Tabelog ratingSWEETS garden YUJI AJIKI (スイーツガーデン ユウジアジキ) is the takeaway shop of Yuji Ajiki, who won the Mandarine Napoléon world championship in 1996. It has been open in Kitayamata, Yokohama, since 2010. It won Tabelog Award Bronze five years running (2017–2021) and keeps reappearing in Tabelog's Sweets 100. Its reputation rests on two cakes:
- the Ajiki Roll (安食ロール), built around an exceptionally fine-textured egg sponge
- the strawberry shortcake, sold as the fraise (フレーズ), which several regulars call the best they have eaten
Reviewers almost unanimously praise cream that is light rather than cloying, and carefully layered constructions. Beyond the roll, they single out:
- the mille crêpe, layered with custard and fresh cream
- the Anémone de Mer, a chocolate-raspberry cake whose pistachio ganache centre turns molten after 20 seconds in a microwave
- a meringue-based Japanese chestnut Mont-blanc
- a shine muscat and cream cheese tart
Portions are notably large.
The most common complaint is the queue. It moves slowly, sometimes with a single person serving, and there is no separate line for baked goods. Christmas pickup was described as chaotic, and prices have risen. A minority were let down by individual cakes: a watery pear chiboust, a soggy tiramisu, a scorched mango chiboust and bland white peach cakes. One reviewer found some creations overly complex.
Petits gâteaux run roughly ¥720–1,500. Between 2024 and 2026, reviewers paid:
- ¥860 for the Anémone de Mer
- ¥880 each for the fraise and the Saint-Honoré Tonka Vanille
- ¥1,250–1,500 for the shine muscat tart
- ¥2,500 for a whole Ajiki Roll
- ¥500 for a bag of roll offcuts (ミーミのミミ)
- ¥3,240 for the cookie tin
The shop's listing puts the typical spend at under ¥999 for both lunch and dinner, while reviewers report ¥1,000–1,999 per visit. Prices often sit ¥100–200 above nearby shops, but most reviewers feel the size and quality justify them. A few thought the wait was not worth it.
- Getting there: 1 minute (78 m) from Kitayamata Station, Exit 1, on the Yokohama Municipal Subway Green Line, behind a FamilyMart. The shop is on the ground floor of the Benishia building.
- Booking: not necessary; you can simply join the queue. The Ajiki Roll and whole cakes can be pre-ordered through the online shop only (not in store), and pre-order holders skip the line.
- Queues: 1–2 hours on weekends and holidays. Arrive before the 10:00 opening. Cakes sell out by early afternoon, and staff advise coming by 13:00.
- Closing days: closed Monday and Tuesday. Some reviewers report Wednesday closures too, so check the website or Instagram before you go.
- Payment: cards (VISA, Master, JCB, AMEX, Diners), electronic money and QR payments (PayPay, d Barai, au PAY, Merpay, LINE Pay, Hama Pay) accepted.
- Seating: takeaway only, with no eat-in space and no private rooms.
- Children: welcome; no age restriction.
- Smoking: non-smoking.
- Parking: none.
