Mochi Cream availability in Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe

Hi there, I'll be visiting Osaka and Kyoto in January 2015.

Back in 2009, I fell in love with MochiCream, which I found in Tokyo and have been pining for ever since. Nothing else compares!

Here's the official site:
http://www.mochicream.com/store.html

From what I can gather from the site above (and from my extremely limited recognition of certain kanji), there seems to be only one store in Osaka - at Osaka airport. Since I will be arriving at KIX, I was wondering if there are other stores to be found around Osaka / Kyoto.

I googled and found the following information:
http://openkyoto.com/kyoto-support/topic/mochi-cream
http://www.worldlyeats.com/2009/08/mochi-cream-kyoto-japan.html

The thing is, these posts were from 4-5 years ago, so I'm not sure if the Kyoto Daimaru Dept Store / Yodobashi Umeda branches have closed. Would any recent visitors / locals happen to know if they are still there or if other branches exist in Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe?

Thanks in advance! :)

On the mochi cream web page the 2nd store listed for the Kinki area is Baruc, located near Sannomiya Station (Kobe).

http://mochicream.com/test/2013_03_26/shop/kinki/tikatetsu_baruc.html

Hi mk,

Thanks so much for your response. It's great to know that there's one near Sannomiya station. I hope the Baruc store also sells Mochi Cream.

I also found the following website
http://mochi-cream.sblo.jp/category/228738-1.html

From what I can make out... there are also the following stores in Osaka:
AEON Dainichi Mall
Shin-Osaka Station

So looks like I'll manage to eat one of these delicious confections after all. Thanks again for your help!

Japan is very much a fad-oriented society. Mochi Cream confections are kind of passé at this point, which explains why they are hard to find. I liked them a lot, too, but I didn't seen them anywhere on my last two or three trips, and I generally go to a lot of department store basements (which is where they used to be easy to find).

Hopefully you will be able to find a place that sells these items, but in my experience it's better to try a lot of new things (including but not limited to the latest fads). Sometimes, the treats you loved on the last trip turn out not to be quite as good as you remembered. When things lose their fad status, the sales turnover slows down and sometimes the items in the stores aren't as perfectly fresh, or the selection can be limited. And even when they do meet your expectations, it can be a real trade-off if you have to spend several hours (or more) traveling to and finding a shop that sells them.

One of my favorite food things is to go to one of the countless bakeries and buy a few of their specialty breads. Some of these are sweet and gooey and rich (not exactly like Mochi Cream, but covering some of the same bases). They typically have signs posted indicating what the new concoctions or current best-sellers are. The Vie de France bakery chain tends to have a lot of items with cream fillings. (I tried a green melon-pan creamy thing on my last trip that was just outrageous. Actually, it was sort of junky, but I really loved it...) Bakeries are LOTS easier to find than specialty confection outlets. Of course, it's not the same thing, but...

Have you tried cream puffs with various flavored frozen fillings, like for example the ones at Beard Papa's? These are of course not the same as your beloved mochi cream things, but they are easier to find.

Hi Uma,

Yeah, I figured that the fad has passed, since so many Mochi Cream branches seem to have closed down. Hopefully I won't have to spend too long finding a store, only to be disappointed that it does not meet my expectations after pining for it so long.

I do indeed love all sorts of pastries/sweet things, and will make it a point to check out some bakeries / Department store basements.

And yes, I have tried cream puffs of the Beard Papa variety. They're so famous that there are branches in my country (Malaysia). I love them and still eat them relatively regularly.

Thanks for the helpful sharing! :)

Well, if you like cream puffs, and you plan to be in Osaka, maybe you should check out this place at Grand Front Osaka:
http://grandchouxcream.com/
See also a blog post here:
http://how-to-walk-kansai.blogspot.com/

If you will be in the Umeda area, it is very easy to get to (and locate) this place. I haven't tried their products, but I did ogle them in the store recently, and they look outrageous. Beard Papa's are kind of "old school" and ordinary in comparison (but I love them, too, and usually buy them every time I go to Japan).

Thanks, Uma. They sound delicious! Will check them out when I'm there. :)