Drank too much last night? Here’s where to eat. Today: Tokyo’s viral “raw” doughnuts, the paper order sheet that makes you overspend, and the queue that has finally calmed down.
Quick Facts
| Nearest station | Ikebukuro Station, east exit, 5-min walk |
|---|---|
| Budget | ¥237–518 per doughnut (about $1.60–3.50) |
| Cash or card | Cashless only — cards, e-money and PayPay. Cash is not accepted |
| Smoking | Non-smoking |
| Reservations | Not accepted — takeaway only, no seating |
| Hours | 10:00–20:00, open daily (closures announced on Instagram) |
Nama Doughnuts, and Whether the Hype Survived
I’m donut? built its reputation on nama doughnuts — “raw” in the sense of soft, wet-crumbed and deliberately underbaked-feeling, closer to brioche than to a ring doughnut. For two years the queues were absurd. When I walked past the Ikebukuro branch it was nearly empty, which is either good news or a sign the boom has moved on. Either way, this is the moment to go.
The Order Sheet Is a Trap (and It Works)
You fill in a paper sheet yourself, in pen, and hand it over. There is no tablet, nothing to undo, and you write your name on it for reasons nobody explains. I watched one customer give up and leave.
Here is the thing: because you cannot edit a pen mark, you add one more, and one more. I left with ten doughnuts. A tablet would have let me reconsider at checkout. I am fairly sure the paper is not an accident.
Note also the mismatch that catches visitors out: payment is cashless only, but ordering is on paper. Bring a card.
What to Order
Fifteen kinds, from plain (¥237) to the top end at ¥518. The plain is the honest test of the dough and worth buying at least one. Custard (¥410) is the pick if you like a classic cream-filled doughnut. Chocolat berry (¥356) pairs chocolate dough with strawberry chocolate.
Four flavours are Ikebukuro-only: matcha with baked white chocolate (¥356), musical pistachio (¥410), mandarin and caramel cream (¥518, limited period), and a baked tomato keema curry doughnut (¥518) — a savoury doughnut with house-made minced curry, which is either lunch or a mistake depending on your tolerance for sweet-coated curry.
A large paper bag costs an extra ¥100, so bring your own and save it.
Access & Practical Tips
- Five minutes from Ikebukuro east exit. Takeaway only — there is nowhere to sit, so plan where you are eating these.
- Cashless only. This is the reverse of the usual Tokyo problem, and it catches people out.
- Open 10:00–20:00 every day; unscheduled closures go up on Instagram.
- Buy fewer than you think you want. Genuinely.
- These are best eaten within the hour — the soft texture is the whole point and it does not survive the day.
Hangover Recovery Index
My completely unscientific Hangover Recovery Index: 3 out of 5. Sugar and soft bread do real work on a bad morning, and a doughnut demands nothing of you. Points off because ten of them is a second mistake stacked on the first, and because you still have to walk five minutes and operate a pen.
Eat well, drink better, and see you at the next hangover.