For most of modern history, the Japanese failed to understand the point of the baguette — known locally as furansu pan (French bread) — and shunned the globally coveted Gallic specialty, thinking it was hard and tasteless. Carried by almost every bakery in Tokyo, it was often isolated from the main cast of popular offerings such as sweet pastries and curry pizzas — even in fashionable bakeries like Pompadour and Kobeya. Four or five loaves always remained at closing time while everything else sold out.