Unique Bread in Japan

The most ubiquitous type of bread in Japan is the white and pillowy square-shaped bread called shokupan, which simply means “eating bread.” Made of white flour, yeast, milk or milk powder, butter, salt and sugar, shokupan is both loved and taken for granted by most.Shokupan is still the go-to everyday bread that is sold everywhere from supermarkets to convenience stores. Every Japanese bakery, however fancy it is, makes shokupan, just as every French bakery makes plain white-flour baguettes.

Melon bread (melon pan) is a type of sweet bread from Japan. It has been around since the last couple of decades, and is very familiar to Japanese people. Melon bread is made from dough covered with a thin layer of sweet and crisp cookie dough. But, it is originally not melon-flavored. It's often said that the name, ''melon'', originated from its appearance. The bread resembles a round-shaped melon and its outer layer (cookie dough) has netted skin with deep grooves just like a muskmelon.

Kare pan is a Japanese pastry consisting of soft bread filled with meat and vegetables in a Japanese curry sauce, coated in panko breadcrumbs, and deep-fried until golden brown. Kare pan is a type of okazu pan or bread with a savory filling. You can find kare pan in bakeries and convenience stores all over Japan.