Takano: Rare Cheese

Decided to swing by Isetan to see if there were any unexpected changes for August (not that I found) and check out the line up at Yu Sasage (which didn't have either of the cakes that I was looking for), which is visiting from today (next week is a non-Tokyo shop, so outside my interest). Didn't get anything there, so I went to one of the last two remaining neighborhood shops that have branches in that area, Takano (the shop on the neighborhood map is the counter at Toukyuu Food Show, in Shibuya), which has their own building in Shinjuku near the station and has take-out cake in the basement, with access from the subway corridor. I decided to get what I think was called just Rare Cheese, which is a rare cheese dome over a short roll cake (double-layer) base around a peach center, I think. It was definitely good, though moist spongy cake is not my thing, but a nice change, actually, so I'm pleasantly surprised, especially based on other cakes from fruit dessert shops.

The running was long, 90 minutes. I did the neighborhood course (one way), picking off various loops that don't lead to any other loops: Sendagaya northwest loop (going through the heart of Harajuku), then down and around to Jinnan (which is actually outside the Yamanote Line, so forget what I said about inside being my priority), and then back up past Harajuku Station to the Sendagaya west and southwest loops, which are pretty out of the way. So that means the next options are to go outward from Yoyogi Park, which takes a while to get to and then to get down to near the northwest side of Shibuya Stn., where the isolated loops are, or down to the new Shibuya east loop, and there will be a tiny loop even east of that just to pick up the Lindt shop there north of the station. Also, the Shibuya--Minami-Aoyama Loop wouldn't be bad; it's farther than the Nishi-Azabu loops, but short. Before, those, though, I think I have add a new loop in Kitaaoyama going through Gaien, now that the pedestrian bridges are repaired across Aoyama-douri there; I also need to get some photos to go with that, as well as some scattered ones of places that I've added on current routes.