Satisfying snack, plenty of sauce

Ookina pizapan

Brand: Yama

Price: 160 yen

Place of purchase: Namco vending machine

Rating:

Yamazaki Bakery items put a smile on my face and tide me over between meals. This item, Ookina pizapan, or large pizza bread, is pretty good for 150 yen. Yamazaki's product website says this item is 18 centimeters in length. It just fits in the vending machine slot. It's got ample pizza sauce and a drizzle of what looks and tastes like mayo. The package recommends baking it for about 2 minutes in an oven toaster. Heating it until it's a little golden brings out the texture of the crust. It's a little more substantial than typical vending machine bread items.

Yamazaki Bakery's Ookina Pizapan, or large pizza bread, is a pretty good between-meals snack. The price is right, too, at about 150 to 160 yen. Is it pizza? Nope. The bread is what you'd expect from Yamazaki, white, fluffy, and subtly sweet. It's covered in a generous amount of tomato-based pizza sauce. Don't expect "pizza" as it has just a few kernels of corn and what looks like sausage. Okay, but I went for it, right? When there is no bakery or supermarket around, this is a last resort. And it's one of the more satisfying vending machine breads I've found.