Japanese Bread and Pastry

Bread is very popular in Japan. It first came to Japan through Portuguese traders and missionaries in the mid-16th century. The Japanese word for bread is "pan", taken originally from the Portuguese "pão". Japanese bread and pastries are known for their soft and very fluffy texture.

Bread and pastries are increasingly part of the Japanese national diet. In 2011, statistics even showed that for the first time in history, Japanese households spent more on baked goods than on rice. Among the most popular products are shokupan, anpan, and melon-pan. The main products are shown below and are available at the NIPPAN BAKERY.

Shokupan 食パン

Shokupan is a staple type of bread found in every Japanese bakery. White bread can be bought all over the world, but Japanese Shokupan is a bit different. It is a bread with a very fine texture. The Japanese often refer to this texture as "mochi mochi", which translates to soft and squishy.

Melon Pan メロンパン

Melon Pan is a typical Japanese lightly sweetened bun covered with cookie dough and granulated sugar for extra crunchiness. Melon Pan comes in a variety of flavors from chocolate and strawberry to matcha green tea.

Roll Pan ロールパン

Roll Pan is a classic, very popular mini roll. It is similar to the fluffy Shokupan bread but baked in a smaller form. Roll Pan is very soft and has a slightly more intense flavor than, for example, Koppe Pan.

Kuma Pan クマパン

Kuma Pan is filled with chocolate cream or custard cream. This is a pastry very popular among children. "Kuma" is Japanese word for bear.

Cream Pan クリームパン

Cream Pan is a very popular sweet bread filled with creamy vanilla custard. It's a beautifully soft and meltin-in-your-mouth Japanese-style pastry.

An Pan あんパン

Anpan is a sweet roll filled with "anko" red bean filling. This is one of the most popular pastries among the Japanese.

Sandwich サンドイッチ

Sandwiches are two slices of Shokupan bread with whatever you like in the middle. For example, egg filling (Tamago Sando) or slices of meat (Katsu Sando) are some of the classics. Fruit sandwich is also very popular.