The neighborhood of Omotesando already has a surplus of trendy pancake, chocolate and sugared-up popcorn shops.
But the area became even sweeter with the opening last Saturday of Monarch Cupcake (3-24-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; www.monarchcupcake.com).
Founded by British-born Furva Saleem, the speciality shop, which is being billed as a mix of "art and taste," offers 16 cupcake flavors to choose from, including salted caramel, banana split and cupcake favorite — red velvet.