lemiOpposites attract in Japan—ancient traditions fuse with advanced technology while minimalism meets kitsch
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Osaka, Takatsuki
Osaka is just as much a home to cherry blossom soda and green tea desserts as it is to savory delights like Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. These sweets are eye-candy enough to earn lots of love on social media. An added plus is that they actually taste as good as they look! Snap a few pictures, forego the filter, and just watch the “Likes” come flooding in. It’s always worth the calories.
During Hanami (花見, "cherry blossom viewing"), around March or April, match your photos of the pink trees with an equally pink drink! The Sakura blossoms drift from the trees and into Sobinawa’s Cherry Blossom Soda. Their refreshing soda is clear, sprinkled with floral syrup and a single sakura blossom. Hop a few months from June to September and Peach season is in full swing. Sobinawa serves a fruity parfait topped with an entire Japanese peach. There’s still plenty to love for the rest of the year, as their cookies and cakes sit pretty on the plate with roses and other flowers just waiting for their close-up. By keeping everything fresh and seasonal, patrons have something to look forward to with each visit at Sobinawa.
Second Floor, 1-12-23 Kyomachibori, Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan
大阪府 大阪市西区 京町堀 1-12-23 イケガキビル 2F- https://www.facebook.com/sobinowa/
From the cherry blossom groves to the serene gardens, let the beauty of Japanese flora sweep you into Mamezo & Café. Recreate a mini zen garden (or “kare-sansui”)—green thumb not required! Lay down the white sugar sand and decorate with candy pebbles, glutinous rice sweets, and edible moss. The entire kit includes a square tray for your creation and a wooden box full of goodies to decorate with. After carefully tending to your garden, feel free to enjoy and eat the fruit of your labor—just don’t forget to take a few good pictures, too!
- +81 6 6453 6877
1-1-48 Fukushima, Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Japan
大阪府大阪市福島区福島1-1-48- http://www.mamezo.co.jp/
JTRRD Café will pump up the color saturation of your feed with their colorful smoothies. Bright colors—berry pink, kiwi green, and mango yellow—alternate in the glass, ending in a skillful pattern on top. The swirls look a lot like latte art or the Japanese art of suminagashi (墨流し, floating ink). Instead of a caffeinated kick and deep brown liquid, though, the smoothies are full of fruity nutrition and chia seeds.
- +81 6 6882 4835
First Floor, Tatsuta Building, 3-4-5 Tenma, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan
所在地 大阪市北区天満3-4-5 タツタビル1F
Food-stagram meets Book-stagram at Café & Books Bibliotheque. Settle in with a new book and a dainty French-style pastry for a #thatsdarling or #livethelittlethings moment. Pile on the hashtags to this beautiful photo-op and let your notifications run wild. Café & Books Bibliotheque features a different pancake recipe each month, with Earl Grey Macarons and Blueberry Tarts as toppings from the past. That’s at least one new post a month!
- +81 6 4795 7553
1-12-6 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan
大阪府 大阪市北区 梅田 1-12-6 イーマ Ｂ１Ｆ- http://www.bibliotheque.ne.jp/osaka/concept/
Pancake mania continues at Brothers Cafe where the flapjacks are as fluffy as a soufflé. The plate is quite simple, but the puffed up pancakes are perfectly done to a golden brown and dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Order with a side of syrup, fruit, and cream. It’s a Saturday morning brunch straight from the dream—not a dirty pan in sight, and a stack of pillow-soft pancakes to enjoy.
- +81 6 6371 3220
Umeda OPA, 1-27 Chayamachi, Osaka-shi, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan
大阪府大阪市北区茶屋町1-27 梅田オーパ
Blend some Parisian-chic pastries into your feed at French Market. Stylish cakes, rustic-looking scones, and deconstructed french toast are just some of their desserts. A small “pot-full” of berries and “soil” spill across the plate with their souffle-like french toast (スフレパンベルデュ). Flood your friends’ feeds with a few pictures from French Market and they’ll think twice whether you’re actually in Osaka or in a quaint café in Paris.
- +81 6 7494 9451
1-4-1 Kawaramachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan
大阪府 大阪市中央区 瓦町 1-4-1 ノダマBL 1F
On the other side of the pancake spectrum, crêpes are paper thin. The crêpes at Rocca and Friends are like a lovely bouquet or a summer-cool ice cream cone. Savor a cool treat during Osaka’s warmer months with fresh flavors like Ispahan—a mixture of rose and lychee flavors. Swap out a glass of lemonade for grapefruit, lemon, and orange flavors that mingle in their Citrus crêpe.
- +81 80 3828 6848
19-17 Kitasonomachi, Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan
大阪府高槻市北園町19-17- https://rocca-crepe.com/
A symphony of green tones play in the Matcha Ice Cream Sundae of Cafe Taiyou no Tou. Matcha powder dusts over the oversized tea cup of green tea ice cream and glutinous rice sweets. These hues pop right out against the deep reds, nostalgic floral print, and warm wooden interiors of the café. Color theory confirms that green and red are a complementary pair, so your photos are in harmony. The vintage atmosphere and traditional-style desserts set a mood for the photo to be a little more dramatic or cinematic. Strike a pose or two with your spread of desserts and pot of tea and just have fun with it.
- +81 6 6374 3630
2-3-12 Nakazaki, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan
大阪府大阪市北区中崎2丁目3－12- https://taiyounotou.com/home
Swap out a succulent meat patty for a few scoops of ice cream! The Glorious Chain Cafe dishes up hefty platters of Ice Cream Burgers. Sauce drips from the top of the buns, making for a messy bite. Their Caramel Ice Cream Burgers offer a medley of flavors and textures: cold ice cream meets warm buns, while the sweet caramel mingles with salty peanuts.
- +81 6 6258 5344
1st Floor, 3-12-9 Minamisemba, Chuo-ku Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan
大阪府大阪市中央区南船場3-12-9 1F- https://www.diesel.co.jp/cafe/
Hold a rainbow cloud in your hands at the Totti Candy Factory, as their giant Rainbow Cotton Candy are made as you wait with every color a different flavor. Totti Candy Factory is a candy store, with an array of cake pops, gummies, and confections to excite your inner kid. If those don’t work, then the cotton candy machine at its heart is set to whip up a storm of excitement. As the machine whirs to life, the colorful sugar grains are loaded. Thin strings magically appear and are crafted into a sugar cloud bigger than your head. Share with your friends and keep your head in the clouds.
- +81 6 6210 3928
RE11 104, 2-11-9 Nishi-shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan
大阪府 大阪市中央区 西心斎橋 2-11-9- http://www.totticandy.com/
The mad scientists at Chocolate Kenkyujo, or Chocolate Laboratory, have cracked the code to chocolate. They’re sharing their amassed secrets through decadent cakes and soups. Their cacao terrine (カカオテリーヌ, ガトーショコラ) is a dense loaf of chocolate that avoids any flour, while their hot chocolate (チョコレートポタージュ, ホットチョコレート）is thick enough to be soup. There is plenty to explore at the laboratory, chocolate-wise, but they also offer a smorgasbord of palate cleansers. Their shaved ice is a balancing act (be quick to take a pick before they melt!), and roll cakes, cheesecakes, and cotton candy perch precariously over the snowballs.
- +81 80 2505 8854
2nd Floor, 1-9-14 Shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan
- http://chocolathunter.com/
Why choose between jewels or a box of chocolates to give to your beau when you can have both? Set yourself apart from all the common date night pictures with an indulgent box from Chocolatier Palet D’or. They take their experimentations in a more luxurious direction, as “Or” is French for gold and their little cacao disks glitter with flecks. The Palet D’or has a choice between dark chocolate (noir) or milk chocolate (lactée) coating over a classic ganache. Throw silver into the mix with Palet D’argent, where matcha surprises from the inside. The Alcool is slightly more classic, with a mix of champagne, sake, cognac, and more within.
- +81 6 6341 8081
Fourth Floor, Herbis Osaka, 2 Chome−2−22 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu, Japan
大阪市北区梅田2-2-22 ハービスPLAZA ENT 4F- http://www.palet-dor.com/
Flaunt a little bit more of the fine life on your feed at Financier. Their desserts are elegantly plated, with a small hint of playfulness still guiding their hand. For Christmas, for example, their little parfait donned some reindeer antlers. In the warmer seasons, their fruity cocktail desserts come in sleek glasses garnished in a chocolate waning moon or a puff of pink cotton candy. Make it a date every month to see what the coming seasons have in store for Financier. Such works of art deserve an appreciative patron!
- +81 6 6342 0375
Ninth Floor, Kitashinchi Building, 1-3-19 Sonezakishinchi, Kita-ku Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan
大阪府大阪市北区曽根崎新地１-３-１９ 北新地ビル９F- https://www.facebook.com/financier.shinchi/
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