Nagano Bakery

Japanese people are often very patient about standing in line, and a line is often worth joining. This isn't always true, of course - for example, when Krispy Kreme opened its first shop in Shinjuku, the line stretched all the way down the street and across a pedestrian bridge from the store. I can't believe the people who waited that long could have been impressed enough to make it worthwhile. Fortunately there isn't quite such a wait to get into Nagano Bakery. And what's on offer is (at least in my opinion) far superior to a glazed donut, even a good old fashioned Southern Krispy Kreme glazed donut. What might that be, you ask?
Yes, it's a mentaiko sandwich! Where else but Japan can you find fish eggs mixed with hot pepper and mayo stuffed in a crispy, chewy mini-baguette and topped with strips of nori dried seaweed? As weird as I fist thought this combination was, when you think about it, it's not all that extreme. After all, Russians eat caviar on bread with butter. Americans eat oyster po' boys. Japanese put spicy fish eggs in rice and wrap the whole thing in seaweed. This may be a different form, but it's the same concept. And it's delicious.
Don't worry, if donuts are more your thing, they have those too, plus all the classics both Japanese and French. Shown here is a nice variety, from the plain rolls on the top shelf spread with peanuts-cream (a Japanese concoction that transforms peanut butter into something sweet and ultra-creamy), condensed milk, or cream cheese to the donuts and sweet rolls on the second shelf to the "weiner roll," "potato France," and "tuna France" on the bottom shelf. Since the shop is in a very officey area and probably does most of its business around lunch time (it doesn't even bother to open on the weekends), there are more filled rolls, sandwiches, and savory options than is usual at a Japanese bakery.
I've tried a lot of the breads at Nagano, but my favorites are the mentaiko sandwich and this cheese roll. Not only is there often a crisp wafer of overflowed cheese baked onto the bottom, but the bread is softer than the baguette, a perfect vessel for the generous serving of cubed cheese held inside.

Nagano Bakery

2-17-31 Akasaka

Minato-ku, Tokyo