Cycle delights: Sweets spot near Yokota Air Base worth a stop

Bunmeido (Luis Samayoa)

Living in Japan, you don’t need a car to travel around to get out the barracks. Riding a bike can make traveling and exploring fun here.

Recently during Japan’s Golden Week holidays, I took a bike ride to grab a coffee near Yokota Air Base. On my way, I stumbled across Bunmeido Ichibankai, a neat pastry shop, and I just couldn’t resist a quick pitstop for some baked goods.

From the line of customers outside, I could tell I was in for a treat and luckily the queue was moving quickly. Once inside, I was greeted with a French, Western interior. Multiple tables had rows of Japanese snacks and gift boxes and a patisserie full of cakes in the back corner.

Shopping during Golden Week can be like a friendlier Black Friday. The crowds inside made it a bit difficult to use Google Translate and figure out what the snacks were, so I took a risk and grabbed what looked delicious to me.

For a dorayaki Japanese pancake, senbei savory cracker and a Doraemon cartoon character design dorayaki gift for my coworker, I spent 1,589 yen (about $10.50).

Dorayaki is a traditional Japanese sweet which consists of two small pancakes with red bean paste filling sandwiched in between. The combination of pancakes and red bean paste is delicious. Dorayaki is very popular and can be found at any convenience store or even at some street food vendors, so make sure to give it a try!

The senbei I picked up at Bunmeido Ichibankai had a sweet vanilla flavor. Usually, senbei rice crackers tend to be salty and savory, but the sweet varieties are also popular snacks. The vanilla cracker was sweet and went down easy without any milk.

I really liked this pastry shop. It’s very close to Yokota’s East Gate, so it’s very convenient to grab a quick snack or pastry to pair with your morning coffee or for gifts to your friends or coworkers.