Are you someone who loves Japanese desserts? If so, you must have heard of the jiggly custard dessert known as purin. Purin, Japan’s version of the creme caramel dessert, is most famous for its sweet taste and silky texture. It has long been a popular afternoon snack for both children and adults. You can easily find them sold in any convenience store or supermarket.
Lovers of the dessert should know that in Ikebukuro, there is a cafe called Sunny Days that specializes in selling purin. Although it is only located a short 4-minute away from the station, this cafe is often missed by those visiting the area, since it is on one of the quieter side streets.
What's Special about Sunny Days?
Sunny Days prides itself on selling high-quality and additive-free homemade puddings which can either be eaten in store or taken home to enjoy. Each pudding is made in store with rich Hokkaido milk, cane sugar from the Amami Islands, and aged vanilla beans. An individual pudding here costs around ¥500 to ¥550, a little more expensive than your average pudding. Yet, this makes sense given the time, effort and skill put into making each one truly delicious.
On top of this, this cafe also makes special seasonal puddings, with the sakura-themed one being immensely popular.
The Cafe Space
The inside of the cafe has a relaxing and homely feel to it. Decorated in beautiful fresh flowers, it feels as though you have stepped into a secret garden of some sort. If you want to eat in the cafe, you will first need to place your order at the til. You will then be given a number that you will need to take up to your table.
The majority of seats in this cafe are located upstairs and are mainly designed for two people. This makes it a great date spot or somewhere to catch up with a friend. In this upstairs area, you will also notice a lot of artwork hanging on the wall. As you might have already guessed, Sunny Days collaborates a lot with local illustrators. You can even buy some of artwork displayed!
Taste Test
On this day, we ordered two different puddings and drinks, both of which were part of a limited edition menu. The first pudding we selected is inspired the work of Japanese illustrator @mujino_illust. This out of this world pudding is served with both Calpis jelly and lychee sauce. It is beautifully with blue whipped cream and colorful sweets which resemble stars. The drink is also lychee flavored and includes both jelly and whipped cream. Together, these cost ¥1,600.
The other pudding we picked was a peach tea one topped with cut peaches and black tea flavored whipped cream. This one also came with peach sauce on the side. There were actually two different peach drinks to choose from, with one being a peach milk tea and a peach soda. We opted for the latter.
Clearly, both puddings are gorgeous to look at and make for a perfect instagram picture. It is not often that you get to see a colorful pudding. When taking the first bite of our puddings, we instantly realised that these puddings were different to anything we have tried before. Not only were they sweet and soft but the fresh fruits and jelly nicely complemented the creaminess of the custard pudding.
On the menu there is a whole range of fun puddings and drinks to choose from including sodas and iced coffees. Note that it is all written in Japanese.
Our Review
We think Sunny Days Pudding Cafe is going to go viral one day on social media and become an immensely popular cafe. It has all the things people look for aesthetic food and gorgeous interiors. If you are looking for somewhere new to try in Ikebukuro, definitely check this place out!
Key Information
- Sunny Days Pudding Cafe
- 〒171-0014, 2 Chome-24-27 Ikebukuro, Toshima City, Tokyo
- 4 minute walk from Ikebukuro Station
- Tue - Sun: 11:00AM - 9:00PM / Mon: Closed
- Cash, Card and Electronic Payments
- @sunnydays_pudding
- official website
