meguro maruei

Went to Gakugeidaigaku and wanted to check out Meguro Maruei

Apparently they have been in business since 1959

Love their shop color!
 

I tried their  teriyaki chicken sandwich...340 yen (tax included)

so ono!

All chicken thigh, well seasoned and the bread is a soft type of baguette

I'm glad I tried this place and look forward to trying other items whenever I am nearby

I'll be back

Meguro Maruei

1-3-15 Chuocho

Meguro, Tokyo

Closed: Sundays

Hours: 7:00-18:30

*cash only

chikku takku

Been wanting to check out this teeny bakery, Chikku Takku

Not sure how long they have been in business but it is run by a cute grandpa

I tried their chocolate filled Doraemon...226 yen (tax included)

So delicious!

Glad I tried this bakery and will be back whenever I am near by

Chikku Takku

3-18-9 Sanno

Ota, Tokyo

Closed: Tuesdays

Hours: 8:00-20:00

*cash only

bluff bakery

There are some items at Bluff Bakery that I always get...

their curry pan and carrot cake

I love that their carrot cake is sold by grams

sometimes I buy the small pieces, sometimes the really big ones...ha!

This time around I also purchased their smoked salmon quiche...boy was this dense!

There was lots of broccoli and spinach and not too much smoked salmon...still very tasty though

Their Farmers Blueberry Muffin was also very dense

On their website it says that they make these huge because they loved the muffins that they had experienced at US Farmers Markets

Dense but filled to the gills with blueberries...love!

Love this bakery, they have several locations in Yokohama.

The location I go to the most is located on a hillside, so getting to it you need to walk up a pretty steep slope, but definitely worth the trip

research

Satoshi has another tour coming up and wanted to check out different areas

We checked out the hotel his guests will be staying at...Andaz
 

Beautiful lobby

Nice view of Tokyo Tower

Loved the paper reliefs in the elevators

Down to the Palace's Nijubashi

Outer market of Tsukiji

We had egg sandwiches with tsukemono (pickles) in it at Nishikawa Roastery

Satoshi's had narazuke, mine had pickled ginger in it...delicious

I want to try the egg sandwich with shibazuke in it...I'll be back

area near Gokokuji 

Omotesando & Shibuya

Daikanyama, the last time we were in this area was back in 2022...so many changes

Teriyaki Chicken sandwich from Et Nunc which opened in 2024

I want to eat breakfast here...I'll be back

Et Nunc is located in Forestgate Daikanyama which opened in 2023

T-site Daikanyama which opened in 2011....I think there is another one in Kansai (Hirakata)

Huge bookstore with cafes and shops on the property

T stands for Tsutaya

Loved how the "T" shaped tiles were placed in a "T" on the building

It was a long day of walking & eating, I hope Satoshi will be able to take his guests to all the places they have requested to visit, the schedule seems tight

Nishikawa Roastery

2-15-17 Tsukiji

Chuo, Tokyo

Hours: 8:30-20:00

Et Nunc

20-23 Daikanyamacho (Forestgate Daikanyama 1F)

Shibuya, Tokyo

Hours: 9:30-18:30

saturday

V said she was gonna check out the kawazu zakura at Chidorigafuchi and said if I had time I could tag along 

I wasn’t familiar with this type of sakura near Chidorigafuchi, so I looked online and found some located at the Imperial North Garden

So that’s where we went

There were several trees and very little people

It was nice bonding with nature

We stumbled upon a statue of Yoshida Shigeru, who (I looked up afterwards) was the Prime Minister of Japan after the war (I think I told V it was during the war, but it was after)

I bought some musubi for our lunch from Momochi, in the JR Shinagawa station

Ebiten

Iburigakko (smoked takuan)

Ume

And then we walked through the Imperial East Garden

There were some early blooming sakura

Then we went one station over to Yurakucho

Shopped at some antenna shops

After seeing V off to do some shopping, I went to other antenna shops

Hoping this tomato ume sauce from Wakayama will be tasty

And hoping this Trappist butter from Hokkaido will also be tasty

This chocolate ring cake from Godiva's Bakery was delicious. 

Dark chocolate cake and chocolate "frosting" and a chocolate square

V also let us try these coffee cookies from Hiyoko from Kyushu, if you’ve tried their chick shaped manju, this cookie is way better

Thanks for today V, I hope you enjoyed your trip and have a safe trip home

It was nice hanging out with you.

roca bake

When I saw Roca Bake’s stollen box, I thought it was a place in Osaka that I had been wanting to try, so I ordered it...

Well, it wasn’t, it turned out to be a tiny bakery in Hakodate Hokkaido that has been around for 19 years...boy was I surprised!

The box was supposed to arrive on Monday, but because of the snow in Hokkaido, it arrived today

Love the packaging!

"when it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile"

mini chocolate chestnut stollen (top left),  orange tea cookies (top right), slices of lemon poundcake and caramel nuts poundcake (bottom right), financier (bottom left)

close up of lemon poundcake and caramel nuts poundcake

cute magnet

"bread is better than the songs of birds"

I'm glad I ordered this and look forward sharing these with Satoshi in the coming days.

Roca 

3-6-20 Tomioka-cho

Hakodate, Hokkaido

*online sales only

think

After Vaner went out of business, Think went into its space in 2023

The lines for this bakery are always long and krazy

Plus, they only allow 4 people in the store at a time, so be prepared to wait.

I saw on social media that they were selling stollen, so I reserved one online and went to pick it up yesterday.

The thing about "just picking up" is that you still need to wait in line, so I went early and was 2nd in line...whoo

I purchased their marron hazelnut financier...so buttery, a little chocolatey, with big pieces of chestnut here and there and lots of hazelnuts...love!

Had their cultured scone for breakfast...so buttery! the outer part got a little crisp after I heated it up in the fish grill…love

Cassoulet...a piece of baguette topped with tomato sauce and cassoulet beans and a snappy sausage

I ate this with a knife and fork...delicious!

 

Sangria Red...was looking for an explanation of this online, but couldn't find one...I think they use red wine in the dough or maybe to rehydrate the dried figs and fold in dried figs and nuts...I sliced this and put it in the freezer.

And their stollen...the ingredients are almond powder, butter, orange peel and raisins...look forward to trying this in the coming days.

I don't know that I'll be back here since it isn't nearby, but I'm glad I got to try these items

Think

2-15-6 Uenosakuragi

Taito, Tokyo

Closed: Mondays & Tuesdays

Hours: 10:30-17:00

iwasaki bakery

In the lounge area of Biyu no Yado, I came across a book, “The Nurse and The Baker” and the Japanese title “Sekai ichi no Pan” (The best bread in the world)

This story was about a fourth generation baker,  Iwasaki Koyata

(His great grandfather started the bakery in 1860!)

In the 1930s, turberculosis was taking over areas of Japan

Many Canadians came to Japan to help treat and take care of these patients.

A Canadian nurse, Ms Powell was very strict and seemed kinda scary 

One day she asked Mr Iwasaki to come to her house

He was nervous because she was so strict but she served him Chelsea buns, which I think might be similar to a cinnamon roll

He ate a piece and thought it was the most delicious thing he ever ate

He asked Ms Powell to tell him the recipe

And then began his mission to recreate the buns

After many tries, Ms Powell finally approved of his version

Mr Iwasaki’s Chelsea buns are still made today.

This story was so heartwarming!

When we were in Obuse, we tried to purchase some Chelsea buns to try.

Unfortunately Mr Iwasaki passed away in 2011 and the family members running the bakery have not been feeling well, so they do not operate on a set schedule, so we were not able to try this.

We hope the next time we are in this area we will get a chance to try this.

Iwasaki Bakery

620-1 Obuse-cho

Kamitakai, Nagano

Closed Wednesdays*check before going

Hours: 10:00-17:00

le petit mec

I thought I posted about Le Petit Mec before but I guess I didn't

I first learned about this bakery when we lived in Osaka and I would visit Tamakikat in Kyoto.

They mostly have shops in Kyoto and in some areas of Osaka.

Back in 2019, when I went to see a movie in Hibiya, I had lunch at Le Petit Mec at Hibiya Chanter (their only shop in east Japan).

Fast forward to yesterday, I bought some items from them for lunch and dinner.

This saba (mackerel) sandwich...the bread which I think was supposed to be foccacia was too chewy/sticky, I probably should've toasted it also, but eating it as is, the texture wasn't too nice.

The fish though was perfectly cooked and seasoned simply with salt…delicious

The marron glace with coffee filling was delicious in this hard style baguette.

The base of the filling was coffee flavored cream, with bits of marron glace and walnuts here and there

And their currywurst...it got koge (burnt) because I had it in the fish grill on a timer and was doing something else...

Aunty Marialani style cooking...ha!

But I loved the snap! the curry was a little spicy and the ketchup a little sweet

It was nice to reconnect with this bakery and I'll be back whenever I am in the area.

Le Petit Mec

Hibiya Chanter 1F

Chiyoda, Tokyo

Hours: 8:00-20:00

Closed when Hibiya Chanter is