The Castella Cake: Trying Nagasaki’s Most Famous Delicacy

We stumbled upon the castella cake when we first arrived in Nagasaki. It seems as though you cannot walk a few steps in this city before you hit a castella shop and I’m all for it. It is hands down my favorite dessert in Japan.

Castella is Nagasaki’s specialty. It is a sponge cake that is smooth and dense yet light and airy. The castella cake is not too sweet and it gets its beautiful yellow color from eggs, which is one of the main ingredients in this Japanese delicacy (wagashi). The cake has a beautiful brown crust that often has coarse sugar sprinkled throughout the bottom for added texture. 

Quick History Lesson on the Castella Cake

The castella cakes were said to have been brought over to Japan by Portuguese missionaries in the 15th century. While they were out evangelizing, they’d also give out these delicious desserts which quickly became popular due to the lack of sugar in Japan at the time. At that time, sugar was only able to come into Japan through Nagasaki, which was the only port open to foreigners. Since then, the castella cake has become a staple in Japan and have since been perfected to accommodate the Japanese tastebuds.

I always feel a sense of pride when I learn of something inspired by Catholics. Especially in a country where Catholicism makes up less than 1% of its population. There are many other Japanese dishes which were influenced by Catholics, which many people don’t know about for example the tempura.

Our first encounter with this popular Japanese dessert was on Glover Street on the way up to Oura Cathedral. Oura Cathedral sits at the top of Glover Street, which is a street that has many shops lined with all of Nagasaki’s specialties, in particular, the castella. We were eager to visit the cathedral so we bypassed all the shops until we were on our way down when one of the shops offered us a sample. From that moment, we were hooked to this delicious dessert and have not turned back since. Now when we go to Nagasaki, we are sure to come back with luggages full of this Japanese confectionery.

Our Quest to try all of Nagasaki’s Castella Cakes

We have been blessed to be able to visit Nagasaki twice now. In that time, we have been able to try a lot of castellas while there. I am sure we have not even made a dent in trying all varieties available there, but we’re trying. Here is a list of all the ones we’ve had so far and which ones we recommend you try if you ever get the chance to do so in Nagasaki, Japan.

Seifudo – Our first Castella Cake Ever

• https://seifudo.shop/?all_items=true
• 2-6 Minamiyamatemachi, Nagasaki, 850-0931, Japan

This was the shop that started our castella cake craze. This shop is located on the famous Glover Street, which leads up to the beautiful Oura Cathedral. On a street lined with so many shops, this shop is easy to miss. However, a worker there flagged us down and offered us a sample of castella as we were walking by. We immediately fell in love with that castella. It was really the definition of love at first bite. 

This store seems to be more of a mom-and-pop shop with only the one shop there on Glover Street. Other castella shops can have multiple branches throughout the city, especially “The Big Three” castella brands, which I’ll touch on later.  However, I do know that Seifudo sells their castellas online and it can be shipped to anywhere in Japan.

The “about” page on their website emphasizes that their goal is to achieve moistness in their cakes. From personal experience, their cake is the most moist out of all the ones we’ve tried. They have definitely achieved their goal.

The Flavors at Seifudo

Seifudo has many flavors available and they offer samples for you to try too, which we truly appreciate. They have plain, earl gray, chocolate, yuzu, and cheese flavored castellas. Our absolute favorite (and the first castella we ever had) is their cheese flavored castella. At first I was a bit shocked to learn that it was cheese flavored but think less Cheese Whiz type cheese and more cheesecake-like. It’s subtle with just a hint of tartness that complements a castella sponge cake really well. Their plain and chocolate flavor is also delicious and we highly recommend it. They are one of the shops that does not have the coarse sugar on the bottom of their cakes and we do not mind it at all because it is the perfect amount of sweetness.

In terms of pricing, their castella cakes are reasonably priced with the cakes coming in two sizes. Small, which we think is good for two people per sitting and a bigger one, which could probably be shared amongst 6 people. You get a deal when you buy 3 of their smaller boxes so we bought 9, to share of course…

Bunmeido – Our Favorite Original Castella Cake

Bunmeido is one of “The Big Three” castella brands in Japan with all three being in Nagasaki. Founded in 1900, it is the youngest of the three most famous brands. Apparently they became very popular after the success of one of their commercials in 1962, which featured some dancing kitten puppets. From what I can tell in the comments section, even the Japanese people don’t really understand what’s happening in the commercial but they love it. I do agree, it looks absurd yet very cute at the same time. 

However, I doubt that they continue to be one of “The Big Three” due to that commercial. Their castellas truly are really delicious. Their plain one is our absolute favorite castella. It is eggy and moist with a nice density to it. The cake is so smooth and fluffy that you can easily eat more than you should in one sitting. It is also very nice and fragrant once you bite into it. The bottom is full of coarse sugar so it has a nice crunch to it but it is not too sweet at all. The box we bought has each slice of castella individually wrapped, which is great so that it doesn’t dry out if you don’t finish the box right away.

Bunmeido’s Flavors and Varieties

Other flavors they have for castellas include matcha and coffee. They also sell dorayakis, which is a Japanese dessert that has red bean paste sandwiched between two pancakes. One of their most popular items (and a Bunmeido only specialty) is the Castella Dorayaki Roll, which looks like a castella wrapped in a dorayaki.  

It is moderately priced compared to other castella shops. I think it is worth the price for the quality you get. They also have many stores throughout Nagasaki so it is easy to find their castellas and stock up on. Their main store in Nagasaki is very beautiful and worth checking out. There are also a couple of Bunmeido stores in Tokyo in the Shinjuku area. So if you cannot make it to Nagasaki, get a taste of one of our favorite castellas in Tokyo! In the Tokyo stores, they really seem to promote those kitties that got them famous. 

Fukusaya – The Most Popular Castella

Another one of “The Big Three” is Fukusaya. Founded in 1624, it is the oldest castella producer in Japan. They have a recognizable logo that you see on the bags of most of the tourists walking around Nagasaki. Their logo is a bat and I can’t help but think of Batman every time I see it. 

Honestly, their castella is not a favorite of ours. On our first trip to Nagasaki, we visited their main shop and bought a lot of their castellas for ourselves and as gifts. You can’t try it ahead of time and we just expected it to be as good as the first castella we ever tried from Seifudo since it is a bigger, more popular chain.  It might’ve been a bad batch but I was very disappointed in what we bought. Also fun fact, every batch in this shop is made by one individual from start to finish. 

Since that bad experience, I was not interested in this shop’s castella the last time I returned to Nagasaki. However, our hotel just so happened to serve this brand’s castella so I gave it one more chance and it was definitely better. It was not as dry nor overly sweet as the ones from our first experience. 

Fukusayama’s Sugar Crystals

Fukusaya’s castellas are loaded with sugar on the bottom so if you like sweeter desserts, this is the brand for you. I quickly looked on their website and they say they are famous for their sugar crystals so I’ll give them credit for that. Their cakes have a more grainy texture and are on the drier side in comparison to the other shops. Like the other Big Three brands, they have shops scattered throughout Nagasaki so it is easy to pick some up. They also have a shop in Tokyo in the Meguro area.

Shooken – The Premium Castella

Shooken is the last of “The Big Three” and was founded in 1681. Their focus is on premium ingredients and they really emphasize how their bakers have to adjust their baking process depending on the weather and temperature. This shop was recommended to us by a staff at the hotel and she said that Shooken has her favorite castella cake.

We tried the original one and found the castella to be delicious but just a tad on the sweeter side. The beautiful packaging and higher price point set our expectations quite high. It has a more golden color than the others. It is dense and on the more grainy side, like Fukusaya’s castella. We personally prefer our castellas really smooth and fluffy. You can see the difference in texture from the photo below. We compared it to Bunmeido’s, which has our favorite original castella.

Shooken Castella Cake Flavors

We also tried their specialty seasonal flavor when we went in September, which was matcha with candied chestnut at the time. This made sense once I read about the history of Shooken. The founder opened it as a candied fruits and castella shop. This seasonal cake combined both of those components. The cake was moist and earthy from the matcha, which cuts into the sweetness of the candied chestnut. There also appeared to be another bean in there (maybe black bean?) that really contributed to the density of the cake. It is more filling than regular castellas, which is usually light as air. Shooken has the most luxurious packaging we’ve seen on any castella. You could tell that every part of the wrapping was carefully curated and because of that it was very beautifully done. 

They also have a handful of stores around Nagasaki but unlike the other two Big Three brands, they do not have a store in Tokyo. The only other store outside of Nagasaki appears to be in Fukuoka.

Museum Cafe – The Original Castella Cake Ice Cream Sandiwch

This unassuming little cafe sits across the entrance of Glover Garden and just around the corner from Oura Cathedral on Glover Street. There are no flashy signs nor a big open entryway. Just a little poster with a picture of their castella ice cream sandwich on it. I remembered it from our first visit to Nagasaki even though we did not go to the cafe then. Before we ever tried any castella I remember telling my husband that we should try the castella ice cream sandwich after we got lunch but wasn’t able to make it back at that time. Ever since then, I did not forget that poster of the castella ice cream sandwich so the second time we went to Nagasaki I specifically looked for this shop. 

We came in on a sweltering day after walking around all morning and it was the perfect place to relax and get some refreshments. We stopped by right after visiting Oura Cathedral. The cafe is extremely charming and quaint on the inside. It is cozy with its vintage decor and dainty florals. We had a beautiful view of the street and port outside from our seats

The Original Castella Cake Ice Cream Sandwich

The owner lady was so friendly and spoke enough English to have a lovely conversation with us. She told us about the museum upstairs as well as how the castella sandwich and all the drinks are homemade. My husband was served his iced coffee in a local treasure, which was a cup that was close to 200 years old!

Her ice cream sandwich was delicious and just what we needed that hot and humid afternoon. The cake was soft and moist and the vanilla ice cream was of great quality. Reviews online say that hers is the original castella ice cream sandwich and I wouldn’t doubt it. We were happy to be able to support a local shop owned by a sweet lady. This cafe was one of the unexpected highlights of our trip to Nagasaki. 

New York Do – The Castella Desserts

New York Do is another shop that specializes in castella ice cream sandwiches as well as other castella related desserts. The shop is most famous for their castella ice cream sandwiches, especially their soft serve sandwich. We unfortunately arrived too late to try. However, they do have sealed prepackaged ice cream sandwiches available in their store as well as in the vending machine right outside. It comes in many flavors such as green tea, red bean with mochi, coffee, and chocolate just to name a few. 

I got the vanilla ice cream with regular castella and my husband got the castella with green tea ice cream in it. After we bought it, we were told to wait at least 5-10 minutes to eat it or else it would be too hard. We highly suggest you wait the full 10 minutes before eating it because even on the sweltering day when we went, it was still very hard. I think it would’ve been amazing if the castella slices were thicker and maybe because it was frozen, the cake was not too moist. The ice cream is on the more icy side rather than creamy. Overall it was a nice treat on a hot day and we suggest you try it out if you want to try unique castella related desserts. The owner that we met was also very kind.

Have you ever tried Japanese Castella? If so, please let us know which ones were your favorite and what you like about it.