Popcorn War in Tokyo

It's the kind of weird boutiquery you'd expect from Japan, but this time it's coming from the States.
Not one but TWO gourmet popcorn shops in Tokyo, a ten minute walk from each other at that.
One is Garret's and the other is KuKuRuZa.

Garret's is better.
KuKuRuZa is faster.
This is because Garret's has cues of Space-Mountain-proportions that can take an hour or more, and KuKuRuZa has little-to-no cues.

The pride of Chicago, Garret's menu is pretty simple. They have three basic flavors. Cheese, butter, and caramel. Beyond that, you can get variations of the caramel with cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts, or pecans. You can also get what they call their Chicago mix: cheese and caramel. It's alot better than it sounds. I'm jonesing just thinking about it. #%&@! My mouth is watering! Yes, the Chicago Mix and all their other popcorn is really that good. The popcorn itself is stunningly crispy, and stays that way for several days. I'm not sure how they do it. I've never had popcorn even close to this good, every in my life. Just take my word for it, it's actually worth the wait. And go ahead and buy several different flavors. They'll keep alot longer than you'd think. We're nuts about it, and all of our friends, family and customers say the same.

Seattle's KuKuRuZa has twice as many flavors, but it's more popcorn rolled in powders so the flavors don't, sorry, pop like Garret's do. And the popcorn is a bit rubbery and tough; the texture is not quite as good as the best movie popcorn I've had. There were also too many un-popped kernels: eat carefully. What's more, the staff were markedly unenthusiastic, by Japanese standards. But it's not commensurately cheaper--the prices between KuKuRuZa and Garret's are about the same. My family thought they liked it at the time, but haven't given it a second thought since. One good thing about KuKuRuZa is their resealable bags.

Either brand makes for a great gift/omiyage. The bags and tins are pretty and decorative.

So I'd have to recommend Garret's well above KuKuRuZa, unless you're either in a big hurry to grab a flashy gift, or you're bored with Garret's flavors and want to try some of the more exotic flavors of KuKuRuZa like Jalapeno or Cinnamon Bun.

KuKuRuZa is alongside of Omotesando Hills, near Ben & Jerry's.
http://www.kukuruza.jp/

Garret's is across the street from Harajuku station near Shibuya. It's easy enough to find. Exit the station, cross the street, turn right, and go towards the intersection. It's next to Jangara Ramen, at the base of the foot bridge. Just look for a long line of people. They also have a place in Chiba, but I haven't been there, yet.
http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/japan-locations/

Now I'm wondering if Tokyo can support two gourmet popcorneries, or if war will break out. A battle for pop-ularity? I'd love to see them having at it with popcorn guns and carpet-popcorning. Troops commanded by their...kernels? (sorry, that was too corny). But I think Garret's would win it just on enthusiasm alone. Their staff seems to know they have a great product and they serve it with real pride.

Honorable mention: Tokyo Disneyland's Curry Popcorn.

Smaller, Cuter, Better: Cupcakes

 It's almost unbearably cliche. Tiny, "demitasse" cupcakes in the Omotesando subway Echika.

Following the big cupcake boom back in the States, TABLES has taken the recently re-booted cupcake, miniaturized it, and is offering it in more flavors than you'll find for macaroons...and they're adorable! Just look at some of these:

Fig, orange, green tea, red velvet, pink berry, black vanilla, white chocolate...

one of my favorites was the gingerbread:

We stumbled across it changing trains in Omotesando, near Shibuya last month. The cakes were just the right size to make for a little pick-me-up treat. We actually ended up getting several. Luckily, there is a good coffee bar facing TABLES so we could have a good cuppa with the cup cakes. I took this picture from where we were sitting:

It's the kind of thing I'd have walked right past if I hadn't drifted into the kitchenware store behind it. Even after I saw it, I almost gave it a miss because at first glance it looked like any other confectioner. But now it's one of our Omotesando stops. If you're in Osaka, they're there, too.

Every flavor we've tried is top-notch. They're priced right. Easy to carry home.

...and they're just gorgeous to look at.

Here's a menu, but the items are always changing:

This is one of my killer holiday gifts this year. Everyone I've given them to loves them. 

Yes, I've got that American competitive gift-giving thing. 

My gift has to be the coolest thing you get.