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Ginza Nishikawa Shokupan [Closed]

Specialty shop for your pillowy loaf of bread

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The location on this page has been reported permanently closed.

Last updated: Mar 22, 2024

The Akihabara location is permanently closed. See here for other locations.

Walking away from the bustling electric district of Akihabara, I chanced upon a shop that seemed out of place with its quiet elegance. Outside, the noren or traditional shop curtains displays the words 食パン (shokupan). Intrigued and enticed by the delicious smell wafting out, I went in to check out the shop's bread selection.

Inside, the shop was practically empty. No rows of asssorted breads on display; only white paper bags on clean, Zen shelves. Customers walked out with one or two of those white paper bags. Then, it hit me. This was no ordinary bread shop. This is the shokupan shop, a shop that sells one, and only one thing, elevating the word "specialty" to new heights.

Shokupan is probably the most common type of bread in Japan. In the supermarket, they are packaged as square shaped slices of pillowy white bread made of white flour, milk, margarine and sugar. Half loaves can go as cheap as ¥100.

At ¥800 a loaf (excluding tax), Ginza Nishikawa's shokupan is probably not your daily bread. But you get what you pay for. This premium shokupan is sweetened with honey. Instead of milk and margarine in cheaper commercial versions, only fresh cream and butter are used, blended with the finest Canadian flour.

Ginza Nishikawa's point of pride is the water used to prepare the dough. As sake, soba and tofu makers know, the quality of water has the power to control the taste of the final product. Alkaline ionized water has a higher pH and its use in bread making results in a silkier, sweeter, lighter bread.

The shop recommends first tasting the bread as it is to enjoy the delicate fragrance and texture of freshly baked shokupan. On the second day after purchase, the light crust settles and sweetness increases. On the third day, the shop recommends toasting the bread so the outside becomes crisp while the inside remains chewy soft.

Getting there

Ginza Nishikawa Shokupan is a short walk from Exit 1 of Akihabara Station of the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line.

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Join the discussion

Sleiman Azizi 4 years ago
I would never have thought to treat bread like that.
Sherilyn Siy Author 3 years ago
Yes, and I was told that sushi and milk (not together, mind) taste best after their "best by" dates.
Kim 4 years ago
I love how they give you instructions on how to enjoy the bread, almost like it's a wine tasting! Fancy!
Sherilyn Siy Author 4 years ago
Shokupan connoisseurs!
Elizabeth S 4 years ago
Shokupan without sugar is really hard to find in the supermarkets. This shokupan sounds like a treat with honey and real dairy in it. It's probably better for you than mass produced shokupan bread, too.
Sherilyn Siy Author 4 years ago
I try to avoid margarine. I have only found one brand in the supermarket that makes shokupan with real butter and not margarine. So yes, this one made with honey, butter and cream is the cat's meow.

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