Shorakuen in Yoyogi is known for its edible diorama-like chocolate confectionery inspired by Japanese mountains. The ‘Yamagashi’ (‘yama’ meaning mountain, and ‘gashi’ meaning sweets in Japanese) are made with moulds based on actual topographical data from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, meaning that your sweet treat looks like an exact miniature of the mountain itself.
There are six palm-sized ‘Yamagashi’ – Mt Fuji (¥4,950), Mt Rishiri (¥3,520), Mt Ontake (¥3,520), Mt Omuro (¥3,520), Mt Nishi (¥3,520) and Mt Yufu (¥3,520). Each one is made with layers of ganache, sponge cake, fruit and nuts, while some even have ingredients that are local to the mountains. For example, Mt Fuji has a Shizuoka matcha chocolate crunch, Mt Ontake has passion fruit ganache infused with shochu from Kagoshima, and Mt Nishi has a ganache with Hachijojima Island’s famed lemons.
If you’d rather not splurge, go for the ‘Hinayama’ (¥1,540), which is a set of two smaller bite-size mountains of your choice, excluding Mt Fuji. Whatever you decide to get, we recommend pairing it with a Taiwan tea set (from ¥1,540) or a Japanese-style chai tea served hot or cold.