Ginza Cozy Corner is a sweets shop known for its whimsical cake, cookie, and other pastry creations, often utilizing pop culture characters or other adorable motifs. Look forward to many panda- and zoo-themed gifts and goodies at Cozy Corner's Ueno location sold only at this particular store!
Our favorite is the pandayaki for 145 yen each, a little treat made out of a crispy dough shell filled with custard, chocolate, cream cheese, and more. The edible pandas are made directly in the store and thus are as fresh as they can be! Feel free to pick the pandayaki that looks the cutest to you and sit down at Cozy Corner's eat-in space, enjoying your wild treat right there. But don't forget to grab a box for friends and family!
Secret tip: this spring, Strawberry Milk makes its debut as a new pandayaki flavor. Be sure to try!

Hours: 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (from 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays)
Closed: always open

Miyage Kasen is a souvenir store that is well-beloved among Tokyoites for the beautiful Japanese-style goods on offer. One Miyage Kasen branch is located within Ecute Ueno and, of course, sells its very own version of Ueno's adorable panda bears.
The handmade "pandama," a play on words meaning panda ball, come in the form of yokan, a traditional Japanese dessert that resembles jelly. These artistic panda heads are made by a confectionary called Funawa, founded in 1902. Two of the beautiful panda balls are available for 540 yen and are made out of agar filled with dark and white bean paste.
This sweet souvenir might have a charming and adorable appearance, but don't be fooled into thinking that it is as sweet as it looks. Instead, the pandama sticks to the traditional Japanese taste of making use of the subtle sweetness of bean paste, surprising you with a natural and mellow taste.
The pandama is exclusively available at the Ueno location of Miyage Kasen, so if you want something truly unique and authentically Japanese, this is the right panda snack for you.

Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Mondays to Tuesdays, Saturdays)
8:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. (Fridays)
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (Sundays and national holidays)
Closed: always open

Morozoff is a popular pastry shop in Ueno that is particularly famous for its cheesecakes and custard puddings. If you pass by the Atre Ueno shop, you'll immediately see the many happy panda cupcakes smiling at you from the shop window. These are the "Cup a la Mode - Panda" for 324 yen, filled with a custard-like cream that will melt right on your tongue! The frosting that sits on top of the fluffy sponge cake has an outer shell like crème brûlée, making for an especially tasty surprise. Lastly, the adorable panda face that adorns this delicious treat is classic chocolate - a combination to die for. No matter what age and gender you are, this panda cupcake will bring a smile to your face!

Hours: 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Closed: always open

Ueno no Mori no Panyasan is a bakery that serves visitors to Ueno with wonderful animal-themed bread creations.
While the pastry selection is rather big, the "l'Ueno anpan" for 230 yen will immediately catch your eye. Anpan is bean paste bread, a favorite snack of many Japanese, and this shop's version comes as a whimsical cube with a big, lazy panda bear stamped on the top side.
Next to this famous bread, look forward to many more pandastic creations: the Panda Cream Bread for 190 yen, filled with a mellow custard cream, or the Cream Cheese Panda Bread for 250 yen that is made out of dough infused with cream cheese. The bakery even features a kids' space that resembles the zoo in the park, so feel free to take your time shopping, eating, and playing with the entire family.

Hours: 6:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Closed: irregular holidays

The last shop on our panda sweets list is Waraku Beniya, a bakery of the famous and internationally acclaimed Japanese pastry chef Hironobu Tsujiguchi.
We highly recommend the KAWAII Panda Cookie for 500 yen per box, made out of especially crispy cookie dough. The little dessert creations with the panda face are actually little cookie sandwiches filled with different flavors of cream, such as cacao bean, cranberry, and almond. But be careful, once you've started eating, you might not be able to stop!

Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Mondays to Thursdays, Saturdays)
8:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. (Fridays)
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (Sundays and national holidays)
Closed: always open

Written by Yasufumi Kurayama