Starting out as a traveling vendor, cafe “Niwa to Bungaku” now has a shop serving lunch and sweets. It has improved and updated its popular pudding. We spoke with the manager, Nakahara Yosuke.
We want you to enjoy our cute pudding at home, too
Why did you update the two types of pudding?
Nakahara (surname only)
When people talk about pudding, they describe its texture as “firm” or “smooth,” but these days, visuals are really important, especially on social media. But retro pudding that’s turned upside down is something you can only get by going to a shop, and you have to eat it there. Or, some shops sell it already turned upside down.
A little while ago, when I sold pudding online, a customer posted it on Instagram. They said they’d “failed” while trying to remove the pudding neatly, and posted a picture of it all messed up. I thought, this is a real problem.
For a long time, I’d wondered if I could make it work like Pucchin Pudding. Pucchin Pudding can be turned upside down because of the shape of its container. We don’t have that kind of container, so we can’t do that, but did you know that pudding made with gelatin comes out if you give it a quick shake, thanks to centrifugal force? It spins around and pops out cleanly.
But that only works with pudding that contains gelatin. When it’s made by baking eggs until firm, the surface gets cooked and sticks to the container, so it won’t come out cleanly. It’s not that pudding without gelatin never comes out—sometimes it does. I thought that if it could come out by chance, we could probably make it happen consistently.
After making improvements by changing the temperature and recipe, there might be one in every 10,000 that won’t come out, but we’ve reached a point where it works almost 100% of the time. The staff tried it, and it worked every time, so we’re now able to sell a product that lets anyone easily enjoy retro pudding.
You made pudding that comes out even though it doesn’t contain gelatin?
Nakahara
That’s right. It’s completely additive-free, and we don’t use any coagulants, stabilizers, vegetable oils, flavorings, or colorings. We started selling it in May 2024.
How should I put it? This is a social problem. The social problem is that you can’t have cute pudding right there with you. I wanted to solve this social problem, so I made pudding that’s too cute (firm pudding). You don’t take pictures of it while it’s still in the container, do you? It has to be upside down.
“Mazekoze Confectionery Shop,” where you can shop at your leisure
There’s a car outside the shop. Do you sell sweets from it?
Nakahara
We started “Mazekoze Confectionery Shop” in April 2024. You have to take off your shoes to enter our shop, and I thought that might be a high hurdle for people coming to buy things to take home. When I wanted to find a way to address that, the idea came about when I thought it would be nice to have a takeout shop in the garage. Until now, some people have ordered from the entrance, and it seems quite a few people don’t want to take off their shoes.
How would you like people to use Mazekoze Confectionery Shop?
Nakahara
I hope they’ll feel free to stop by.
It’s basically unmanned, with just a button set out. When you press it, a staff member comes out, so you can shop without worrying about being watched. Take your time choosing, and press the button when you’ve decided. Or, if you think there’s nothing you want, you can just leave. There’s no awkward pressure from having a shop assistant around, so you can take your time looking at the products.
We bought the car for Mazekoze Confectionery Shop and did the DIY ourselves. It has a refrigerated display case, so you can buy pudding here, too.
Since it’s mobile, we’d be happy if event organizers invited us to their events.
We want to keep exploring pudding
You keep taking on all kinds of challenges. Do you have any goals for the future?
Nakahara
I’d like to develop a container that can be turned upside down, like Pucchin Pudding. The biggest issue is money; I think it would cost tens of millions of yen. We’d need not only the money to develop it, but also the sales capacity to sell enough of the product. We can’t take on the challenge just by having the money—we’d also need to have solid sales channels in place.
We’re also considering a canned version of the container. Making cans requires a certain amount of equipment, so that would probably cost money, too. But if we can make it happen, we’ll be able to export it. I’d like it to go overseas as Japanese pudding. The tagline is, “With pudding, the world is cute.”
If it’s canned, you can have pudding ready for any occasion. The scenery in the mountains or the city isn’t cute, is it? But when you take a picture with pudding, the scenery instantly becomes cute. With pudding, the world is cute.
Developing it involves risks. Where do your motivation and enthusiasm come from?
Nakahara
I can’t explain why I like doing what I do, but there’s one story that really resonates with me. When I was in my twenties, I once asked someone who painted, “Why do you paint so much?” They said—and this may sound crude—“It’s like going to the toilet.” You’re just letting out what’s inside you.
I’m exactly the same. It’s not about whether I have energy or not; I’m simply walking in the direction I’m drawn to. It’s a natural thing to do, and I don’t feel at all that it’s anything special. I do know, though, that getting there is very difficult.
From the Writer
Starting out selling from a tricycle, then opening a shop and continuing to update its popular pudding, cafe “Niwa to Bungaku” keeps moving forward. As a writer who finds it hard to get started even when I want to take on something new, I have great respect for Nakahara. I was also surprised that he doesn’t consciously set out to try one new thing after another, but simply sees it as perfectly natural.
Nakahara is never satisfied with the status quo and keeps moving on to the next step. I’m sure his dream of developing a new container will come true, too. I can’t wait for the day when the pudding from cafe “Niwa to Bungaku” takes flight overseas and makes the world a cuter place.
About cafe “Niwa to Bungaku”
| Name | cafe “Niwa to Bungaku” |
|---|---|
| Address | 3-14-45 Oimatsu-cho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 080-7459-0572 |
| Parking | Available 7 spaces at the yellow poles in Namba Parking Lot |
| Hours | 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (last order 4:00 p.m.) |
| Closed | Sunday Mazekoze Confectionery Shop is open Thursday–Saturday |
| Payment methods |
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| Reservations | Accepted Reservations required for visits after 5:00 p.m. |
| Seating | 22 seats: 16 table seats, 4 counter seats, 2 sofa seats |
| Smoking | Entirely non-smoking |
| Restroom | Western-style toilet |
| Website | cafe “Niwa to Bungaku” Instagram |
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