When picturing a bakery, most people would probably think of a bakery in France. Fresh croissants, perfectly baked baguettes, and beautifully baked flaky pastries with fruit on top sprinkled with powdered sugar. Unless you’ve been to Japan and love pastries (like us), you probably would never have guessed that there are amazing Bakeries in Japan.
Growing up in Europe, I know what a good bakery is. When coming to Japan, I was skeptical at first. Three years later, both Jill and I are addicted to the various pastries you can find in Japan. Bakeries in Japan specialize in both sweet and savory pastries. We’ve visited dozens of bakeries all around Japan and have tasted so many delicious pastries here. Try not to get to hungry reading this as I prove why Japanese bakeries are underrated, describe some of our favorite pastries, and share some of our favorite bakeries around Japan, both chains and locally owned bakeries.
The cultivation of wheat is a fairly new practice in Japan. After all, rice was and still is heavily relied on here. So how did bread and pastries become so popular here in Japan?
I read through several sources and they all vary, but one common ground is that bread was brought to Japan by Portuguese traders and Missionaries in the mid 1500’s. In Japan, the term for bread is “Pan,” which is derived from the Portuguese word “pao.”
For a long time, bread never gained popularity until the Meiji era. During a period of westernization, the Japanese would bake bread for western settlers. Still, it was not very popular amongst the local population. That is until the invention of Anpan!
In 1874, a samurai warrior named Yasubei Kimura was out of a job. To make ends meet, he opened a bakery called Buneido but it was relocated to a district in the city of Tokyo and renamed Kimuraya.
Instead of making bread geared toward westerners, he wanted to bake something more suitable to the Japanese likings. He created the bread in a traditional way using sake yeast dough and filled the bun with bean paste. Thanks to Kimura-san, the Anpan was born. The Anpan was presented to the Emperor of Japan at the time, he enjoyed it so much that he requested it be brought to him daily. Since the Anpan had the Emperors blessing, it’s popularity spread quickly throughout Japan.
Demand for bread increased in Japan meaning the demand for bakeries also increased. The Japanese have perfected other pastries from around the world and now you can find all sorts of breads and pastries throughout Japan. In fact, there are over 10,000 bakeries found throughout Japan.
Bakeries in Japan
Bakeries in Japan come in all shapes and sizes. There are specialized bakeries that sell decorative cakes and there are bakeries that sell a large variety of delicious sweet and savory pastries. We’ve been to bakeries here specializing in German pastries and have even been to take out pizza restaurants that have a small bakery section.
When first entering a bakery in Japan, it’s generally self service. Similar to bakeries we’ve been to in Mexico, you grab a tray and tongs and grab whatever pastry you are craving that is on display. We can’t control our baked good cravings so we usually fill up a tray. Whether your tray is full to capacity like ours or you have one or two treats, you bring it to the counter where the staff will ring up your order. In Japan, they typically wrap ever pastry individually, it’s a waste of plastic if you ask me, but we recycle the bags at least.
Most baked goods in Japan are ridiculously cheap as well. You can get what looks like a high end pastry for under ¥200.
We went to two bakeries, one in Kagoshima and one in Fukuoka that had this futuristic table at the checkout counter. You would place your tray on the counter, and somehow it counted the amount of pastries on the tray and knew the exact cost of each baked item. To this day, I am still amazed by that magical technology.
Some of our Favorite Pastries
Honestly, we haven’t had a bad pastry while in Japan. Sure there are some that we tried and thought it was just alright. Bean Paste filled pastries are extremely popular here and we tend to avoid any pastry filled with bean paste. It’s not that it’s disgusting, but I’ve been tricked several times thinking it’s delicious chocolate filling only to be let down because it’s bean paste.
Bakeries in Japan have an awesome mixture of both sweet and savory pastries. You can find your traditional croissant or filled Danish but there are also savory pastries that are stuffed with ingredients like potatoes, cheese, and meats. We don’t judge here, we love both sweet and savory pastries, here are some of our favorite pastries that can be found in Japanese bakeries. The names are definitely not official.
Agepan – The Agepan is a fried sandwich in Japan. Bakeries have perfected the fried sandwich here. They fry the sandwich with bread crumbs. The outside is crunchy and the inside stays warm. Generally, these sandwiches will come with ham and egg or curry.
My favorite Agepan is at Marco Polo. They make these with ham and egg and fry them to perfection, it’s a meal in itself!
Bacon Epi – Bacon Epi, is my favorite savory pastry in Japan. It’s basically a small baguette with bacon inside of it. Bacon Epi has a unique appearance. Epi is an ear of wheat, so the pastry is made to resemble this.
Again, Marco Polo serves the best one. It’s glazed with butter on the outside and is always warm. They don’t skimp on the bacon either!
Curry Croquette – Who knew that both curry and croquettes were so popular in Japan? Curry croquettes can be found anywhere throughout Japan in almost any bakery, convenience, and grocery store. They are usually served pipping hot.
Egg Toast – This is definitely in my top 5 favorites when it comes to Japanese baked goods. Bread in Japan is usually cut much thicker then we are used to. The Egg Toast pastry is simply a slice of bread, with an egg baked on top. Japanese love adding mayonnaise to everything. The egg toast usually has a layer of mayonnaise under or around the egg and there is usually some type of bacon or ham on it as well. There are recipes online for this, apparently it’s easy to bake at home.
So far, my favorite egg toast is at a bakery in Okinawa called, Maribu Bakery and at Daily Yamazaki, which is a convenience store on mainland Japan.
Marco Polo Cinnamon Rolls – These small cinnamon rolls are Jill’s favorite. She claims they are perfect in size, have just the right amount of cinnamon and the icing is not overpowering. Once again, these are found at Marco Polo, one of our favorite bakeries in Okinawa.
Melon Pan – Melon Pan is a popular sweet bun that can be found throughout Japan. There are even bakeries that specialize in just baking melon pan. Melon Pan gets its name because the outside kind of looks like a melon, although they don’t always taste like a melon. In fact, melon pan can come in all sorts of flavors from actual melon flavor to rich chocolate.
Our Favorite Bakeries
Little Mermaid (multiple locations) – Little Mermaid is a Japanese chain bakery. There are over 260 locations scattered throughout the country. Many of their bakeries that we’ve visited are located in department stores or train stations. Although Little Mermaid is a chain, it feels like a local bakery. Here you can find both sweet and savory pastries. They also have great coffee. If you are lucky, they give out free gifts here and there!
Marco Polo – This is possibly my favorite bakery in Japan. Jill and I have been here dozens of times, have tried numerous items, and have loved everything we’ve tried. You can probably tell by reading about our favorite pastries that many of mine come from Marco Polo. This bakery has been baking delicious pastries and other items since the 1950’s. The bakery does have a restaurant inside with an actual breakfast and dinner menu. You can also just visit their bakery section (we usually do), tell the staff it’s for here and they will warm up your food and serve it to you in the restaurant.
Maribu Bakery – Maribu Bakery is Jill’s favorite bakery in Japan and it is also in Okinawa. I won’t lie, I love Maribu as well. The bakery is on the smaller side, they have about 3 tables. Their pastries are amazing, you can also find sweet and savory pastries here. Maribu makes amazing flaky pastries with fresh fruit on top or as a filling. They also make great lunch items like sandwiches. One of the best things about Maribu Bakery is their cheerful birds, tortoises, and frogs. They actually have nice cages for the animals and it’s right next to the tables. You can enjoy delicious pastries, relax, and watch wildlife, all at Maribu.
Pannokimochi NOPI – This bakery is located in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Near the Iwakuni Train Station, you can find Andersen Bakery which is a great bakery, but Jill and I found ourselves going to Pannokimochi NOPI more often once we realized it was there. Pannokimochi NOPI is kind of hidden and out of the way (Exact Coordinates: 34.1673946 132.2200834), but it’s totally worth it! The bakery is small, but they bake fresh pastries throughout the day. You can find anything here from fresh bread to meat filled pastries.
Panyakoro – When Jill and I cycled the Shimanami Kaido, we stayed one night in the town of Onomichi. Near our hostel was a bakery called Panyakoro. We had a long day of cycling ahead of us, so we popped in here grabbed a bag full of pastries and ate them at a nearby park. Honestly, like many pastries in Japan, I wasn’t 100% sure what we all had but the quality and flavors of the pastries were some of the best we’ve ever had. I had this bread baked with potatoes and chicken and to this day, it is still one of my favorites.
Toit Vert – We stayed in Kagoshima for 5 days, I believe we visited Toit Vert three times. This is the bakery that had the futuristic counters that count your pastries and add up the total costs. That alone made this bakery stand out amongst the rest but their baked goods were fabulous! Toit Vert was a large bakery and they specialized in just about everything. They had fresh breads, sandwiches, flaky pastries, and so much more.
Via de France (multiple locations) – Via de France is another solid chain bakery that is found throughout Japan. Like Little Mermaid, they are found primarily in train stations and department stores. On our latest trip to Kyoto, I believe we stopped here every morning for our daily pastries and coffee. Like all the other bakeries, Via de France had a good mix of sweet and savory pastries. The main photo for this post is from Vie de France. Their cinnamon rolls were a hit with us, especially on day two when they came fresh out the oven.
Mister Donut
Mister Donut is kind of an honorable mention as it is not a traditional bakery, but they do make donuts and sell other pastries that are really good. Mister Donut is a chain donut shop and can be found everywhere in Japan. We’ve even had them on the somewhat remote island of Ishigaki. In a way, Mister Donut is similar to a Dunkin’ Donuts. The donuts are displayed and sold in the same way. The donuts do taste different, they are lighter and the glaze is not as sweet.
One thing Mister Donut does well is marketing. They have so many fun seasonal and themed donuts. In Ishigaki, we got Pokémon donuts at Mister Donut.
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Comments (4)
What a fascinating article (for us with a sweet tooth)!
I found what you wrote about the Japanese term for bread really interesting. You mentioned that “Pan” is derived from the Portuguese word “pao.” In French, bread is “pain”, which is nearly the same word!
Also, I wouldn’t mind tasting one of these mini-cinnamon rolls, they do look delicious!
Thanks! Very interesting how the term Pan is used and derived from various languages! If you have a sweet tooth, you would love the little cinnamon rolls.
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