Cream Puff Factory delivers a fairy

Mar 17, 2023

A hot seller at Shiro-Hige's Cream Puff Factory is the Totoro-shaped cream puffs. The shop sells a variety of these sweet treats year-round, filled with everything from vanilla custard to chocolate cream. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Fans of "My Neighbor Totoro" can buy cream puffs, cookies and cakes in the shape of Totoro, the magical forest spirit and the animated film's titular character, at a bakery in Tokyo's Setagaya district.

You’ll find Shiro-Hige's Cream Puff Factory in a narrow alleyway of a residential area not far from the hip Shimokitazawa neighborhood. It's on the first floor of a quaint brick building shared with Tolo Coffee & Bakery, which is on the second floor.

Fans of "My Neighbor Totoro" can buy cream puffs, cookies and cakes in the shape of Totoro, the magical forest spirit and the animated film's titular character, at Shiro-Hige's Cream Puff Factory in Tokyo. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

A toy Totoro greets guests as they enter the Cream Puff Factory filled with other toys and decorations from the popular Studio Ghibli film, including a clock in the shape of the grinning 12-legged Catbus.

A hot seller is the Totoro-shaped cream puffs for 520 yen, or about $3.92. The shop sells a variety of these sweet treats year-round, filled with everything from vanilla custard to chocolate cream.

The bakery also offers seasonal flavors — caramel banana cream, sold from January to March; strawberry cream, sold from January to June; matcha cream, sold from April to June; peach and mango, sold from July to September; and marron, sold from October to December. These cost 560 yen.

I chose the caramel banana flavor, though I didn't want to eat it at first because it looked too cute. The outside of the cream puff was perfectly flaky in contrast to the smooth — but not overpowering — banana creaminess of the center.

A hot seller at Shiro-Hige's Cream Puff Factory is the Totoro-shaped cream puffs. The shop sells a variety of these sweet treats year-round, filled with everything from vanilla custard to chocolate cream. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Customers can also reserve 6-inch diameter cakes that come in marron tart or strawberry shortcake flavors for 4,650 yen. There are also special occasion cakes for birthdays or celebrations with ingredients selected by season. These come with a customizable edible nameplate.

The Cream Puff Factory also sells Totoro's Cookie Box, which contains a raspberry, plain, coffee and hazelnut and a cocoa cookie for 550 yen. A nine-piece set comes with a raspberry, plain, coffee and hazelnut, cocoa, cinnamon, orange, purple sweet potato, soybean flour and matcha cookie for 1,500 yen. There's also large set with 24 cookies for 3,300 yen.

Be warned that this is a popular spot. I arrived when it opened at 10:30 a.m., and there was already a line of eight people in front of me.

The Cream Puff Factory, which has another location in Kichijoji, is a must-visit for Totoro lovers.

Fans of "My Neighbor Totoro" can buy cream puffs, cookies and cakes in the shape of Totoro, the magical forest spirit and the animated film's titular character, at Shiro-Hige's Cream Puff Factory in Tokyo. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Shiro-Hige's Cream Puff Factory

Location: 5-3-1 Daita, 1st Floor, Setagaya, Tokyo 155-0033

Directions: A short walk from Setagaya-Daita Station.

Hours: Open 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Tuesday and national holidays.

Price: Most items cost between 520 yen to 560 yen.

Information: Online: shiro-hige.net