Address: 4-5-7 Ginza, Chuuou (beside the Wako department store by exit A10 of Ginza station)
Website: http://www.ginzakimuraya.jp/bakery/index.html
Few
businesses last for decades let alone for centuries. Kimuraya is one of these
rare companies that started in 1874 and still exists today, right beside the
Wako department store near exit A10 of Ginza station.
Yasubei
Kimura, the founder of Kimuraya, also invented the anpan a sweet bun filled
with red bean paste. The dark red paste is common in Asian desserts where azuki
beans are mashed and sweetened. Today, Kimuraya also sells buns with various
other fillings including sesame, white beans, chestnuts, etc.
The oldest
bakery in Japan is fairly small and busy during my weekday visit. Prefilled
bags of bread and rolls were prepared on shelves and cakes & other pastries
sit in the back in a display case. But, the busiest section lies at the front
of the store – wooden boxes filled with dozens of rolls and women stand bagging
them to order. Since there was no English signage, it was difficult for me to
decipher what was bagged, so I played it safe and waited in line at the front
where the wooden boxes at least display buns so you can guess at what fillings
were inside.
Keeping with
tradition, I purchased two red bean and two black sesame buns for my husband
and I. One was ¥150 per bun while the
other ¥170, which is fairly expensive for a scone sized roll.
You may be
wondering, other than the history, what makes it so special? From what I can
gather, it has a higher filling to bun ratio and the filling is set perfectly
in the middle of the bun for even distribution rather than off to one side like
competing products. Moreover, the filling itself is thicker and uses a lot of
the ingredients so you really get the natural taste of the red bean and sesame
without it being overly sweet. Sorry for
the poor picture quality, but I just remembered to snap a photo of the filling
while gobbling down my second bun.
Aside from
sweets, Kimuraya is also known for their tofu bread, but I wasn’t able to find it
due to the lack of labels. Overall, if the queue isn’t long and you’re in for a
snack, drop by Kimuraya when you’re shopping around Ginza to try out one of
these historical baked goods.
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