Taiyaki Wakaba

This neighbourhood shop is nice even to tourists. Staff help us to serve the “taiyaki ( Red Bean filled Fish shape cake) in the shop. Filling is really hot and right about sweetness. Takeaway is with nice wrapping paper.

Was standing in the cold and wind blowing at us strongly but the wait was worth it! The tantamount was baked and fired with charcoal fire. The red bean paste is so tasty and just the right texture and sweetness. The bite into the taitaki is so crispy and nicely golden brown. We gobbled up the item very quickly. The sitting area inside comes with free hot tea and other water beverages. Highly recommended and we will come back again for sure!

Freshly made and piping hot! The filling is not too sweet and has a right amount of dough. There was a short queue around 10 but worth the wait if you’re around the area. There’s only one flavour and they sell the red bean paste on its own. Cute packaging for a box ordered. Free iced water and ocha as well!

The moment you step into the shop, you’re welcomed by the aroma of charcoal grilling. They offer only one type of filling, but it’s generously packed. The batter is thin and slightly crispy.

MAR 2024 Arrived at the store an hour after opening and joined the queue. The queue seems manageable, about 20-30 people but I was wrong. It took close to 1.5 hours for me to buy the taiyaki, probably because some people are buying multiple taiyakis. Once you get to a certain section in the queue, there is a window where you can see the taiyaki being made one by one; the batter and red bean paste put into the mold, the constant sound of the molds being rotated, the trimming of excess batter, and finally the taiyaki passed onto the conveyor belt once ready. There is also a pleasant grill aroma. The taiyaki was tasty; red bean was smooth and mildly sweet and the batter was thin and slightly crisp. However definitely not worth the wait if you had to wait anymore than half an hour.

Each taiyaki is individually made and cooked over a charcoal fire. The crust is thin and the red bean filling is not too sweet. When eaten immediately, the crispy crust with the combination of the red bean just melts in your mouth. Never had any taiyaki taste so good. Expect a long line but the wait is worth it.

Even at 2PM on a Thursday, there was a line that wrapped around the shop. Surprisingly, I was the only tourist there. Everyone else seemed to be older locals. Took 30 min to make it to the front of the line and order. Taiyaki is ¥210 each. There is seating at the back and cups for water or green tea. The filling was piping hot and delicious. You can also purchase the red bean paste at the store.

3.7 stars I went on a weekday when it wasn't crowded at all. There's no way I'll wait over 20 minutes for this. On Saturday it's soooooo crowded,, It was delicious and it doesn't have the feeling of being mass-produced or from a chain shop (it isn't, by the way). No frills, no nonsense. The shop uses red beans from Hokkaido and they're very proud of their red bean paste. You can buy it and bring it home if you want. The batter is crispy and quite thin so a lot of red bean paste is inside and it's basically not overly sweet. On a rainy day it's not crowded but expect to line up for a long time if you go on a weekend at peak times. It was good but it is best eaten freshly made.

More like 3.5 actually? Different from taiyaki I've had before in that it was more savory and, I'd assume, traditional. Anko was delicious and almost tasted like sweet potato. The crust was deliciously flakey on the edges but kind of thin in the middle, probably because there was so much filling. I'm used to really sweet desserts and this was almost not dessert, but nonetheless delicious. It's rated top 100 desserts on tabelog and one of the top taiyaki, but maybe my tastes are too American to understand why.

This store is supposed to be one of the three best Taiyaki(fish shape pancake with sweet red bean paste inside) places in Tokyo. This was my first time to eat 天然たいやき(Ten-nen taiyaki - It's a wild fishy pancake!) I was surprised at the first time I heard it since taiyaki has nothing to do with fish but only its shape. When making regular taiyaki, the pan used can make 5+ taiyaki at a time but Wakaba makes its taiyaki piece by piece and that is the reason Japanese call it not farmed but wild. We felt how well the taiyaki were taken care of to be served. It's one of the best Japanese sweets I ever had! I liked that the Anko (sweet red bean paste) wasn't too sweet and you can feel the bean taste and texture. Outside was so crispy and thin, which is different from normal taiyaki that tends to be a little thicker and softer. The reason why I didn't put 5stars was I needed to wait 10+ minutes even though the line wasn't long. To make this type of taiyaki just takes time... They also had a small number of tables available inside and if you are lucky, you may be able to have a seat and free green tea or water.