An increasing number of bakeries are specializing in loaves of bread for which they carefully select the ingredients, paying a lot of attention to flavors and textures, before selling them freshly baked and unsliced. As these premium loaves are expensive, at about 1,000 yen each, customers buy them to give as gifts.
A loaf of bread is called shoku-pan in Japan, which literally means "bread for eating." In June, a bakery specializing in this type of bread opened in front of Kiyose Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line in Kiyose, Tokyo. The shop bears the name Kangaeta Hito Sugoi-wa (How amazing is the person who came up with this!).
One of its products, called Konjikomi (Prepared with soul), uses ingredients produced in Iwate Prefecture, such as milk and salt made by heating seawater to crystallize the salt. It has a moist texture and is slightly sweet. It costs 800 yen before tax for one loaf equivalent to two kins (a kin is a unit used for shoku-pan, with one kin weighing 340 grams or more).
By the time the bakery opens at 10 a.m., customers have already lined up to buy the freshly baked goods. For those who miss out, the shop distributes tickets bearing times when the bread will be baked later in the day.
The only other product the bakery offers is shoku-pan with raisins, called Hosekibako (Jewelry box), which is priced at 520 yen before tax for a one-kin loaf.
"We aimed to develop a product that makes people say, 'How amazing is the person who came up with this bread!' at the moment when they eat it," said Makoto Odachi, a representative of the company that operates the bakery. "I hope to make the bakery a place people visit again and again."
Meanwhile, Oreno Corp., which is known for its chains of Italian and French restaurants, also operates a chain of specialized shops called Ore-no Bakery & Cafe in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district and other places. The bakery sells two kinds of its Ginza no Shoku-pan (Ginza's Bread): Kaori (Scent) is made from Kita no Kaori, a domestically produced flour variety, and features a rich milk flavor, while Yume (Dream) is made from Yume Chikara, another domestic flour variety, and features a pleasantly chewy texture.
Kaori costs 1,000 yen and Yume is priced at 900, yen for loaves equivalent to two kins. They sell 2,000 loaves a day.
Soft crusts
Bakeries specializing in shoku-pan came into the spotlight around 2013.
Nogami, a bakery chain based in Osaka, is said to have triggered this bread boom. Yuji Sakagami, who represents the bakery, also serves as the head of a prowrestling organization. When the organization visited facilities for the elderly, he was surprised to find many elderly people did not eat the crusts of bread. He began working on a way to produce loaves of bread that have soft enough crusts for them to eat. Sakagami opened Nogami's first outlet in 2013.
Nogami's Nama Shoku-pan (Fresh bread), priced at 864 yen for a two-kin loaf, has a fluffy texture and sweet taste as it is made with honey. This shoku-pan became popular as customers began buying the loaves as gifts or for parties with friends, and there are now about 100 Nogami outlets across the country.
Ippondo is another bakery specializing in freshly baked loaves of bread and has expanded to about 100 outlets since it opened in 2013.
Some bakeries that were already popular have opened shops specializing in shoku-pan, while others offer delivery services.
Sakimoto, a bakery based in Osaka that specializes in high-grade loaves of bread, sells its Gokubi Natural Shoku-pan for 900 yen per two-kin loaf, and Gokunama Milk Butter Shoku-pan for 950 yen.
Sakimoto's flagship store has a cafe nearby called "& jam," where customers can choose three kinds of jam from a total of 16 to have with a slice of bread or toast, along with coffee and other drinks recommended for each type of bread.
Dai Matsuo, who works at Tokyo-based Gurunavi Inc., the operator of a major restaurant information site, said high-grade shoku-pan is being welcomed "apparently because consumers are developing a preference for enjoying slightly luxurious items in their day-to-day lives."
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