The first thing a customer will say when they walk into Pelican past lunchtime is: "Any left?" That's how fast loaves sell at this popular Asakusa bakery.
Many a time I've walked into Pelican — sorry, ran into Pelican — at 3 p.m. only to be told that there was nothing left. You don't need to be told, though: The shop is an open book as far as inventory is concerned, consisting of little more than long wooden shelves and steel carts where loaves are left to cool after coming out of the oven. When those are empty, there's nothing to do but suck it up and resolve to run like sprinter Yoshihide Kiryu the next time. The bread at Pelican is that good.
Things aren't going to get easier for Pelican loyalists I'm afraid. New owner and manager Riku Watanabe, 29, has decided to mark the bakery's 74th birthday by agreeing to appear in a documentary by Shuntaro Uchida. "Pelican: 74 Years of Japanese Tradition" pays homage to the shop's long history and singularly focused product line — and feels as warm as one of those freshly baked loaves.