365 ~ Neighborhood bakery and beyond

There is a fine quality neighborhood bakery called 365日, 365 nichi means 365 days in Japanese, located near Yoyogi koen station, Tokyo.  Japanese bakeries sometimes appears like a fine boutique or jewelry shop in terms of display, and this one as well.  Looking through the show window, big big window, there are freshly baked breads facing us.  They are beautifully organized and completely in order.  It is funny to say "breads are in order", but there are no other words can be found at the first look at the shelf through the window.  They are coordinate very well i line and have exactly in same shape, which is just amazing.


There are show cases which store freshly baked breads, and customers are pointing at ones they want to let the crews pick up for them.  
Right behind the show case, there are a bar counter to have your breads purchased with one drink order.  They serve 2 kinds of coffee here: their original blends by CAFE FACON, and their original by the roster on their own.  The owner of this bakery opens new cafe near by, then start roasting on his own.  Both of coffee goes well with their sweet breads.

Besides all the detail of this fashionable appearance and price, 365 days may fulfill your cravings for fine quality.  Their croissant tastes moderately salted enhances butter flavor, but not buttery nor oily.  Thin and delicate layers gives crispiness, but melting feeling once it touches a tongue.  Sweets breads, Danish pastries, also made with quite gentle sweetness and adequate sizes.  They prove that people satisfies with quality of fine ingredients, not the size.  

Their breads are very small even compares to other bakeries in Tokyo and high in price, so you may surprise for the first visit.  Even if you are surprised by the price, it is better choice for you to overcome the feeling and choose simple breads together with one sweet bread.  They will confirm you that there are world class arty boulangeries hidden in the neighborhood of this country together with the finest quality ingredients producers.  

Blue Bottle ~ Aoyama

There are decent coffee shops everywhere in Japan, traditionally.  Japan has been the center of coffee culture for a long time, small coffee shops, like cafe, serves Nel-drips, Siphons, paper drips and so on.  Some are individually roasted, developed their own roasting techniques such as far infrared roasting using hard wood charcoal called Binchō-tan.  Japanese style cafe, so called "Kissa ten" , are every corner in town, sometimes middle, of course, not difficult to find.  Certainly, Japan is one of many countries welcomed Starbucks invasion since mid 1990s.  Although the company moved quick and powerful to expand its domination, there are few area they find hard to find strategies and benefits to open the stores due to strongly localized and exclusive "Kissa ten" culture.  

With this story behind, somewhat the third wavers find opportunities to come in to Japan.  In 2015, San Francisco's leading coffee roaster, "Blue Bottle" opens its first rostery & cafe in Kiyosumi-shirakawa, historical part of Tokyo.  People in Tokyo welcomed Blue Bottle open-handed, there were line over line to have a cup of coffee when the cafe opened.  Some says, "waited for 2hrs just for a cup".  
Within a year, they had plan to open the next one in Aoyama, March 2015, then third in Shinjyuku.  

This Aoyama cafe is located cozy, quiet part of Aoyama, near Omote-sando Station, at the second floor of "Cabane de zucca".  Within 3 min distance, there are Shozo Coffee Kiosk, where you may find fine quality Scones and madeleines.  
The layout of Aoyama cafe reminds me of the one in Oakland, W.C. Morse, although W.C. Morse is more spacey and has more natural lights.  Unlike Mint Plaza, unlike Hayes Valley, interior of Blue Bottle seems to have settled with this plane, white and stainless look.  Somewhat this reminds me of a cooking studio, which might be part of their concepts.

I am not yet ready to taste Blue Bottle in Japan.  For me, flavor of Blue Bottle Coffee is made of James Freeman's passion and obsession with coffee.  I still remember flavor of his coffee and his smile.  Personally, I wonder, is there still James' DNA breathing any of new cafes.  It is business, certainly.  However, we still need to keep it in our mind that Tokyo is the town which welcomed "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf" by lining up hours and hours when it opened in Nihon-Bashi.