Rainbow Pancake @ Harajuku.

Pancakes seemed to be the "in thing" among Japanese youngsters earlier this year. When I was doing the research for 2016 spring's Japan trip, I came across many pancake shops recommendations. One look at the photos online and I knew then that I must have pancakes. 

Of course, like all other trendy things — lines are inevitable. See that shop with the rainbow lining on the first floor (in Japan, that's actually considered the second floor by the way)? That's Rainbow Pancake, a popular pancake parlour in Harajuku. It is THE place for pancakes.

We arrived really early too, within half an hour from its opening hour. The usual waiting time for a table is 1 hour, but I think we waited for just 40 minutes that day. 

I actually planned to reach right before it opens to skip the queue but we got a bit distracted on the way there. Rainbow Pancake is located at the alley of Takeshita Street and there were just too many cool boutiques and interesting shops along the way!

Anyway, they started handing out menus and taking orders from the people in the queue. Here, have a look at Rainbow Pancake's menu! Note that they have seasonal items so it's best to check their online platforms for the latest offerings.

This page talks about their standards and the quality of ingredients used.

Savoury pancakes.

Sweet pancakes! Give me all please! Really, everything looks tempting and I couldn't decide. The waitress recommended Macadamia Nuts (column 1, row 2) — the shop's best-selling pancake — and Seasonal Fruits (column 1, row 3). We trusted her and ordered exactly those!

Beverages.

It was finally our turn to sit! There were only 8 small tables in the shop, catering for a maximum of 16 customers.

Rainbow Pancake is Hawaiian-theme. Be it the music, decor or overall vibe, everything seems to exude light-heartedness and joy. The pancakes are prepared right behind the counter too so the whole place smells delicious. 

While waiting for our pancakes, we were trying to figure out what this Disney-looking store sells. It's obviously popular among teenage girls. Hmm, jewellery cafe?

Store attendants are dressed appropriately to the theme. See if you can spot the both of them!

Waiting. The service was fast. Our drinks were served almost immediately after being seated. The pancakes came 10 minutes after.

The pancakes are here!

Seasonal Fruits (季節のフルーツ) Pancake @ 1350 yen. I loved the whipped cream, so fresh so light! However~

The Macadamia Nuts Sauce (マカダミアナッツソース) Pancake totally stole the show! It's slightly cheaper too @ 1250 yen. The sauce was creamy and fragrant. It was so good that I wish we could have more.

The pancakes have the same texture. They're thick and much denser than the American hotcakes. They really are cake-ish and fill you up quickly too.

Happy stomaches, happy souls.

There was a much bigger dining area downstairs for bigger parties or events.

On our way out, we bought ourselves a couple of Rainbow Pancake badges from a gacha gacha machine (gachapon ガチャポン) because they're cute and I'm a hoarder.

Rainbow Pancake

Address: 〒150-0001 Tokyo, 渋谷区Jingumae, ４−２８−４

Opening hours: 10AM–6PM (Closed on Tuesdays)

Website: www.rainbowpancake.net

Of course we visited Takeshita Street after that and we even took some purikura photos at a basement!

Lively as usual.

I really wanted to have these Baskin Robbins crepes too but my stomach reminded me that the pancakes were still being digested.