17 Best Tried and True Japanese Breads in 2023

Yamazaki Bread's Airy and Fluffy bread is, just as the name states, fluffy and airy—but it's also smooth. The bread is produced with a special, proprietary process and unique ingredients.

When eaten plain, the softness of the bread ranked extremely well compared to all the other breads. Even the crusts were super soft, so people who usually dislike hard crusts can still enjoy eating it.

Our staff was also surprised by how the texture of the bread didn't change even when toasted—the outside only moderately crisps up. The sweetness from the wheat and the taste of butter are pronounced in this bread, so it's great eaten plain.

Since the bread is so soft, it's best to avoid using it for sandwiches. Instead, we recommend eating it as is, or as French toast.

Yamazaki Bread's Chouhoujun, made from the company's own Yugome manufacturing process, ranked number 3 on our list! The chewiness, fluffiness, and overall taste of the bread impressed our staff. The wheat aroma was nice and fragrant, and it was delicious eaten with jam and margarine. 

When toasted, the outside became exceptionally crisp and the inside was chewy—enough to elicit a response from our staff that this was the first time they were able to experience this kind of amazing textural contrast after toasting bread. The wheat flavor also became even more pronounced.

The crust has a slight crunch to it, so it's tasty no matter which way you eat it. It can be used to make a variety of sandwiches, making it a great bread to buy.

Kobeya's Mochi-Fuwa Takumi no Ippin makes full use of the inherent sweetness in wheat and made this bread where even the crust is fluffy and chewy.

Before toasting, the bread had a chewy, thick feel. Visually, the bread itself is very dense and has some heft to it. When eaten, contrary to its appearance, it reveals itself to be a light, soft bread that is easy to eat, making it ideal for spreading jams or margarine.

After toasting, its chewiness receded, changing to a firmer mouth-feel. Unfortunately, we were unable to taste the sweetness from the wheat as the manufacturer claimed, leading it to lose some points in the end.

Top Valu's Best Price Soft Bread uses yogurt cultures to impart a new taste dimension into its overall flavor profile. Eaten plain, the bread is thick and fluffy. One of our staff commented that strawberry jam or marmalade—any type of sweet jam—would compliment it well.

Furthermore, when toasted, the airy texture of the bread remains, while the outside becomes flakey and crispy. Even without using condiments, the toast is delicious, since the butter flavor comes through. We recommend eating it when you're in a hurry in the morning, since you can just grab it and go.

Yamazaki Bread's Royal Bread is flavorful with its notes of butter and wheat. Eaten plain, the bread has a chewy and fluffy texture, and the more you chew it, the more pronounced the sweet flavor of it comes out. 

Even before toasting it, the smell of wheat wafting from the bread smells incredibly inviting. After toasting, the chewiness of the bread comes to the forefront and the crust becomes softer. 

Because there isn't much heft to the bread, we wouldn't recommend it for sandwiches, but it would be great eaten with jam and margarine!

Double Soft is a classic, long-selling Japanese bread that was first sold in 1989, with its soft texture as one of it's greatest selling points.

The whole bread slice—crumb and crust—is super soft when eaten plain. However, compared to the other breads on this list, we felt that this was lacking a bit of textural smoothness.

When toasted, the outer crust becomes crackly and crisp, while the crumb becomes moist and smooth. Since the bread is so thickly cut, just one slice is enough to satisfy anyone.

Pasco makes their Choujuku bread simple but good, creating it with only the most important ingredients. 

The light airiness of the bread was a hit with our staff since it creates a texture that melts in the mouth. A couple of people exclaimed that Choujuku was much more delicious eaten plain; but, when spread with jam, it takes on a mellow, well-rounded flavor that was also great.

When it's toasted, the bread stiffens and becomes slightly crunchy, providing a great base for a nice, crisp sandwich. We recommend it to people who love toasty sandwiches.

Family Mart's bread is said to be soft and filled with the pure, delicious taste of wheat. Aptly named, the Soft Bread With Wheat Aroma is very soft and airy when eaten as is. Slathering some jam or margarine on it makes it even better.

After toasting it, it still maintains it's fluffy texture, though the outside crisps up, adding another layer of complexity. However, the crust does not follow suit and instead retains its hardness, which is why we rated it in ninth place. 

If you don't like crusts, then we can't recommend this bread, but everything besides the crust was highly rated.

Pasco's Whole Wheat option uses whole wheat flour that is made from grinding rye and wheat together.

The wheat flavor is very pronounced both before and after toasting the bread, and when actually eating it, it has a very unique taste. Many of our staff compared it to yomogi, or Japanese mugwort, which has a distinctly earthy, herby flavor.

After toasting the bread, it becomes stiffer and the wheat loses a bit of its potency. If you want to enjoy the full flavor of the ingredients, then we suggest eating the bread as is or in a simple arrangement with mayonnaise and vegetables.

Pasco's Choujuku Japanese Wheat Bread is made from 100% Japanese wheat.

Before toasting, the bread was extremely thick, fluffy, and chewy. However, after toasting, it had a slight bitter taste, with some of our staff loving it, and others not so much.

This bread is best for someone who enjoys the bitterness and fragrance of wheat but is probably not a good match for someone who isn't particularly fond of the strong flavor that wheat offers.