Do people in Kyoto really eat a lot of bread?

Yes. In Japan's Family Income and Expenditure Survey, averaged over 2023–2025, Kyoto households of two or more people spent ¥39,347 a year on bread, third among prefectural capitals and major cities after Kobe and Sakai, against ¥34,242 nationally. By weight Kyoto ranked fourth, and in the 2014–2016 average it was first.

What is Shinshindo, the Kyoto bakery?

Shinshindo is a Kyoto bakery founded in 1913 by Tsuzuki Hitoshi, who in 1924 went to Paris as the first Japanese baker to train in France. In 1930 it opened a café opposite Kyoto University's north gate, with long tables by the craftsman Kuroda Tatsuaki. Its Daily Bread, from 1952, was Japan's first sliced, packaged loaf.

Where are the bakery cafés in Kyoto?

Kawaramachi has the most, among them OUI. Bakery, and the streets around the Imperial Palace come close, with RABBIT BAGELS at 369 Kawaramachi-dōri and Style Coffee. Okazaki has ETRA on Reizei-dōri, and near Kyoto Station, Pâtisserie & Cafe Del'immo KYOTO stays open until 22:00 daily.

Bakery Cafés in Kyoto: Bread, Bagels and Pastry

Kyoto households buy more bread than most in Japan. In the national Family Income and Expenditure Survey, averaged over 2023–2025, households of two or more people in Kyoto spent ¥39,347 a year on bread, third among the prefectural capitals and major cities after Kobe and Sakai, against a national average of ¥34,242.¹ By weight they bought 49.5 kg, fourth behind Sakai, Osaka and Ōtsu.¹ In the 2014–2016 average, Kyoto was first.²

The habit is a century old. In the Meiji era Kyoto ordered its bread from Kobe, a port with many foreign residents.² In 1913 Tsuzuki Hitoshi, who had trained at Nakamuraya in Tokyo, founded Shinshindo, and in 1924 he left for about two years in Paris, the first Japanese baker to train in France.²³ More bakeries followed in the Taishō and early Shōwa years, including Sasaki Pan in 1921 and Bakery Shirakawa in 1928.²

Local tip: Go to Shinshindo's Kitashirakawa café on any day but Tuesday, its closing day when Sarai visited in 2021, and take a seat at one of the long Kuroda Tatsuaki tables.⁴

Where these cafés are: Kawaramachi & Teramachi (5), Imperial Palace (4), Arashiyama & Saga (4), Kyoto Station & Shichijō (3), Fushimi (3), Karasuma (2), Okazaki & Nanzen-ji (1), Gion & Higashiyama (1), Nishijin & Kitano (1), Nishikyō & Rakusai (1), Ukyō (1), Demachiyanagi & Kyoto University (1), Nijō (1).

At a glance

28Cafés listed

12With opening hours

07:30Earliest opening

22:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: 喫茶喜心 kyoto, from 07:30 (Mon 07:30–13:30 · Thu–Sun 07:30–13:30).

Closes latest: Pâtisserie & Cafe Del’immo KYOTO, until 22:00 (Mon–Fri 10:00–22:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–22:00).

Most common features: brunch (11%), takeaway (11%), vegetarian options (7%).

Why Kyoto took to bread

The usual explanation is work. Keihan's long-running Kyoto culture series credits the city's craftspeople, who wanted sōzai-pan (惣菜パン, savory filled bread) that saved cooking time on busy mornings and at lunch, and a practical, novelty-loving local temperament.² The same 2017 piece noted that a bakery is within walking distance of most Kyoto homes and that the Kyoto Pan Festival at Kamigamo Shrine drew more than 50,000 visitors.²

Shinshindo's Daily Bread went on sale in 1952 as Japan's first sliced, packaged loaf, and by 2024 the company ran 13 shops in the city.³

Shokupan and everything else

The survey splits bread into shokupan (食パン, the square sandwich loaf) and other bread. Kyoto households spent ¥12,914 a year on shokupan, behind only Kobe and Nara, and ¥26,433 on other bread, fifth in the ranking.¹ Tokyo's 23 wards, by comparison, spent ¥11,806 on shokupan and ¥25,932 on other bread.¹

Weight tells a slightly different story. Kyoto bought 23.0 kg of shokupan a year, seventh among these cities, and 22.9 kg of other bread, fourth behind Sakai, Osaka and Ōtsu.¹

A bakery café from 1930

Shinshindo opened a café opposite Kyoto University's north gate in 1930, modeled on cafés its founder had seen in the Latin Quarter of Paris.⁴ Its long single-plank tables and benches were made by the craftsman Kuroda Tatsuaki and built to last about 200 years.⁴

The coffee is a single house blend. In Sarai's October 2021 issue, butter toast with coffee cost ¥600 and a curry rice set with a drink ¥800, and the café opened 10:00–18:00, closed on Tuesdays.⁴

Where Kyoto's bakery cafés are

Kawaramachi has the most bakery cafés, but the streets around the Imperial Palace and Arashiyama are close behind. By the Palace, RABBIT BAGELS at 369 Kawaramachi-dōri opens daily 10:00–17:00 and does takeaway, Style Coffee opens 09:00–16:00 and closes on Tuesdays, and シュクル御所西 (Shukuru Goshonishi) is at 334 Harutai-chō. カワコーヒー (Kawa Coffee) nearby opens from 10:30 most days and closes on Wednesdays.

Kawaramachi has OUI. Bakery and a shop called カヌレ (canelé), open daily 12:00–18:00. ETRA on Reizei-dōri in Okazaki combines bakery and brunch, opening at 09:30 at weekends. Near Kyoto Station, KITTEN COMPANY on Gojō-dōri has vegan options (Monday to Saturday 11:00–19:00), and Pâtisserie & Cafe Del'immo KYOTO serves until 22:00 every day.

Bakery cafés in Kyoto

At a glance

ETRA

KITTEN COMPANY

RABBIT BAGELS

Style Coffee

カヌレ

パンとエスプレッソと嵐山庭園

リプトン

喫茶 喜心 kyoto

Coffee Kobo

kyoto 1er bakery with cuisine

MonoArt Coffee Roasters

Musubi Cafe - sweets factory

Patisserie ＆ Cafe Towaneee(トワニー)

Patisserie Salon de the m.s.h

patisserie Takayasu

Pâtisserie & Cafe Del’immo KYOTO

The City Bakery

カワコーヒー

スマート

パンとエスプレッソと福田美術館

パンとコーヒーとひらりんと・・・

リゲル

喫茶とパン do.

嵐山 りらっくま茶房

花咲み

さらさ3

シュクル御所西

OUI. Bakery

Why Kyoto took to bread

Shokupan and everything else

A bakery café from 1930

Where Kyoto's bakery cafés are

Sources

Other ways to browse Kyoto

Wi-Fi

Vegetarian options

Outdoor seating

Open late

Bakery cafés in Kyoto: questions

Do people in Kyoto really eat a lot of bread?

What is Shinshindo, the Kyoto bakery?

Where are the bakery cafés in Kyoto?

Your café deserves better than a pin someone else dropped

喫茶喜心 kyoto

嵐山りらっくま茶房