For years foreigners have fallen in love with Japan’s jet black and outrageously nutty sesame ice cream and now customers can enjoy the “world’s richest ice cream” at Gomaya Kuki’s new location in Harajuku.
Moved from its previous location in Omotesando, Gomaya Kuki is a sleekly designed ice cream shop with wooded accents in everything from the furniture to the ceiling art installations. The crimson seat covers and the industrial cement floor complete the modern and polished, but welcoming design of the shop.
Gomaya Kuki offers a unique ice cream experience as they specialize in sesame flavors, importing sesame seeds from renowned sesame house Kiku Sangyo in Mie prefecture. Rare in other parts of the world, goma aisu, or sesame ice cream, gives off a mixture of nutty and sweet flavors with an almost savory edge. The pleasant and distinctive aftertaste lingers on the palate, and with 9,000 sesame seeds in one scoop, customers have described the ice cream as “unworldly,” smooth and refined.
Customers can relish in the packed sesame flavour in six main menu items. Either pick kuro (black) sesame seeds or shiro (white) sesame seeds. Choose between two intensities of sesame flavor: tokunou (strong) or chou tokunou (super strong). You can also try kuro shio, or black sesame with sea-salt, if you’re feeling daring, and tsubutsubu zakkoku, or chunky mixed sesame. A cup comes with two scoops, costing a reasonable ¥500, where you can mix and match flavours from the six choices. Customers can also try a scoop of sesame ice cream plopped on top of pancakes or in zenzai, a traditional Japanese soup made of sweet red beans and mochi. Do you like parfaits? The aesthetically pleasing Autumn Hojo Tea Parfait features the staple sesame ice cream, deep-fried sweet bread topped and a dollop of whipped cream.
Whether you enjoy the acquired tastes of traditional Japanese cuisine or stick to universal comfort food, you will undoubtedly fall in love with the smooth and mouthwatering taste of sesame seeds mixed into the sweet goodness of ice cream. Gomaya Kuki is open daily from 11:00 to 19:00.
For details, see our Concierge listing.
