The idea that a bakery could exist with limited selection of goods within Tokyo was at first a little lost on me. City real estate is typically outrageously expensive, and small bakeries are not generally known for generating a ton of money. Yet, in the quiet and somewhat secluded streets of Setagaya, a tiny little shop of Totoro-shaped baked goods has been operating since 2007.
Once you’ve made the journey out to the bakery, which is about a 15 minute train ride from Shinjuku station, and ordered your cream puff, it becomes much more obvious how this quaint bakery thrives on a remote side street in Tokyo. The treats are absolutely delicious, come in an array of eight different flavors, and are reasonably priced (which really just means you’ll want to order a lot more than one). The tiny candies that make up the eyes somehow seem to say “please eat me”, despite your initial reluctance to do any potential harm to something so adorable. The cuteness goes full circle – instead of cherishing the creature you just want to eat it right now.
The shop originally opened in Takanami on May 5, 2007 and moved to its current location in 2013. Despite its remote location almost devoid of foot traffic, it has seven full-time employees and enjoys a steady stream of tourist customers. They rely almost exclusively on the sale of their cream puffs, but also sell cookies in Totoro’s likeness and sell cakes with their creampuffs as the centerpiece. The remote location is likely intentional, as the environment the shop is in greatly adds to the experience. In sharp contrast to the busier parts of Tokyo, the shop is located in a cozy residential area, with enough surrounding trees around to almost make one feel as though they’ve left Tokyo and entered a forest (where one might find mini Totoro willing to have you devour their heads, apparently).
These cream puffs are part of an enormously expansive kawaii culture, and it exemplifies the massive success and intense fandom present around Studio Ghibli. When put in context of the sites around the world that have sprung up as tourist destinations for no reason other than their likeness to settings in Studio Ghibli features, it becomes clear how such a business manages to thrive in such a niche.
References:
PAFU Inc. “白髭（しろひげ）のシュークリーム工房.” Shiro-Hige.Com, 2019, http://www.shiro-hige.com/. Accessed 12 July 2019.
Yelp. “Shirohige’s Cream Puff Factory.” Yelp, Yelp, 28 May 2019, https://www.yelp.com/biz/白髭のシュークリーム工房-世田谷区-2
Culture in Japan 