It may surprise no one that I have been taking pictures of food all over Japan like a mad woman since I know that I'll not have the chance to do so in the future. That being said, I still hold out hope for interesting shots to share even after I go home. Who knows what sort of shopping experiences I'll have in California (where I'll eventually end up, but am not starting from). It's not exactly a wasteland when it comes to Japanese food. Even when I lived there 23 years ago, I was able to buy packets of instant miso soup at a local Safeway.
Some experiences will never quite be the same no matter what, and one of them will be the Japanese bakery experience. For one thing, I expect everything to be much bigger back home. I also expect that presentation will be less impressive. Finally, I expect far less decadent textures and richness. All Japanese bread products are on the fat-heavy side in my experience. Of course, this picture is meant to illustrate the "cute" side.
One of my Japanese friends started a Facebook group for animal breads and I joined rather belatedly and found this picture of bear bread. Actually, I found that the vast majority of animal bread in Japan is "bear bread" as it's probably easiest to make, but am still hoping to participate in the group with some more imaginative offerings after I get back to the U.S.
I live in California and it seems that you can find many more Japanese things here than I first moved out on my own 15 years ago. I am sure you will be able to find some interesting little gems while out on your adventures.
ReplyDeleteWhere I live in SE Michigan, the bakeries are predominantly Italian, and their wares are supremely disappointing compared to those of Japanese bakeries. We do have one Japanese bakery in a city home to many expats, and they have turtle bread, panda bread, Doraemon bread, Anpanman bread, pig bread--lots of really cute (and delicious) things for the young and young at heart. I'm crossing my fingers that you have at least one creative bakery (Japanese-inspired or otherwise) nearby wherever you may end up.
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