I’m a sucker for Japanese bakeries!

Is it just me, or are Japanese bakeries the best in the world?  I’m sure there’s a Frenchman out there cursing my name right now, but I just love Japanese breads.  And how could you not with selections like this?

There are savory breads, dessert breads, plain breads—a bread for everyone, really.  And Japanese bakeries always sell fresh products—not like the Safeway bread or other supermarket varieties you find back in the States.

Even when there is a bakery in a department store or supermarket, you can see the bakers in the back hard at work to make the products and put them out fresh.  At the particular bakery seen in the picture, they even ring a bell whenever the freshest bread is coming out for purchase!

Of course, I have a sweet tooth, so what attracts me to Japanese bakeries the most tends to be the dessert products, of which there are many.  For example, check out these ones they had on the shelf today:

Hokkaido Milk Bread

Macadamia and Hazelnut brioches 

Crunchy Chocolate Bar

And those are just a few of the many from which they had to choose.  There always seasonal varieties, and for me, the best part is that they are not overly sweet, making them a decent enough pick me up without giving you a sugar rush.

Call me old fashioned, but my personal favorite at most bakeries is koshianpan (sweet bun filled with smooth bean paste—not to be confused with tsubuanpan, which are filled with chunky bean paste). 

I consider myself lucky out here in Minamiuonuma because we have a fantastic bakery just down the street from us, but it’s not like we’d be wont for choice even if we didn’t.  I imagine most of you readers who live in Japan are in the same wonderful predicament.

Do you have a favorite Japanese bakery product?  What is it?  Feel free to share in the comments section below!