Nogami Bakery, Tokyo
Overall Rating: 3.75/5
Difficulty: 3/5 depending on the lineup
Yumminess: 4/5
Go: If you love shokupan, Japan’s answer to fluffy white bread and you’re willing to wait for it. You may not know it, but white bread is all the rage in Japan – it’s what they eat for breakfast in the Kansai region – even more than miso soup and rice. Nogami is known for their shokupan and people literally line up in the hot sun to purchase a loaf, or five. Nogami‘ s loaf is fluffy, every so slightly sweet, mochi mochi, soft, and pliable with a perfect crumb.
Order: There are really only two options here, a whole loaf or a half loaf. Get the whole loaf, it’ll get eaten a lot faster than you think. Each loaf comes in a plastic bag that is tucked, but not sealed, so that the loaf can breathe and any warmth or condensation can gently dissipate. There’s a golden twist tie notched around one of the crisp and white paper bag handles for when you need to keep your loaf fresh. Just make sure you don’t order more than 5 loaves – there’s a sign in Japanese that says that you’re truly a selfish person if you do.
Oh, and there are some jams that you can get too, if you’re into that sort of thing, but let’s be honest, you’re here for the bread.
Feel: There will most likely be a line when you go, unless the bread craze has died down, which very well might happen – the food world is fickle after all. But if there’s still a line, just know that once the line extends past the twisting, turning partitions and goes past the storefront and around the corner, you’re looking at a minimum 45 minute wait. When you get inside the bakery, you’ll find it light filled and quite zen, with the side wall filled up with bags and bags of loaves waiting to go to their forever homes. They only take cash and each loaf at the time of writing is a little over ¥800, which makes it a little luxury that many people are willing to pay.
Details: There are many, many branches of Nogami in Japan, but the one in Azabu Juban is open every day except for Tuesday. The closest station is Azabu Juban, exit 1. 1-9-7 Azabu Juban, Minato-ku, Tokyo
