Tenmonkan Mujyaki
The cafe that invented shirokuma shaved ice in 1947, now serving over ten kinds.
piggybackjapan.com
Tenmonkan Mujyaki
SaveThe cafe that invented shirokuma shaved ice in 1947, now serving over ten kinds.
A polar bear statue and a stuffed bear stand at the door, a known photo stop in Tenmonkan.
How was it with your kids?
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- ElevatorElevator：with conditionsconditions
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：not checked
- RentalStroller rental：not checked
- NursingNursing space：not checked
- ChangingDiaper changing table：not checked
- Diaper binDiaper disposal bin：not checked
- Family WCFamily restroom：not checked
- Kids' toiletKids' toilet seat & step stool：not checked
- Own foodOutside food allowed：not checked
- EnglishEnglish support：with conditionsconditions
Green = we confirmed it. Grey = not checked yet. Grey with a line through = the place does not have it.
Near here
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Shirokuma at Tenmonkan Mujyaki
Takeaway left, cafe centre, restaurant upstairs. The cafe queue was long, upstairs shorter; 20 minutes to a seat.
cooper1967.livedoor.blog2025
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Tenmonkan Mujyaki
Step-free automatic door, 65cm wide. A lift, 80cm, reaches the 2F. Accessible toilet: 78cm door, 43cm seat. Baby chairs.
kagoshima-barrierfree.com2025
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Pork cutlet curry and shirokuma at Tenmonkan Mujyaki, Kagoshima
Ice only downstairs, meals upstairs. Cutlet curry with a baby shirokuma, 1,920 yen; baby size filled one adult.
ameblo.jp2024
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Kagoshima 22: our first shirokuma at Mujyaki
Fifteen minutes' wait in July. Nearby tables shared one regular between two; one each, and the cold gets to you halfway.
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Shirokuma at Tenmonkan Mujyaki is the sure thing
A Saturday in January, just before 5pm: no queue, seated at once. Regular for the 7-year-old, latte for the adult.
Tenmonkan Mujyaki · Links & reads ▾
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Where to go next
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Basics
- Fee：The standard Shirokuma is 950 yen in the regular size and 700 yen in the baby size; the regular feeds one to two people and the baby feeds one. Matcha, yoghurt and the rice-cake versions are 1,000 and 800 yen, and the Special is 1,600 yen in one size only. Soft-serve and pudding Shirokuma come in the regular size only during Golden Week and in July and August. Handy Shirokuma to take away is 550 yen, apple juice 300 yen, and the local jambo-mochi rice cakes 600 yen. If your table is ordering Shirokuma only, each adult must order one, but children of primary-school age and under are exempt. Inside the shop, cash, credit cards, PayPay, d-barai and au Pay all work; for takeaway the ground-floor counter can go cash-only depending on the season.■■■
- Hours：11:00-19:00, with last orders at 18:15 for food and 18:30 for Shirokuma and drinks. Hours change with the season and the weather. Closing days are irregular rather than fixed to a weekday, and the season can change the run of business days too, so check the news page before you go. The second-floor restaurant keeps the same hours; the branch inside Amu Plaza at Kagoshima-Chuo station runs 11:00-20:00.■■■
- Time needed：60 min
- Booking：Nothing can be booked. Seats are not reservable and groups are not taken either - everyone is seated in arrival order, so plan on queueing. Even upstairs, where the half-private booths are described as suited to families with small children, seats cannot be chosen in advance. The only exception is hiring the whole shop, which is by arrangement (099-222-6904). If you would rather not wait at all, the window on the left of the entrance sells freshly shaved Handy Shirokuma to take away.■■■Official booking site ↗
evidence & sources (6)
- Official: Indoor / outdoor, Elevator, Private room
- Official: English support
- Official: Private room
- Official: Stroller access notes
- Official: Stroller access notes
Shirokuma began here in 1947: shaved ice under the shop's own milk and syrup, piled with mandarin, peach and sweet beans. Seen from above, the fruit resembled a polar bear's face, hence the name. Freshly shaved bowls are served at this original shop and one branch by Kagoshima-Chuo station, nowhere else. No seat can be booked, so you join the queue in arrival order. If waiting is out, the window left of the door sells a handheld version. A lift as well as stairs reaches the second-floor restaurant.
| Stroller friendly | Not checked yet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diaper changing table | Not checked yet | ||||
| Nursing space | Not checked yet | ||||
| Family restroom | Not checked yet | ||||
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor | The ground-floor cafe is indoors, and the approach from the tram stop runs under a covered shopping arcade, so rain does not decide the day. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | mujyaki.co.jp |
| Elevator | Yes | The building has a lift as well as stairs up to the second-floor restaurant. Whether it reaches the ground-floor cafe entrance itself is not stated. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | mujyaki.co.jp |
| Outside food allowed | Not checked yet | ||||
| English support | English menu & signs | An English menu is linked from the top of the official site (it opens on a separate site). Nothing is stated about English-speaking staff. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | mujyaki.co.jp |
| Child entry policy | Not checked yet | ||||
| High chair | Not checked yet | ||||
| Tatami seating | Not checked yet | ||||
| Private room | Yes | Half-private booths on both floors - 52 seats downstairs, 60 upstairs. Upstairs they are described as suited to families with small children, but seats cannot be chosen in advance and none of it can be reserved. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | mujyaki.co.jpmujyaki.co.jp |
| Kids' menu | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' tableware | Not checked yet | ||||
| Baby food policy | Not checked yet | ||||
| Non-smoking | Completely non-smoking | Non-smoking throughout, electronic cigarettes included, on both floors. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | mujyaki.co.jp |
| Allergy support | Not checked yet | ||||
| Official family-friendly certificationExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Crowding (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Quietness (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Serving speed (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Lost-child supportExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | Get off the tram at Tenmonkan-dori, enter the covered arcade (Tenmonkan G3) on the Sentelas side and walk about 150 metres straight; a Seven-Eleven appears on your left, and the building with the polar-bear figure at the door is it. The whole approach is flat and under cover. There is no car park of the shop's own - paid coin parking sits behind and around the building. The shop's phone is 099-222-6904, answered 10:00-19:00. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | mujyaki.co.jpmujyaki.co.jpmujyaki.co.jp |
Not checked yet (13)
Child entry policy, High chair, Tatami seating, Kids' menu, Kids' tableware, Baby food policy, Allergy support, Official family-friendly certification, Best-fit ages (guide), Crowding (guide), Quietness (guide), Serving speed (guide), Lost-child support