Gou Umitora
When I looked into the bakeries in Minamikawachi, I found that there were more than I had expected, and I have not yet conquered all of them, but I plan to visit as many as possible whenever I come across a bakery in an unexplored area. So, this time, I visited San Ship in the quiet residential area of the Kinjo East area in the western part of Tondabayashi City. In terms of address, it is located in Mukoyodai, a little north of Ecole Rose, the largest shopping center in Tondabayashi. This area seems to have quite a few bakeries, and I had come across this place when I searched for bakeries on Google Maps before. I had read some reviews saying that their hard bread was delicious, so it was one of the places I wanted to visit. As it is about 200 meters into the residential area from the main road that I usually drive on, I had never seen it before, so I relied on the map and walked there. It is located next to Fuyo Junior High School, so I was able to find it soon, but if I had to search for it by car, I might have been driving around in circles in the residential area (laughs). The building has a stylish exterior with white and wood tones, and when I entered, there were bread with a nice brown color displayed on the shelves on both sides. There were regular customers inside, and they seemed to be buying quite a lot. As expected, there were many hard bread varieties, which was quite rare in the Tondabayashi area. Personally, I also like dessert bread with plenty of cream, but I also like hard bread that you can chew well and enjoy the original taste of bread, so I had a hard time deciding which ones to buy here. This time, I purchased Walnut and Raisin bread, Focaccia Cheese, Fig and Walnut, and Croissant. The Focaccia Cheese had a soft texture, and when lightly heated, the flavor of the cheese became even more pronounced. The Walnut and Raisin bread was sliced, toasted, buttered, and enjoyed. The Fig and Walnut bread was a hard bread as it looked, but even when baked or eaten as is, the taste of the dough, the texture of the walnuts, and the sweetness of the figs matched perfectly. And the Croissant, recommended by the shop, allowed me to enjoy a unique crispy texture. Apart from the hard bread, they also had classic bread such as Anpan, Cream Pan, and Melon Pan, which I would like to try. Access: To go by car, pass by Tondabayashi Hospital and head north from the intersection just south of the "Mukoyodai 2-chome" bus stop, into the residential area (west). After about 200 meters, you will reach a dead end, so continue straight ahead and turn left, and the parking lot in front of the apartment building on the right side, with one space in the middle on the right, is the parking lot for San Ship. The entrance to the store is on the back side of this apartment building (actually the front), so please approach on foot from the side street. Since the area in front of the store is a pedestrian walkway, please park your car in the rear parking lot. By public transportation, take a bus from either Kintetsu Tondabayashi Station or Nankai Kongou Station to the "Mukoyodai 2-chome" bus stop. Head into the residential area (west) from the intersection just south of the bus stop, walk about 200 meters to reach a dead end, pass through the bollard, and when you come out onto the promenade along Fuyo Junior High School, turn left. The store entrance is on the left about 80 meters ahead.