Hyperlocal Tokyo

I visited around 2:00 PM on a Friday. I was seated promptly, but the place was busier than I expected. I ordered a set of four cakes and a drink bar (¥1800). The manager (I think) said, "It's okay to choose all four at once." So I picked out four cakes from the display case. The cherry cake was especially delicious. All of the cakes at Fujiya are really good. I was very satisfied. The staff were all very friendly.

I recently went to a cake buffet! ☺️ The price was a little over ¥3,000 for a 60-minute time limit. However, they gave us a bit of extra time, so it ended up being closer to 65-70 minutes. It comes with a drink bar, which is great. Most of the cakes in the display case are available, so you can choose all the expensive ones, work your way through them from the beginning, or just pick your favorites. They accept QR code payments, which is convenient. However, as is common in these places, the restroom is outside the store, so you have to leave the store to use it. To order from the cake buffet, you go to the display case at the entrance. You get a new plate each time, so just take your ticket and order. The cakes come out quickly, so it's usually fast. However, if there are other customers ordering cakes to take home, you might have to wait in line. If the staff are free, they can bring the cakes out from the back, but sometimes you have to wait, so it's best to keep an eye on things and go get it when you can. My impression of the buffet was that I couldn't eat nearly as much as I can at a regular food buffet. I think I ordered the wrong things. There were things like cup jellies, so I should have eaten those first. I started with the cream-based cakes, and I forgot that cream is dairy. I was in a rush to use the restroom after only 30 minutes! 😱 At home, I can eat a whole cake without any problems, but in this setting, having to go to the restroom outside the store was a major issue… Also, overall, I felt like there was more cream than sponge. I wonder if that's different from whole cakes. In the end, I didn't even get full, and I ended up having to go to the restroom, so I left feeling half-hungry. 🥲 I've been to a few buffets before, but this was the hardest one. I've been to food buffets where I couldn't eat enough even with the full time, but this was on a whole other level. I ate all my favorites, but towards the end (the last plate, really), I was battling a stomachache, so I wasn't really tasting anything, just putting it in my mouth. If you're someone who can handle dairy, you should give it a try. If not, I'd recommend against it. They also have a set menu with four cakes, which is more reasonable and might be a better option. Maybe if I had gone for less cream and more jellies, it would have been different. This buffet was just really difficult.

I visited this place out of nostalgia. The taste is typical of a Fujiya cake, a bit bland but nostalgic. I like it. On weekdays, there's a cake buffet and it's popular with women. It's usually 50-70% full. On weekends, it's packed with children. If you're planning to go for the buffet, get there early. People eat a lot, so popular items tend to run out.

Perhaps because it's located within a commercial complex, this Fujiya has a high turnover rate. Around lunchtime, reservations are fully booked, but they manage to clear the backlog within 30 minutes to an hour. After the peak, there are usually a few empty seats. There are about 26 types of cut cakes. I used the all-you-can-eat option, and they added a few cakes to the display case that weren't there initially. At other locations, they consider the congestion and adjust the ending time by 10-15 minutes, but at the Fujiya in Alka Kit, they seem to prioritize turnover and strictly enforced the one-hour time limit. The drink bar has fewer options compared to other locations.

This restaurant is located on the 10th floor of a department store-like building next to the North Exit station. I arrived at the station an hour before a drinking party that was scheduled to start at 5 pm, so I decided to kill some time here. It had been decades since I last visited a Fujiya Restaurant, so I was curious. I was planning to have iced coffee, but they had a drink bar system, which I dislike, so I ordered a nostalgic cream soda instead. The restaurant was about 70% full, and I was able to enjoy a peaceful time. The menu featured new offerings like an all-you-can-eat cake option, showcasing Fujiya's innovative spirit. The male customer next to me ordered the all-you-can-eat cake and kept going back for more. He must be what they call a 'sweets guy.' Looking at the menu, I realized that a full lunch set with drinks, salad, and everything else would cost close to two thousand yen. Times have certainly changed! I was happy to spend an hour enjoying my delicious cream soda, but the paper straw was stuck to the outer paper, making it difficult to remove, which was a bit of a bummer.