Shigekuniya 55 Bakery

Bread at the entrance

The bread meets you in the doorway: loaves set out at the front under handwritten signs, in a small, plainly finished shop in Koenji, on the western side of Tokyo, rather than a room built for sitting. Shigekuniya 55 Bakery is a neighbourhood bakery in the ordinary sense of the phrase, sold across a counter and carried home rather than eaten at a table.

Shokupan first

Shokupan, the soft Japanese milk bread sold as a squared-off pullman loaf, is the anchor here and the clearest read on the shop's dough, fine in the crumb and thin in the crust, made for toasting and for sandwiches. Take it if you take one thing.

Bagels, banana bread and sandwiches

The rest of the counter works around the loaf. Bagels are the chewier alternative, banana bread the sweet one, and the sandwiches are built from the same bread, which makes them the simplest thing to eat on the spot rather than carry away. A loaf plus one thing to eat now is the sensible plan.