Kobe’s Western-style Pastry War Zone: A “Crispy Cake Tower” Layered with Fresh Fruits

Text & Photos byRight Upper 45° Girl

Ever since I tried ARROWTREE at Taipei’s Hankyu Department Store, I’ve been eager to visit its original flagship store in Kobe, Japan, to taste its most authentic flavors. If the version in Taipei scored 90 out of 100, then the flagship store using genuine Japanese fruits must be a paradise for fruit tarts, right? (wipes away tears)

ARROW TREE’s flagship store is located in a prime pastry battleground—not on the glamorous streets of Kobe, but in Nishinomiya Station, about five or six stops away from Kobe.

This station isn’t crowded with tourists—it’s a residential area mainly populated by locals. As soon as you exit, there’s a large shopping mall to your left where you can browse Nitori Home.

Turn right after exiting the station and walk for about five minutes—you’ll see ARROW TREE’s flagship store, which looks simple and unassuming.

No wonder this fruit shop is so famous it can even open a cake store—by 4 PM, there’s already a crowd of local ladies buying fresh produce. Many fruits aren’t neatly displayed but are still in boxes, with fruits shipped from all over Japan waiting to be chosen. I guess they’re just too busy to unpack them all.

Small chalkboards above the fruits indicate their origin, variety, and price.

Strawberries from Fukuoka are almost the size of a palm each.

I’m curious about the cauliflower from Tokushima—how do you even cook this?

Aside from fruits, the vegetables here are also incredibly fresh. Japanese produce always looks especially clean and vibrant—it’s just delicious-looking.

Walk left, and through transparent glass doors, you’ll find ARROWTREE’s dessert shop.

The interior has a slight Southern European vibe—simple cement walls, wooden tables, and windows, embracing a rustic countryside aesthetic, which is a far cry from the glamorous feel of the Taipei Hankyu branch.

Besides cakes, they also sell canvas bags, black tea packets, and other merchandise, displayed in a laid-back style.

I’m guessing their main clientele is female—the tea bags and candies are all in cute pink shades.

Now, let’s check the menu. The first page features savory dishes—affordable Italian pasta and egg-fried rice are both just 900 yen.

Curry rice and light meals are also priced the same. Girls, don’t worry if your boyfriend doesn’t want dessert—bringing him here for a satisfying full meal is totally fine.

Moving on to the desserts. Each item is around 700 yen or more, though fruit-based ones are slightly cheaper.

Unlike the Taipei branch, they also offer ice cream desserts here.

Don’t feel like sweets? They have fresh juices too, perfect for those who aren’t into desserts.

I also love their floral and fruit teas here in Japan—though there are fewer flavors. But the hot drinks section has unique options like yuzu tea and matcha lattes.

Having dessert with beer? That’s pretty unconventional.

They even have red and white wine. That’s quite an interesting pairing.

● ET News Cloud reminds you: Don’t drink and drive, and don’t drive after drinking.

Desserts in the store are self-selected from the glass display case.

The chestnut Mont Blanc is so adorable. I remember the Taiwanese version being quite sweet, so I skipped it since I prefer tart flavors.

Most of the other desserts are ones I’ve had in Taiwan, like these—they’re also available there. Prices are about 20% cheaper than in Taiwan.

In the end, I picked a crispy cake tower that I hadn’t tried before in Taiwan.

The crispy tart is layered with strawberries, blueberries, and fresh cream — the presentation is really lovely!

But the key to enjoying ARROW TREE’s cakes is to mix the cake, fruit, and fresh cream together, savoring a variety of textures and flavors all at once. This cake is slightly dry, so be sure to stir in the fresh cream and eat it along with the strawberry in one bite — it's mildly tangy and pleasantly smooth. Want something sweeter? Go for the blueberries instead, paired with the cake body and the crunchy tart base at the bottom, offering more diverse flavors and an even more enchanting aroma.

The matcha latte tastes exactly as you’d imagine — nothing particularly special...

I’m a bit puzzled by this scene in the shop. It looks like they’re ripening bananas? In Japan, bananas are relatively expensive imported fruit, so it feels a bit out of place.

Both of these are 6T — next time I’d love to gather a group, so we can order one to share and enjoy it together. That would be amazing!

【ARROW TREE】http://arrow-tree.com/index.html
TABELOG rating: 3.53 (anything above 3.5 is considered high, see 【Useful Japanese Travel Websites】Tabelog (食べログ): essential for finding great foodhttp://serene1102.pixnet.net/blog/post/30705268)

ARROW TREE
Address: 4-25 Ikeda-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo
TEL:0798-23-0300
Business hours: 11:00–23:00 (no days off)
Access: 3-minute walk right after exiting JR Nishinomiya Station, turn right

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