10 best confectionery gifts in Tokyo: chocolate, cakes, snacks and more

Perhaps one of the most popular edible souvenirs from Japan, Tokyo Banana is always a winner. The treat is simply a banana-shaped sponge cake filled with various types of custard. The original is banana flavoured, but these days you’ll find special editions like caramel, honey or even coffee milk. Keep an eye out for Tokyo Banana collaborations featuring your favourite characters like Pikachu, Eevee and Doraemon. Not a cake fan? Tokyo Banana has even expanded to include other small confectionery such as cookies.

You can find Tokyo Banana at Tokyo Banana World at Tokyo Station or Daimaru Tokyo. For more retail information, visit here. ¥594 for a box of four

Cheese is typically a savoury treat, but Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory has made a name for itself offering an assortment of cheese-filled sweets and desserts including cookies and cheesecakes. One of the brand’s most popular items is its cheese cookies, which come in different salty-sweet flavours including salt camembert and honey gorgonzola. You’ll want to keep an eye out for seasonal combos such as truffle cheddar, lemon cream cheese and chocolate mascarpone. 

Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory can be found at most depachika and airports. For more retail information, visit here. ¥1,080 for a box of ten

If you love potato chips, you’re going to enjoy Jagga Pokkuru. This popular potato snack is a fan favourite for its pure potato flavour and addictive, crispy texture. Made from 100-percent Hokkaido-grown jaga imo potatoes, the savoury snack is seasoned with roasted sea salt sourced from Hokkaido's Saroma lagoon. The potato skins are also left on, giving the sticks a unique texture and flavour. 

Produced by snack giant Calbee, you can find boxes of Jagga Pokkuru at any Calbee Plus store, including the one at Tokyo Station. For more retail information, visit here. ¥1,050 for a box of ten packets

Yoku Moku is a Japanese confectionery company renowned for its dainty cookies packed in equally attractive tins. Popular items include gift sets featuring a mix of different cookies or Yoku Moku's signature cigar cookies. There are even popular seasonal specialities like chestnut and sweet potato flavoured cookies in autumn. In fact, Yoku Moku is so popular that the brand even has its own shop and café in Tokyo.

You’ll find Yoku Moku at most department store depachika food halls. For more retail information, visit here. Cookie tins starting at ¥1,782

Shiroi Koibito is a special sweet hailing from Hokkaido that’s become so popular, you can find it almost everywhere in Japan. The treat is simply a tablet of white chocolate sandwiched between two buttery langues de chat biscuits. There is also a milk chocolate version if you prefer a little more cacao in your dessert. The small cookies are so popular that there is a Shiroi Koibito chocolate theme park in Sapporo and you can even find soft serve ice cream flavoured after the confectionery in Tokyo.

Shiroi Koibito are available at Ishiya shops around Japan. For more retail information, visit here. ¥712 for a box of nine

Nothing says kawaii more than these adorable baby-bird-shaped sweets known as Hiyoko. The little pastries have been around for a long time, originating in Kyushu back in 1912. As a beloved treat in Japan, their widespread popularity means you can find them in most cities, airports and gift shops. The tiny birds consist of a thin pastry shell with a sweet bean paste filling. They make a perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea. 

Hiyoko are sold at most depachika and airports. For more retail information, visit here. ¥837 for a box of five

This popular snack originates from Kamakura, just south of Tokyo, and is shaped after a half moon, which is also what its name means. Hangetsu are made from delicate crispy wafers which are filled with different fillings like sweet adzuki bean cream or matcha cream. Depending on the time of year, there are seasonal flavours like peach, peanut, and even sakura cherry blossom. 

Kamakura Hangetsu are on sale at most depachika and airports. For more retail information, visit here. ¥594 for a box of five

This Tokyo-born confection translates as ‘sesame egg’ and is precisely that. On first glance, the treat looks uncannily like a real egg, but once you cut through the white coating, inside you'll find a lovely layer of sponge cake and a centre of sweet black sesame paste. There are also seasonal egg variations like a chocolate marron (chestnut) tamago and even a cute purple sweet potato egg.

You’ll find Goma Tamago at depachika as well as the brand’s official outlet in Ginza. For more retail information, visit here. ¥950 for an eight piece box

No visit to Japan is complete without picking up a few KitKats. Japan is known for its wacky and distinctive KitKat flavours like sake or wasabi, and there are even special collaborations with other brands, like Tokyo Banana, to make limited edition flavours you won’t find elsewhere. Regional KitKat flavours are often sold in nice gift boxes, but you can also pick up share bags of KitKats – the paper bags even double as origami paper. 

For premium chocolate bars, head to one of Tokyo’s KitKat Chocolatory outlets, where you’ll find unique flavours like ruby chocolate, passion fruit and yuzu. The premium KitKats can be packaged into boxes and customised with stickers for birthdays and other celebrations, so they’re perfect for gifting.

KitKats are pretty much everywhere in Japan. Find them at your local convenience store, Don Quijote, or at the KitKat Chocolatory. For more retail information, visit here. Premium KitKat bars ¥324 each

Another sweet treat from Hokkaido, Royce is best known for its melt-in-your-mouth nama (raw) chocolates. Royce also makes a decadent collection of cookies, chocolate covered potato chips, and other chocolatey delights. The nama chocolates come in milk and dark chocolate varieties as well as more peculiar flavours such as sakura cheese, hojicha, champagne and matcha.

Unless you’re visiting Hokkaido, the best spot to pick up Royce is at the airport, however, you can also find a few select Royce items at the Hokkaido antenna shop Hokkaido Dosanko Plaza in Tokyo. For more retail information, visit here. ¥864 for a box of 20 nama chocolate pieces