After crazy lines and strict item limits, we can all finally live the sweet life at Godiva’s Japanese-style bakery.

With Japan’s sizable population of passionate foodies, there are a whole lot of people who put marks on their calendars when new restaurants, cafes, and sweets shops are scheduled to open. However, just because a place is technically open doesn’t always mean that you’ll be able to taste everything it has to offer.

Take, for example, what happened when world-famous chocolatier Godiva opened a Japanese-style bakery in downtown Tokyo. If you wanted to try its baked goods on opening day in August of 2023, you’d need to wait in line for five and a half hours just to get into the store.

▼ The Godiva bakery on opening day

But hey, as long as you had a friend of family member willing to wait in line that long, they could bring back a huge haul of treats for everyone else in your social circle to feast on, right? Nope, because in addition to the long lines, Godipan, as the Godiva bakery is called, had a strict limit of four items per customer.

In other words, unless you have a job like we do at SoraNews24 where your boss will pay you to stand in line for new sweets, Godipan wasn’t a viable choice for a snack run, even if the place was technically open and doing business. For a long time after opening, you still couldn’t just walk into the place, and instead had to first check in and get a ticket that would assign you a block of time to come back at later in the day, at which time you’d still have to wait in line before entering the bakery. Oh, and that’s assuming the staff didn’t simply inform you that they’d passed out all of the day’s tickets, meaning that you had no chance of getting in.

So imagine our joy when we recently strolled by Godipan at around 11 a.m. on a weekday and found out that it’s now easier than ever to get into the Godiva bakery, and also to buy more than any single customer was allowed to before!

We already knew that the ticket system had been done away with, but as of December 25, each customer is now allowed to purchase up to 10 pieces of bread.

▼ The 10-pieces-of-bread-per-person notice, posted at the entrance to the bakery

Like most Japanese bakeries, Godipan is a self-serve place, so we excitedly grabbed a tray and a pair of tongs and headed in.

Naturally, there are a lot of different types of chocolate breads on offer, and there’s also a refrigerated case filled with pastries filled with cream that should be kept cold.

▼ The staff provides gel ice packs to keep them chilled on your way home.

We were especially ecstatic to see Godipan’s melon bread/melon pan, Godiva’s take on the perennial all-star of Japanese bakery shelves.

In total, we grabbed seven pieces, one of which, of course, was the chocolat melon bread (378 yen [US$2.40]).

Also part of our haul: a chocolate muffin (345 yen), a cacao cake (378 yen), and chocolate-covered chocolat brownie (378 yen).

Our second plate isn’t quite as completely chocolate covered, but still looked delicious, with a piece of chocolatier curry bread (453 yen), a cocoa ring cake (345 yen), and rich chocolat donut (486 yen).

▼ Note that in Japanese bakery jargon, “donut” can sometimes refer to a piece of fried bread with a filling but no hole, as with the rich chocolat donut pictured at the lower left.

After much thought on the difficult decision of what to eat first, we settled on the melon bread. If you’ve never had melon bread, the name refers to the crisscrossed pattern that runs across the top of the pastry, as it contains no melon or fruit flavors. Instead, melon bread consists of a crisp cookie-like top layer with a soft bun underneath. In the case of the Godipa melon bread, that cookie crust is seasoned with Godiva’s elegant chocolate, with a mix of mature bitterness over its base sweetness, and the contrast helps to bring out more of the natural sweetness of the bread that forms the soft bun underneath. It all makes for a melon bread that would be great for a quick breakfast or mid-day snack for yourself, but which would also make a much-appreciated gift if you’re visiting a friend’s house or headed to a party.

We’re taking our time to savor the rest of the breads we picked up, but we’re sure they’re all going to taste al the sweeter with the knowledge that going back to Godipa to get more is now easier than ever.

Bakery information
Godipan / ゴディパン
Address: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Yurakucho 2-10-1
東京都千代田区有楽町2丁目10番1号
Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Website

Photos © SoraNews24
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