Located in the basement level of the Osaka Shin Hankyu Hotel and connected to the adjacent underground shopping arcade, Blue Jean is a pioneer in kitty-shaped baked goods. They’re always looking to expand their lineup of feline-themed treats, though, and this month they’ve started offering cat maritozzos. The Italian cream buns are the trendiest dessert in Japan these days, and when combined with a cute animal motif, sweets fans in Japan (such as us) are powerless to resist.

There’s a bit of a competition among Japan’s maritozzo makers as they continually try to one-up each other as to who can pack the most cream into their creations, and Blue Jean is willing to pick up this soft, rich gauntlet. Viewed straight-on, their Cat-Shaped Maritozzo, dusted with powdered sugar, looks like an adorable little kitty…

…but rotate it to the side…

…and you’ll find it’s impressively thick.

As a matter of fact, it’s so thick that it can be a bit of a challenge to find an Instagram-worthy camera angle that properly conveys its cuteness.

Still, our field reporter Ikuna Kamezawa did her best, posing for a shot with her treat before she dug in.

The bread is surprisingly bread-like…actually, that sounds like it should be obvious, but Ikuna sort of expected it to be more like a donut or fried bread, when it’s actually closer to a piece of regular baked bread. All that cream does make it very rich, though, and if that’s what you’re looking for in your snacks, you’ll find plenty to like here.

▼ Blue Jean also has drinks and eat-in seating.

As we mentioned, though, the maritozzo is merely Blue Jean’s latest cat creation, so we decided to pick up a few of its still on-sale predecessors too, like the baked Cat Paws, Cat Financiers, and Cat Sable Cookies.

Sadly, we didn’t have room for any Cat Cheesecakes…

…but we did pick up a loaf of regular Cat Bread, which we can use to make toast with.

Because if breakfast is the most important meal of the day, shouldn’t it include a smile?

Bakery information
Blue Jean / ブルージン
Located inside Hotel New Hankyu Osaka / 大阪新阪急ホテル
Address: Osaka-fu, Osaka-shi, Kita-ku, Shibata 1-1-35, basement level 1
大阪府大阪市北区北区芝田１丁目１−３５地下1階
Open 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Website

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