After an extended rainy season, summer has finally arrived in the city — and with it comes high humidity and temperatures well above 30° Celsius. Many locals like to escape during the summer months and take trips to the beaches and mountains nearby. If you can’t take time off or want to cool down during your lunch break, here are our top recommendations for some refreshing, tasty, and even healthy ice cream options in Tokyo.

1. The bucket list: Nanaya (Shibuya)

If matcha is your cup of tea, Nanaya’s ice cream is the perfect cold dessert for you. Nanaya’s is made with the finest grade matcha from Shizuoka Prefecture, one of Japan’s major tea-producing areas. From mild to rich, there are 7 different levels of richness to choose from, but most customers come for Number 7, which is said to be the ice cream with the world’s highest matcha content. Find it in the trendy Shibuya neighbourhood.

Website: https://nanaya-matcha.com/
Hours: 10:00–19:00 (Closed on Tuesday)
Address: 2-7-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Access: 10-minute walk from Shibuya Station

2. The matcha sister store: Suzukien x Nanaya Gelato Shop (Asakusa)

There are two branches of Nanaya’s in Tokyo, the second one is located in traditional Asakusa, inside the Suzukien tea shop.

Website: http://www.tocha.co.jp/ 
Hours: 10:00–18:00 daily
Address: Inside Suzukien Asakusa, 3-4-3 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Access: 10-minute walk from Asakusa Station

3. Advanced local flavours: Gomaya Kuki (Omotesando)

Once you've tried the bucketlist matcha ice cream, how about venturing a little deeper in the cosmos of Japanese flavours? Gomaya Kuki in Omotesando specialises in sesame ice cream. All-time favourites are kuro (black) and shiro (white) sesame, but the goma-shio (salted sesame) is also definitely worth a try.

Website: http://gomayakuki.jp/
Hours: 11:00–20:00 daily
Address: Harajuku H Bldg 1F, 4-26-22 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Access: 3-minute walk from Meiji Jingumae Station

4. The healthy choice: Kippy’s Coco-Cream (Sendagaya)

If all-natural ingredients, dairy and gluten-free is part of your diet and lifestyle, you will be delighted to hear that Kippy’s, a popular ice cream shop in Venice Beach, has made its way to Tokyo. Instead of milk, their creations are coconut cream–based. Popular flavours include double dark chocolate and raspberry sorbet.

Website: kippyscococream.com
Hours: 11:00–19:30 daily
Address: 2-6-3 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Access: 5-minute walk from Kita Sando Station

5. Fancy ice cream: MiLKs (Ebisu)

If you are looking for something for the ‘gram, look no further than MiLKs, a mere minute on foot from Ebisu Station. The all-white interior features swings on the counter and their soft-twist ice cream is as photogenic as their store aesthetic. You can combine your ice cream with coffee, tea or some liqueur.

Website: http://milks.co.jp/en/
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 18:00–24:00 | Sunday: 13:00–23:00 | Closed on Monday
Address: 5F Granbell Ebisunishi Building, 1-9-7 Ebisunishi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Access: 1-minute walk from Ebisu Station

6. Sky-high ice cream towers: Daily Chiko (Nakano)

If you are up for a challenge, head over to Daily Chiko in Nakano. Their 20 cm tall, eight-layer soft serve is a sight to behold. Flavours are manager’s choice, but usually, you will find vanilla, chocolate, matcha and Ramune (a Japanese soda) in the mix. The best part: it is light on calories to make up for the rather large serving and even the eight-layer version is only JPY 600!

Website: www.facebook.com/Dailychiko
Hours: 10:00–20:00 daily
Address: Nakano Broadway B1F, 5-52-15 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo
Access: 3-minute walk from Nakano Station

7. Kawaii as can be: Eddy's Ice Cream (Harajuku)

Another one for social media glory: Eddy’s Ice Cream is Harajuku in frozen form. The ultra-cute and brightly coloured treats all share the colour pink as their main theme, but other shades are also available, as in their staple creation called ‘unicorn’. The shop is hard to miss with its all-pink interior — and theme is repeated in the cute toppings you can choose to adorn your ice cream. Definitely Insta-worthy!

Website: http://eddysicecream.jp/
Hours: 11:00~20:00 daily
Address: 1F, 4-26-28 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo
Access: 3 min walk

By Mareike Dornhege

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