From May 29th to the 31st, we at Early Birds took some temporary time off and headed to Tokyo.
This time, Miumiu from PFM joined us too.
Our purpose was to pay respects to the many people in the Kanto region who have come to set up shops at events like Hageeho and with whom we work on a regular basis, and also to learn by seeing some great shops in Tokyo, the big city that is always at the forefront.
In other words, a Tokyo training trip!
For the details of the training, Keita-san’s recollections of the tour are fun and easy to understand, so I hope you will read those as well.
Since I spent a fair amount of time visiting nothing but sweet shops for my own "Asumi Ueno Tokyo Training," I decided to write about that this time.
Whether you are interested in sweets or not, or even if you regularly eat our banana bread, please join me in this deep dive into my baked-goods-filled brain!
DAY 1
On Tuesday, since I originally had the day off from work, I decided to head to Tokyo one step ahead of everyone else.
I thought, "If I'm going, I want to eat breakfast in Tokyo," so I pushed myself a little to wake up early and boarded a Shinkansen train from Nagoya Station bound for Tokyo. Of course, my beloved All-City bike was with me. After getting off at Shinagawa Station, I transferred to the JR Yamanote Line, and the first place I stepped off was Harajuku Station. I’ve become quite used to taking my bike on the train, and I can now disassemble and reassemble it in a flash—at least, in my own estimation.
I climbed onto my assembled All-City and started pedaling toward my destination shop. Running along Yoyogi Park, I felt a strange sensation—a little bubble of excitement—as I realized I never imagined I’d be riding my own bike through Tokyo like this.
【Levain Tomigaya Branch】
The main store of this bakery is located in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, and they bake bread using a natural fermentation method.
If truth be told, this is the shop of Mikio Koda, whom my mentor KAZ-san absolutely worships. Having frequently heard Koda-san’s passionate love for him, I had wanted to visit at least once. The shop occupies the first floor of an apartment building facing a main street, but once you step inside, it’s like a warm, cozy cabin in the mountains.
On the wooden display shelves, there’s an array of everything from simple, standard loaves like campagne, baguettes, and sandwich bread, to pies and quiches made with seasonal ingredients.
The most captivating part for me was the adjacent restaurant, Le Chalet.
It’s a restaurant that serves sandwiches and plate menus using Levain bread, and you can even eat the bread you bought at Levain there.
The openness of the space, lacking any doors and feeling like a terrace, was lovely, but more than anything, the interior and the kitchen where they prepare the food were adorable. With walls built of stacked bricks, wooden furniture, and retro lighting and kitchenware in perfect balance, the atmosphere was so reminiscent of a countryside home abroad that it was truly moving.
I ordered the three-type bread plate recommended by Levain. The campagne was so delicious that I even asked if they had a delivery service. They said they did, so I plan to order some for my home.
【Merci BAKE】
About a 20-minute ride south from Levain is Shoin-jinja in Setagaya Ward.
This is a place where old shopping streets continue to thrive, and with new shops popping up recently, it’s become an interesting area where the old and the new mingle. Among them is Merci BAKE. This baked goods shop is owned by a man who trained in France. I had visited about two years ago, but this was my first time going since I started baking sweets myself.
Inside the shop, I ate the banana cake and carrot cake. Even when so many things look delicious, I can’t help but choose the kinds of cakes I bake myself.
The banana cake was layered, and the thin layer of cream inside was delicious; it looked beautiful, too! While I often use pound cake molds, this was my first time seeing a banana cake made in a round cake tin. It had a brown sugar-like topping on it, which I really liked, so I might try to mimic that sometime.
The carrot cake was small, but its clean form and cream decoration gave it outstanding presence.
【Unicorn Bakery】
Located in Kunitachi City, about 30 kilometers west of central Tokyo. After Merci BAKE, I left my bike and took the train. Unicorn Bakery, located about a 5-minute walk from Kunitachi Station, is an American-British bakery that focuses on home-style sweets from the US and UK.
With green vines clinging to the hand-painted sign, it looks just like something out of a fairy tale.
Seeing the female owner's little girl waving from inside was an adorable sight that brought a smile to my face.
The shop is particular about its ingredients, using domestic dairy products like butter and eggs, as well as flour, while sourcing nuts and chocolate from the US and UK.
The sweets on display were warm, home-style treats, ranging from basic items to regional specialties I hadn’t seen before, just like what a mother abroad would bake at home. Since I’ve been wanting to try my hand at sweets using spices and snacks for the summer, I bought some spiced muffins and lemon bars. I’ll have to try prototyping these next time.
【FOOD MOOD】
The sweets shop of culinary expert Shiho Nakashima.
Based on the theme of "snacks that you can eat like a daily meal," Nakashima-san’s sweets, for which she has published many cookbooks, are all made using only plant-based ingredients.
Since I am interested in sweets made with such ingredients, I’ve been baking snacks at home using Nakashima-san’s recipes recently.
I bought some banana cake here to go.
My banana bread uses butter, but because these are Nakashima-san's snacks, she uses vegetable oil instead of butter. Even so, they were moist and had a gentle sweetness. Their chiffon sandwiches, featuring seasonal jams and ingredients, seemed popular, so I’d like to try those next time.
Since I bake using Nakashima-san’s recipes, I wanted to compare various items, so I bought a large amount of cookies and the like. I’m looking forward to tasting them while looking at the ingredient labels.
【Tokyo Taiwan】
This shop in Nakameguro came to set up a stand at Hageeho in March.
I was finally able to visit to pay my respects. I was so happy to meet the staff—Su-san, Lan-san, and Koki-san—at Tokyo Taiwan!
I joined up with the rest of the Early Birds members who rushed over after finishing their day's work, and with some close customers of ours who were in Tokyo, we spent a fun night crowded around delicious food.
The food was truly exquisite in every way!! It’s a shop that makes me sincerely wish we had one in Nagoya.
Thank you for the meal!
DAY 2
【Tarui Bakery】
Located near Yoyogi Park in Sangubashi, this bakery is owned by someone who came from Levain, which I introduced first.
Tarui Bakery has banana bread, and since I really wanted to try it, my goal was already decided. What's more, they had two types: a standard one and another flavored with chocolate and spices. I had been curious about that rarely-seen type of banana bread, so I was relieved to see it still on the shelves.
Since I was there, I bought both and made them my snack in the park. Having a banana bread taste-off in Yoyogi Park feels kind of luxurious—or maybe a strange sight... Regardless, both were delicious.
So banana, chocolate, and spices go together like this, huh.
I was surprised to learn that their ingredients aren't butter, but plant-based as well! And I was also moved by how the scone I bought on a whim—just because I love them—turned out to be exactly to my taste. I heard they use homemade yeast that they’ve been cultivating since their time at Levain!
【DAY & NIGHT】
A sandwich shop in Shirokane newly produced by Moriguchi-san, the owner of Burger Mania, who came to set up a stand as Escape Shoten at Hageeho in March.
With a cool exterior perfectly suited to its location on a corner under the train tracks, the interior was also unbearably wonderful.
I feel like it’s truly important to take the time to savor the things created by people who have come to help us, and I think there’s a different kind of deliciousness to it.
【Marsala Inshokuten】
A shop in Sangenjaya where you can enjoy creative *obanzai* (traditional Kyoto-style home cooking) and alcohol.
I want everyone to visit this shop at least once, as I am enchanted by everything from the presence and coloring of the food itself to the combinations of ingredients, but I also love the people who work here.
A very important friend of mine started working at this Marsala Inshokuten in mid-April. She moved to Tokyo from Nagoya to work here.
I met her, a person with such initiative and courage, about two years ago, not in Nagoya, but in Nagano.
We both had quit our previous jobs and happened to meet in Nagano while we were both searching for our next paths.
She told me about Marsala Inshokuten, as I was planning to go to Tokyo afterward, and that was the first time I visited this shop.
Since I was at the point where I was interested in working at Early Birds, I was sitting at the counter talking about that with the staff member there at the time.
And now, two years later, she who taught me the charm of Marsala Inshokuten moved to Tokyo and became a staff member there, and I visited as a staff member of Early Birds, meeting her across the counter as staff and customer; it was a strangely indescribable sensation.
I felt the power of fate and connections once again, and I think it was a very happy moment.
I always get inspired by the backs of people working hard. Seeing her figure as she tries wholeheartedly to walk her chosen path, I thought: I’m rooting for you, now and forever!!
DAY 3
【Kashi Kobo Rusurusu】
A sweets shop in Asakusa.
They seem to have branches in Higashi-Azabu and Ginza, but the one I headed to this time was the Asakusa store.
Run by sisters, Rusurusu gives the impression of being quite diverse in their activities, opening cafes, holding baking classes, and publishing numerous recipe books. It had been a regular holiday before, so this time I finally made it!
The shop has low-key lighting, and with a simple, retro-style display case, it features mostly cookies and other baked goods.
Since cookies have a longer shelf life than other items, I tend to buy too many. This time, too, everything looked so delicious that I ended up with a lot of stuff.
I was surprised by the sweetness, which was elegantly subtle, and personally, by the consistency of the cream—it was just perfect. You can enjoy the texture, but it also has that creamy feel. I wonder how they make it. The book Rusurusu recently published, "Detailed and Careful Sweets Book," which I had been curious about for a while, has become even more of a must-have... Should I buy it? I’ll probably end up buying it sooner or later.
【BUY ME STAND】
A trendy sandwich shop in Shibuya where you can eat from breakfast.
It’s not a baked goods shop, but I definitely want to study up on breakfast, too.
With colors and interiors that make it feel like you’re on the US coast, I was already in the mood.
I ordered two types of hot sandwiches.
The bread color and plate color changed, which in itself made them look appetizing.
Both were delicious! I suppose there’s no limit to the combinations of ingredients. When unexpected combinations in sweets turn out to be incredibly delicious, it really gets me excited.
(Extra Edition)
1. Shops I really, really wanted to go to, but couldn't because it overlapped with their regular holidays!
【Sunday Bake Shop】
Located in Hatsudai, Shibuya Ward, it is, as the name suggests, a Sunday sweets shop. (Recently, in addition to Sundays, they’re also open on Wednesdays and Fridays!)
This is a shop I visited once before I started baking, and I remember even then, my eyes and heart were snatched away by the long rows of sweets.
It’s hard to visit in person, but it’s a favorite shop that I draw inspiration from for everything while I’m making my own sweets! Number one for excitement!
As fate would have it, I became friends with a girl who works there, and I was able to see her a little in Tokyo this time too.
Since she also rides bikes, she’s planning to participate in the women-only ride RIDEALIVE Hokkaido in August! I’m already looking forward to becoming even better friends!!
2. The team that took the best care of us on this training trip!
【ALL YOURS】
An apparel brand with an office in Ikejiri.
ALL YOURS develops and produces "life-spec" wear that makes our daily lives more comfortable and free, and we carry their items at Circles.
This time, we were taken care of by this team, who all have such rich personalities. Thank you very much!
And congratulations on the opening of your new store.
They are always challenging themselves, overflowing with passion; it’s a shop I want to visit again and again.
There are still many other shops I visited and places I should go, but I figured I should stop here, as it would become long as usual if I tried to write it all out.
That was how we finished our Tokyo training, but "meeting face-to-face" with people is truly important.
To look them in the eye and talk. I feel happy when I can see our smiles again in that way.
Visiting shops I wanted to go to, eating things I wanted to try, meeting people I wanted to see—I did so many things I wanted to do and it was a very fulfilling three days. Being grateful for this time, I want to deliver even more delicious and exciting sweets than before!!
Surrounded by people, sweets, and banana bread for three days—the saddlebag that I had attached empty was packed full of baked goods by the final day, which is standard for my recent trips.