Have you ever heard of Pompompurin and if you have, did you know there’s a Pompompurin Café in Harajuku? Whether you’re a long-time fan of Sanrio or simply curious about kawaii culture, read on for everything you need to know about Tokyo’s cutest café.
You’d be mistaken if you thought this bright yellow dog, sporting a beret that resembles the sweet caramel top of a custard pudding, was just for kids. In fact, Pompompurin is for everyone – yes, even you.
In Japan, cute isn’t uncool: Japanese Koban (the police) have their own adorable, and innocent, mascots. Yamato Transport, a popular delivery company, features a black cat, or ‘Kuroneko’, as its logo, carrying a baby cat to its delivery address. Family Mart, a convenience store chain, created an exclusive cake in the shape of a black cat in collaboration with Yamato earlier this year.
Kawaii culture in Japan is out of control, and it’s wonderful.
Who is Pompompurin?
Pompompurin was born in the late 90s to the Japanese character giant, Sanrio, famous for Hello Kitty – finally, something for the dog people. The conception was simple: take a wobbly caramel pudding, a nostalgic Japanese staple, and merge it with a Golden Retriever. What came after was Pompompurin, a round squishy dog that enjoys collecting shoes, napping, and of course, eating homemade caramel pudding. You really are what you eat.
If all that sounds very wholesome, it’s because it is. Tokyo has a knack of making fully grown adults feel like kids again – whether it’s zooming through Shibuya on go-karts dressed as Mario characters, cracking open a gacha ball at a metro station, or visiting a themed café – it’s something not to be missed.
Where is Pompompurin Café?
Get off at Harajuku and make your way to Tokyo’s birthplace of Kawaii, Takeshita Street. If you keep walking, dodge the crowds, resist the endless subculture boutiques and colourful crepe vendors, you’ll find the Pompompurin Café. Even the theme of this café has a theme: on the official website it states that the café is a party venue thrown by none other than the dog himself.
So, last week, I braved the Harajuku madness to see what happens when a pudding-dog throws a party, and I wasn’t disappointed.
What’s Pompompurin Café like?
Tucked away in the chaos, it’s a little difficult to spot the café if you’re not looking: it’s located on the 3rd floor of a building, above a shop selling ludicrously long sticks of fried potato.
Note that you can’t book a table in advance. Instead, I recommend getting there a little earlier than when you’d like to sit down. Well-accustomed to queues in Japan that rival even the UK, I was expecting a long line of people waiting to join the party, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Thankfully, the café has a digital ticket system: you enter the number of guests, give the machine your email or phone number, and it’ll tell you exactly how long you’ll be waiting and even send you a message when it’s time to claim your table. This means no more staring wistfully at a family of four taking way too long to finish their dessert.
Instead, you’re free to wander Takeshita Street, or simply cross over to the cat café on the same floor for a day of infinite cuteness. My table was ready within 10 minutes, but I was dining alone on a Friday afternoon, so expect longer waits on a weekend.
Inside, it’s the epitome of Takeshita Street: hyper-aesthetic, sweet, and delightfully surreal – as above, so below.
Everything is decorated in Pompompurin’s signature yellow and brown, and I was greeted by a huge glossy statue of the dog himself sitting atop a supersize caramel pudding. Even the lampshades have Pompompurin’s face on them. The theme is immersive and very well put together, but what really stands out is the staff’s commitment to the round yellow dog.
Dressed to the nines in floppy dog ears, the signature caramel beret, and a touch of Harajuku frills, the staff greet everyone with a little song and dance – even if, like me, you walk in alone, clutching a laptop and looking slightly lost. It doesn’t matter how old you are, who you’re with, or who you are; everyone gets the same Pompompurin treatment.
Sitting down, I was given a tablet to order from (with English language options) and, in true Japanese tradition, Pompompurin’s business card, thanking me for joining the party. What a professional pup.
I was also delighted, and rather amused, to be introduced to my very own blind date: ‘This is your friend’, a waitress kindly notified me before setting down a Pompompurin plushie in the chair opposite me. A few moments later, I realized that, behind me sat a mountain of Pompompurins, all ready for photoshoots or cuddles – Pompompurins eating puddings, dressed in maid costumes, or holding royal sceptres. Take your pick.
Pompompurin Café: Food and Drinks
The theme doesn’t stop at the décor: ready your phone camera, because everything here is insta-worthy. The offerings aren’t extensive, but it’s definitely quality over quantity, since everything on the menu is carefully curated to make even the most stoic of salarymen burst into an awwww!
I started with a drink – although I’d recommend saving it for dessert. There’s a choice of the regulars (tea, coffee, etc.) but for the full experience you can try one of the café’s specialty lattes. Iced options include Pompompurin’s custard pudding and mango lassi lattes, complete with a little chocolate dog peeking out from the top, and Muffin’s Mocha latte, one of Pompompurin’s many friends. If you’re feeling cosier, you can instead opt for a hot chocolate, strawberry, or matcha latte, all of which come with a customisable cookie featuring – you guessed it – Pompompurin.
The food options are just as whimsical, from perfect star-shaped hash browns and crescent carrots to mounds of yellow rice shaped into Pompompurin’s face. You can even order a tea party set for 2,800 yen, but if that sounds a little steep, you can throw yourself a mini tea party with the ‘Pudding melty donut’ for only 950 yen.
After 10 minutes of awkward eye contact with my blind date, I ordered a matcha latte and the Soufflé Omelette Rice. The food and drink were just fine, if not better than most themed cafés. But you don’t come here to enjoy a five-star meal; you come here to admire Pompompurin snoozing under a fluffy omelette blanket.
The matcha latte was like dessert: sweet, creamy matcha finished with whipped cream and thick milk foam. The accompanying biscuit was, in my opinion, the best part, with just the right combination of sweet and buttery with a satisfying snap. The soufflé omelette was light and airy with a hint of sweetness, complimented well by the savoury glacé sauce – but really, I was won over by the button mushroom beret.
If the memories aren’t enough, the café also has a gift shop selling exclusive Pompompurin merchandise, from cup coasters to an eclectic range of plushies, stationary and… Pompompurin-owl hybrids.
Pompompurin Café: Overall Rating
Verdict: 4/5 stars*
*But you can’t put a number on joy.
If my matcha latte weren’t so sweet, I’d give the Pompompurin Café a solid 5 stars. Still, it’s hard not to get pulled into Pompompurin’s world. I left Harajuku feeling refreshingly unserious, and that’s what Kawaii culture is all about: freeing ourselves, if just for a moment, from the constraints and complications of adulthood. And pudding. Lots of pudding.
Even if you’ve never heard of Pompompurin in your life, you’ll leave this café with a new friend, a sugar high, and a strange song stuck in your head. Are those good things? you might wonder. Absolutely.
Pompompurin Café (Website in Japanese) | Pompompurin Café on Tripadvisor in English
We hope you found Evie’s article of Pompompurin Café interesting and inspiring. On your next trip to Japan, why not include a visit to Pompompurin Café while exploring Kawaii culture in Harajuku?
If you’re thinking of visiting Japan, but not sure when the best time to go, check out our article, When is the best time to visit Japan? For those who are interested in Japanese Food, do explore our food section. Or you can head to our Instagram account for posts of fantastic restaurants, festivals, and travel experiences.
