Hyperlocal Tokyo

The shops near Kinshicho Station might not have ample seating for dine-in, but they are always welcoming. You can usually find a spot at a shared table, counter, or sofa (for one or two people). It's a lovely place. The breakfast set seems simpler than before, but the three slices of bread served with a rich soup are truly moving.🥹 Even though they are just scraps, the bread is packed with flavor, making it incredibly delicious.

This bakery is located just to the left after exiting the south entrance of Kinshicho Station, inside the Termina building within the station. It's a bakery with its main store in Karuizawa, but they have many branches in Tokyo as well. I stopped by on a weekend night to pick up some bread. They're open until 8 PM, which is very convenient. The shop has a lot of bread lined up on the left side as you enter, and the right side is for eat-in. It was past 7 PM when I went, so I couldn't eat in, but it seemed lively during lunchtime. They have a wide variety of bread, from curry bread to bagels, pies, and French toast. I got a hard bread with cranberry cream cheese and a blueberry bagel. They were around ¥400 and ¥300 respectively. The cranberry cream cheese bread was mainly cream cheese. The bread itself wasn't too hard and was easy to eat. The blueberry bagel was from the day before, so it was a bit hard, so I warmed it up before eating. The chewy texture came back, and it was simply delicious. I want to try other kinds of bread next time.

I came here for lunch because the picture of the stew set they had posted online looked so delicious. I was disappointed when it arrived. It didn't have the same chunky carrots and potatoes as in the photo... it felt like reheated, bland, pre-packaged food. The taste was good, as was the accompanying bread, but the portion was small and there were no side vegetables. It didn't really lift my spirits. I probably won't be back.

The bakery is located outside the ticket gates of Kinshicho Station, perhaps within the Termina building? If you purchase bread and use the eat-in option, they will warm it up for you in the microwave, allowing you to enjoy warm bread. On this particular day, I visited during the time between lunch and dinner. I ordered a meat pie and a croissant, both of which looked delicious, and had them warmed up for me to enjoy inside the shop. The meat pie was juicier and more flavorful than I expected, and being warmed up made it easier to eat, leaving me feeling very satisfied. The croissant was also easy to eat and very enjoyable. The shop only has counter seating, making it a good place to eat alone and relax.

I bought a double egg and ham sandwich set for around 750 yen. As is common with sandwiches, the filling only occupied about a quarter of each sandwich. The bread itself wasn't particularly delicious, and chewing through the dry, unfilled crusts was a chore. I wondered why I even bought such an expensive sandwich... I also bought a croissant, but it was a hard-style pastry that wasn't to my liking.