Okayama Kobo is a popular bakery in Japan and is named after the Okayama prefecture where they operate. The owner/baker Tsunetaka Kawakami learned and perfected the art of baking during his tour through many bakeries in Japan. Leveraging his success in Japan, he opened his first bakery in the US in 2018. Due to the pandemic, they pivoted their operations and moved to popups teaming with many Japanese restaurants across Southern California.
Okayama Kobo Bakery’s bread is baked fresh daily from a special blend of Hokkaido wheat flour which is exclusively made for Okayama Kobo and shipped directly from Japan. It is both additive & preservative free. As a result their bread and pastries only have a shelf life of two days.
One of Okayama Kobo’s most recent partnerships was with Sushi Nozomi in Torrance. In turn, Sushi Nozomi carried it forward and partnered with Toyosu Market to add gourmet unagi from Toyosu Market. Dorasti, for its premium caviar from Poland and Germany, and Kagura’s Katsu Sando made with Okayama Kobo’s bread.
Since I like apple pastries and that was an obvious place to begin. I also picked their s’more, as this is something that my wife and daughter enjoy. Veering back towards traditional Japanese, I selected the azuki pastry. The pastries were fresh and we enjoyed all of them. The red bean azuki was a pleasant surprise.
Sushi Nozomi receives fish flown in daily from Tsukiji, Japan’s largest fish market. As a result, diners are experiencing some of Japan’s finest and hard to find sushi such as abalone. I enjoy a good chirashi and Sushi Nozomi’s even included uni and was extremely fresh.
Due to the pandemic, Okayama Kobo will partner with other businesses and pop up in different cities. Their pop-up locations are listed here.
Okayama Kobo, 155 W Center Street Promenade, Anaheim, CA 92805; 714.603.7332
okayamakobousa.com