Kimuraya

What we love…

• Japan is known for loving beautifully crafted French pastry, but this bakery is actually Japanese born. 
• Kimuraya is one of Japan's oldest bakeries, and one of the first establishments to introduce breads in the 1870's, when bread wasn't a traditional part of the Japanese diet. 
• Kimuraya adopted the western tradition of bread making, and put it's own spin on it by using Japanese ingredients such as rice yeast and bean paste to create anpan, their signature pastry. Anpan is a soft Japanese pastry bun that contains different fillings such as red bean paste, sesame, chestnut, and various jams. This bread is unique because of the type of yeast the bakers use called sakedane—which is derived from rice and also used in the production of sake.
• Anpan is still popular with locals, and a must visit shop for tourists who are looking to explore Japanese sweets. There are numerous flavor options displayed in large cases, the most popular flavors are sakura (salted cherry blossom and red bean paste), keshi (sesame), kokutoh ogura (brown sugar), kuri (chestnut), and ichigo (strawberry).
• There's a coffee and tea shop upstairs if you fancy enjoying your sweet buns over a hot drink.

TIP

• If you can't make it to the Ginza flagship shop you'll also find counters in many of the major department store food halls such as Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Matsuya Ginza, Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi, Ginza Mitsukoshi, and Daimaru Tokyo.