Flavors that bring out the natural goodness of the ingredients
The bread at Konohana (粉花) is made primarily with homemade yeast fermented from just raisins and water, Hokkaido wheat flour, and Okinawa salt. With a desire to use ingredients grown as close to them as possible, they choose domestic products whenever feasible, cherishing a simple approach that highlights the natural flavors of the ingredients. Initially, they envisioned a shop focused on simple breads like pain de campagne, but as they began to fulfill customer requests, the variety gradually expanded to include familiar items like sandwich bread and their signature round bread. Currently, they produce about 15 different types of bread.
Megumi: "Many of our customers initially came for our easy-to-eat round bread, but gradually they started to try our harder breads, and now they enjoy our pain de campagne as well. I'm glad if we can be the reason people discover new delicious types of bread."
I became passionate about it because I couldn't bake it well at first.
Mayumi, who has loved baking sweets since she was a child, never thought about owning her own shop and actually felt uncomfortable being in front of people. What made her fall in love with baking bread was a single remark from Megumi: "It seems you can bake bread with natural yeast."
Megumi: "I used to work as a pharmacist, but my only joy was stopping by the bookstore after work. One day, as I was browsing the shelves as usual, I happened to come across a book about natural yeast. It looked interesting, like a chemistry experiment, so I decided to try it myself. However, I just couldn't get it right."
Mayumi: "So, I also started from scratch with making the yeast, but it didn't go well at first. Since there was no one around me who made bread with natural yeast, I just kept experimenting on my own. Before I knew it, I became more obsessed with it than Megumi. I baked almost every day and had my family taste the bread."
Megumi, who loved eating bread, felt a certain level of satisfaction just from seeing the bread rise with natural yeast. On the other hand, since Mayumi had not eaten much bread before, she did not feel a sense of accomplishment in the early stages nor was eating the bread her goal. Instead, she became completely absorbed in the process of baking itself.
It was a visit to a chiropractor for the first time that brought a turning point for Mayumi. For some reason, the chiropractor, whom she had never met before, suggested she teach a bread-making class. She initially declined, but the chiropractor's remark, "Nothing will change if you say you can't do it without even trying," resonated with her. She decided to take on the challenge.
Mayumi: "When I finally opened the oven and the students saw the freshly baked bread, they cheered. Until then, I had been baking just because I enjoyed it, but for the first time, I realized how joyful it was to see bread being baked. From that moment, I thought, if it makes me this happy, I want to do it every day. And to bake every day, I have to become a baker!"
Looking forward to new encounters.
The day she posted about the bread class, still exhilarated, she received a message from a classmate who happened to be the landlord's son, and quickly secured a property. Within six months, the shop was ready. Although she was initially terrified to open the shop's shutters due to the rapid progression, three years after opening, a magazine feature brought more customers from afar.
Mayumi: "Before I started baking bread, I felt like I was living in a very dark world. If it weren't for that encounter at the chiropractor, I wouldn't be who I am today, and without this shop, I might not have met so many people around me. I am truly glad I decided to do it."
Megumi: "There was a woman who came almost every day since the shop opened to watch over us. One day, she said, 'It looks like you're doing just fine now.' I was truly grateful for her support. I think it's a unique culture of this town where life and business are closely connected. Everyone naturally cares for and supports each other, and I feel that Konohana has grown within this warm cycle of mutual support. So, if someone nearby opens a new shop, we naturally want to visit and support them. That's how we feel."
Megumi: "Our regular customers and we have all aged together over the years, and conversations about health have become more common. Currently, the shop is open four days a week, and on busy days we sell out by around noon, while on slower days we close by 4 PM and head home while it's still light outside. We've always made it a point to take proper breaks and not overdo things, so we can keep enjoying what we do."
Mayumi: "I don't have a clear on-off switch; I'm always thinking about the shop. Moving forward, I want to continue making delicious bread every day while enjoying the events and new encounters that happen at Konohana."
During this interview, there was a moment when a neighbor, attracted by the lively voices spilling out of the shop, unexpectedly popped in for a visit. It gave us a warm feeling, as if we had glimpsed the relationships the two of them have built in this town over the past 15 years.
-PROFILE-
Konohana（粉花）
Opened in 2008 in the backstreets of Asakusa Kannon. This popular bakery, cherished by the local Asakusa community, bakes bread using yeast cultivated with only organic raisins and water, and domestic wheat. Sales start at 10:30 AM and continue until sold out.
1st Floor, 3-25-6 Asakusa, Taito-ku
Closed: Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Holidays
BACK 1/2 ー A landscape with a goat mesh ー Bakery: Konohana