Tokyo’s centre of youth culture – they’re sweet, over the top, and fun!

They’re served rolled up in a cone shape, with the toppings packed inside, and a spoon on top to help you eat it. The perfect snack as you wander around the hustle and bustle of the streets, and explore the craziness of Harajuku!

Who invented Harajuku Crepes?

Crepes came to Japan sometime in the 70’s, and they’ve been a staple in the youth culture and fashion centre of Harajuku ever since. Angel’s Heart crepes claims to be the first crepe shop in Harajuku, opening in 1977.

The basic crepe is based on a French crepe – a batter made up of flour, milk, egg, butter and sugar, and cooked on a flat hotplate. But, where French tradition meets the Japanese sweet tooth is the choices of toppings!

What flavours of Harajuku Crepes are there?

While there are many different varieties to choose from, the most popular usually have fruit, cream and ice cream rolled up into an easy to hold cone shape.

Fruit crepes include strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches and banana, served with a drizzle of chocolate or strawberry sauce, and plenty of cream. Mango, cinnamon apple, and red bean are also popular options. A blob of vanilla, strawberry, matcha or chocolate ice cream is an optional extra. Other sweet crepes are based on custard, cream cheese or Nutella (mmm), and are topped with crazy extras like entire slices of cake, nuts, caramel sauce, and tiramisu squares.

Not into sweets? Don’t worry!! There are savoury crepes too, and they actually sound more ‘normal’ than the epic sugarfests of the sweet crepes. Some common combos you can choose from are chicken with mayonnaise, teriyaki sauce or curry, tuna with cheese, tuna mayo or tuna curry, even prawn avocado mayo. There’s even turkey cheese and lettuce!

There are so many! What are the best Harajuku crepe shops?

Where once there was Angel’s Heart Crepes, there are now lots of options. Once you’re on Takeshita Dori, they are easy to spot fro their neon signs and boards of plastic examples.

Competition between creperies in Harajuku fierce, and to be honest you can’t really go wrong when choosing your crepe. I’ve tried a few different shops, and they all have pretty similar options available.

Keep an eye out for Marion crepes, which started off as a food truck, and is now a huge franchise that has over 80 stores across Japan (even in the USA!). Their store in Harajuku is their flagship store. There are plenty of others to choose from too, so don’t be shy check out Cafe crepe Harajuku, Santa Monica crepes, Sweet box, or Japan crepe.

Japanese Crepes – A Must-try local food!

They’re not the typical Japanese dessert that you would expect to find when you visit Tokyo. But if you have the chance to visit Harajuku, make sure that you try at least one of the famous Japanese Crepes, just to see what all the fuss is about!