A parfait fit for everyone can be found at this parfait paradise located inside of Osaka Station.
Our intrepid Japanese-language reporter Mr. Sato has been enjoying some time in Osaka for the 2025 World Expo. At one point recently, he found himself inside of Osaka Station’s Central Court area when he spotted a place that looked familiar–Karafuneya Cafe, a cafe he’d actually been to at its main location in Kyoto 11 years ago.
▼ Karafuneya’s Kyoto branch in October 2014
It was impossible to forget his visit because this cafe wasn’t afraid to make parfaits in ways that parfaits had never been made before. Case in point–at the time, he tried the Ultimate Fried Shrimp Parfait. He remembers how it tasted very well, though he still can’t decide whether to describe it as “refreshingly novel” or “downright bizarre.” In any case, it certainly made an impact, and he thinks everyone should try it once.
▼ The Ultimate Fried Shrimp Parfait
This sister shop location within Osaka Station opened last March. He’d never thought that he’d be able to experience Karafuneya’s unique flavor combinations again in Osaka, so he felt compelled to pay it a visit.
The cafe chain is known for its jumbo parfaits, and the glass display case near the entrance of the shop is quite an impressive sight with all of the neatly arranged plastic models.
Mr. Sato went inside and grabbed a menu, which looked more like a colorful magazine than anything else. With over 100 kinds of available parfaits, things might be difficult for a giant sweets lover (also: a lover of giant sweets) like him.
The first page spread featured the top 10 recommended parfaits by the cafe itself. They come in all shapes and sizes, including one inside of a fruit rind bowl.
In the middle of all of them, Mr. Sato spotted the Ultimate Fried Shrimp Parfait. Back in 2014 it had cost him 1,000 yen (US$6.95), but now it was 1,380 yen. He supposed that price increase wasn’t actually all that bad.
The next pages detailed “sweets on” parfaits, which refers to possible parfait toppings as varied as deep-fried bread, scones, or daifuku (mochi dumpings), and, for some strange reason, curry bread and yakisoba noodles that customers can request on top of a parfait. Strangely, out of the eight bread-like toppings, only three of them were of the “sweets” variety, so it was a bit of an odd naming choice.
Following that was Karafuneya Cafe’s line of standard parfaits. If you’re feeling in a more cautious mood than an adventurous one, then you can’t go wrong with any of the choices noted here.
An interesting development lay in the next pages, which detailed how diners can opt to create their own parfaits by choosing the type of glass vessel, ice cream, and themed topping combinations that they want and then actually assemble the whole creation themselves. It seemed like a fun option for social media users.
Next, this Jumbo Party Parfait -Snowman- packed a huge visual punch. It was designed to look like a snowman with a fishbowl base full of parfait toppings. At a staggering 50,000 yen, the menu claimed that it’s intended for 15 people and must be reserved in advance. It would make for a fun centerpiece at a party with lots of people, but Mr. Sato didn’t think that he would ever want to shell out that much money for one menu item.
Moving along, the line of five “omoshiro parfaits,” or “interesting parfaits,” consisted of ingredients usually deemed weird for a parfait, including fried takoyaki (octopus balls), French fries, fried shrimp, karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken), and corn dogs. Mr. Sato noticed that the pork loin cutlet parfait he had seen on the menu back in 2014 seemed to have been replaced by the takoyaki.
Mulling over all of the options, it was a tough choice to make, but in the vein of living up to his carefully curated reputation, Mr. Sato decided to spring for the karaage parfait (1,380 yen) this time. He also purchased an unlimited drink bar ticket for 500 yen.
He meandered over to the drink bar while waiting for his dessert to see what options there were. Apart from the usual suspects like coffee, tea, and soda, there was also a daily soup offering. This particular day’s selection was corn soup, which he wanted to try.
After waiting a little bit longer, his karaage parfait arrived!
There were four pieces of fried chicken crowning the concoction, looking like they had every right to be resting on a bed of ice cream and next to slices of fruit.
Mr. Sato took a minute to digest the whole thing with his eyes and then debated where to begin. Would it be smart to tackle the karaage pieces right away or save them for last…?
He also couldn’t help gently teasing the fried chicken a bit (which is a perfectly ordinary thing that he might do). “You look fried to a perfect golden crisp. What business do you have being in a dessert, HUH?!”
Mr. Sato then went to stab the first piece with his fork, but the ice cream underneath was too soft and it sank down a bit. He scooped it up instead and popped it into his mouth to find that it was still fairly hot.
The combination of hot and cold, salty and sweet was better than he remembered. That’s why he decided it would be best to eat the chicken while it was still hot, so he went to scoop up another piece–but then tragedy struck. It slipped from his fork and fell onto the ground, rolling right under the chair he was sitting on. He sheepishly bent down to retrieve it with a tissue, all while feeling the eyes of other customers on his back.
▼ Karaage: 1, Mr. Sato: 0
As he continued eating the remaining chicken, the rest of the parfait slowly came into view. Slices of fruit and whipped cream rested on top of a large mound of vanilla ice cream. Tiny fragments of vanilla beans were also scattered throughout, adding an even stronger, tastier flavor.
The corn flake foundation also began to emerge, along with a hidden stash of fruit in the lowest narrow cavity of the bowl. This parfait made eating a treasure hunt, Mr. Sato mused. All in all, it was an extremely satisfying treat, with flavors and textures that harmonized well with each other. Even the fried chicken featured just the right level of saltiness to balance perfectly with the sweetness of the ice cream.
Just as Mr. Sato was getting up to leave, another customer called out to him, “Are you the Mr. Sato from SoraNews24?” Our guy stammered out a “yes” and asked if they had happened to see him drop his chicken earlier. “Well, uh, yeah…” the customer replied.
While Mr. Sato now wants to crawl under a rock for not being able to keep his food on the table as a grown adult man, we’d like to encourage him to cheer up. After all, it’s not the most embarrassing thing that others on his team have done by far.
Cafe information
Karafuneya Cafe Osaka location / からふね屋カフェ 大阪店
Address: Osaka-fu, Osaka-shi, Kita-ku, Umeda 3-1-1, JR Osaka Station Central Court
大阪府大阪市北区梅田 3-1-1 JR大阪駅セントラルコート
Open 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Website
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