Koe Donuts – Japan

Over two decades ago, Japanese donut chain Mister Donut invented the mochi donut – in a better form than the version that made its way to Southern California via Hawaii in the early 2020s. On our most recent visit to Japan, these once ubiquitous (and fantastic) donuts had all but disappeared from Mister Donut locations, which themselves were fewer and less impressive than they had been years earlier.

Thankfully, that hasn’t meant the end of Japanese donut innovation: a relatively young shop in Kyoto named Koe Donuts is doing more with the concept than we’ve seen elsewhere in years. The shop itself is gorgeous thanks to a modern design with a basket-covered ceiling, but the donuts are clearly the main attractions from the moment you spy them through the glass front window.