If you love food, then Japan is THE destination for you! Think flavoursome ramen, fresh seafood and hearty curries, but beyond the delicious tastes, Japan has some very ‘Insta-worthy’ food. If you want to bring some #foodporn into your feeds, check out some of Japan’s most Instagrammable food below!

3D Latte Art

Where: Reissue Coffee 3D Lattes, Harajuku, Tokyo Thoughts: It’s definitely cute and Insta-worthy, but at the end of the day, it tastes like any regular coffee/hot chocolate. The latte art costs extra on top of the coffee itself, so it’s not cheap!

Matcha Ice-cream

Where: All over Japan Thoughts: So it turns out, we are not fans of matcha (there, we said it). But despite our distaste for this green tea treat, it’s very instagrammable and if you do like the flavour, this ice-cream can be quite refreshing.

Taiyaki

Where: all over Japan Thoughts: I find it amusing that a ‘fish’ was the chosen shape for a sweet snack, but their popularity speaks for themselves. These pancake-like pastries filled with sweet red bean paste, or white sweet potato, which “all the women love” (according to the menu).

Colourful Rainbow Pasta & Extreme Colourful Poison Parfait

Where: Monster Café – Harajuku, Tokyo Thoughts: Rainbow pasta, served on an artist’s palette, what could be more Insta-worthy? To top it off, each blob of ‘paint’ is actually a different flavoured sauce, including blue cheese, cheddar, pesto, cream and tomato. This dish (and cafe) really brings out the inner child, and lets it run rampant.

There’s a reason why this parfait is nicknamed the Extreme, with decadent layers of cream, ice-cream, berry sauce, waffle cones, cake, chocolate, and the most exciting part of all…. individually flavoured coloured cream frosting. Not only is this rainbow dessert an Insta-worthy dessert, the sheer delight and surprise at tasting each colour and guessing the flavour brings out the big kid in anyone.

Takoyaki

Where: These are popular in the Osaka region, but you can find them throughout Japan. Thoughts: I’m not a fan of the rubberiness of octopus in general, so it wasn’t my thing. But, if you do like octopus, these guys are a popular bite-sized streetfood snack.

Animal Donuts

Where: Florista Donuts Thoughts: These donuts are almost too cute to eat… Almost… Unlike donuts we are used to back home, these are quite dense, but equally as delicious. You can get cats, pigs and dogs, and the ears are little pieces of almond!

Wagashi

Where: Tea Houses and specialty dessert places such as Toraya Cafe. Thoughts: Wagashi is a traditional Japanese sweet, made from sweet bean paste. There are many types of wagashi, but my favourites are the ones that are similar to marzipan and are beautifully constructed to look like works of art. A popular tradition is to create and decorate the wagashi to reflect the Japanese seasons. These are typically served in Japanese tea houses, along with carefully prepared tea.

Zaku Zaku’s Croquant Chou

Where: Zaku Zaku have three stores in Tokyo: Harajuku, Kamata and Tobo Ikebukuro Thoughts: It’s essentially a long, crunchy cream puff, and it’s delicious. These are so popular that there are often long lines of customers queuing outside the door, but the staff are pretty fast, so the wait to get your hands on one of these delicious pastries isn’t long (but eating them is even faster!).

Mr Donut

Where: These stores are found all over Asia, but have really flourished in Japan, being one of the favourite fast-food chains in the country. Thoughts: If you like donuts, you’ll like these. They are light and fluffy, and the perfect on-the go treat. But their biggest selling factor that makes them instagrammable, is the cute ‘bubble-shape’. Hold these up against a neon Japanese street, and you’ve got yourself an Instagram #foodporn pic!

Anything ‘Hello Kitty’

Where: Everywhere in Japan

Thoughts: Hello Kitty is a national icon, and you can find all kinds of foods and drinks dedicated to the popular character. The food may not taste any better than others, but there’s no doubt it’s cute, memorable and Instagrammable!

Anything from Janice Wong’s Dessert Bar

Where: Janice Wong Dessert Bar, Shinjuku Station, Tokyo

Thoughts: Janice Wong is a famous pastry chef from Singapore who creates pieces of edible art, so when we came across her restaurant dedicated to desserts, we had to visit! You can purchase individual desserts, or treat yourself to a dessert degustation (but be warned – not for those on a budget!). The menu changes with the season, but you can be guaranteed that whatever you order will be immaculately presented and perfect for Instagram! Some dishes were maybe a little too experimental for our taste (asparagus in a dessert didn’t quite work for us), but everything looked beautiful and the experience was memorable!

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