In this first episode of “The Best of Obuse,” I’d like to introduce you one of my favorite food places in the town… Iwasaki Bakery. Here is a rough transcript of the video:
Way back in 1987 as an exchange student, a friend showed me around Obuse and happened to stop by the shop. There I found some cookies that were so good, I could have sworn that they were my grandmother’s. I later discovered the reason for that.
Ms. Iwasaki, the 5th generation proprietor, revealed that the bakery’s founder was originally a Japanese confectioner. Sometime before World War II, the family started producing bread for school lunches. Foreign staff at Obuse’s New Life Hospital, Japan’s only Tuberculosis Sanitorium, provided a wealth of information on western recipes. The head nurse, Ms. Lilius Powell, was especially helpful in teaching the Iwasaki’s how to make the famous Chelsea Bun. Ms. Powell indicated that the recipe came from her Grandmother, who had lived in Chelsea, England.
In addition to the Chelsea bun, you can find more favorite baked goods including:
Seasonal strawberry rhubarb pie
Cinnamon cake
and Banana cake.
Iwasaki Bakery is located near the Rokugawa Minami intersection. The street address is: 620 Obuse, Obuse-machi, Nagano-ken 381-0201 Japan.
Telephone: 026-247-2200 Fax: 026-247-6404. The shop is closed Wednesdays.
Thanks, again, for joining this episode of Best of Obuse. Don’t forget to visit BLTnetwork’s homepage at: http://bltnetwork.com. Check out our last post: How To Reuse A Box.
Tags: おぶせ 小布施町, obuse Japan food bread bakery tourism culture
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