Super-cheap pillow-sized croissants selling in Tokyo

In case you ever wondered what being six inches tall might feel like.

Here at SoraNews24, we’re always on the lookout for the largest in baked goods, partly because they’re a testament to humanity’s efforts to constantly push the limits of the culinary arts and reach new heights in innovation, and partly because we’re hungry.

So, when we heard that a new bakery called Kamata no Mikata opened in the Kamata area of Ota, Tokyo, we had to investigate. The reason is that this bakery is run by Kosuge Bread, a Chiba-based company with a reputation for selling low-priced, high-volume baked goods.

To give you an idea, last year our own Mr. Sato visited Kosuge’s 1-2-3 Club House, which is also in Kamata. There he found the Gokufutsu, which is an enormous potato croquette served on a bun that looks tiny in comparison.

▼ Gokufutsu Croquette (300 yen at the time)

And in Mega Don Quijote, he found that Kosuge was selling the Mega Bukuro, which is a massive bag containing 30 pieces of raisin bread for a ridiculously low price.

▼ Mega Bukuro Raisin Bread (30 pieces for 425 yen at the time)

So expectations were high when Mr. Sato headed over to Kamata no Mikata, which is located in the Granduo Kamata shopping center at JR Kamata Station.

At first glance, the bakery seems rather mild-mannered, but unusual signs kept catching our reporter’s eye, like some cream-filled buns called President’s Whim: Pudding Bread with an equally eye-catching price of only 60 yen (US$0.43) a piece.

And Mr. Sato felt like saying hello to an old friend when he saw some fresh sacks of Mega Bukuro raisin breads. Like most things these days, it had become a victim to inflation and rose in price by 70 yen but was still a bargain by any measure.

There were also sugary rolls called Fry Pan for apparently no other reason than “pan” is also the Japanese word for “bread.”

Elsewhere there’s the daringly named Botta Cream Bread, which comes across as nonsense in English but the “Botta Crea” part sounds like “bottakuri” which is a Japanese word meaning “rip-off.” And right below it was some Women Power Up Ru, which is only partially nonsense in English because the “Up Ru” can sound like “apple” in Japanese, thus accurately labeling these apple-filled buns.

The off-balance croquette sandwich was there too and next to it was the Hamuchi-hamunida whose name is a corruption of “kamusahamunida” which is the Japanese way of pronouncing the Korean word “gamsahamnida” meaning “thank you” in English. The “Hamuchi” variation in the name is a reference to it being a ham and cheese sandwich.

But the main event had to be the Groissant pictured below.

You probably can’t tell from the close-up shot of the label or even the worrisome but not-unheard-of 349-calorie count, but the “G” in this name is either a pun on the word “grow” or the word “gross” in the sense of “large” and “conspicuous.” Either is possible because this thing is huge!

This pastry measured roughly 30 centimeters (12 inches) in length and as a result looked a little dilapidated, giving weight to the theory that the “G” stands for “gross” after all. It just goes to show that everything – even croissants – has its limits.

Mr. Sato had heard once that in France it is customary to dip croissants in a cup of café au lait before eating it. But for the Groissant, one would probably need a bathtub full of milky coffee.

Regardless, there was no point in staring at it all day, so Mr. Sato got to work!

The inside was very much like an ordinary croissant. There was just a whole lot of it. And the most shocking thing of all is that this monster costs just 300 yen ($2.16)!

So, it’s safe to say that Kamata no Mikata and Kosuge Bread’s other operations like to have a lot of fun with baked goods and it seems to be paying off as they’re steadily expanding. So, keep your eyes peeled for a giant croissant or other snack when it arrives in your area.

Store information
Kamata no Mikata / かまたのミカタ
Tokyo-to, Ota-ku, Nishikamata 7-68-1, Granduo Kamata West B1
東京都大田区西蒲田7-68-1 グランデュオ蒲田 西館 B1F
Open: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. (8:30 p.m. on Sundays and holidays)

Photos ©SoraNews24
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