Night bakery staff members talk with customers as the business places emphasis on communication, February 2024 in Shinjuku Ward. (©Sankei by Ryu Kajiwara)
Read the full story on Japan 2 Earth - Night Bakery Gains Popularity: Combating Food Waste While Creating Jobs
A new kind of enterprise is popping up on city streets in Japan – the night bakery. Once such business in Tokyo offers unsold items collected from local bakeries before closing time. This particular initiative not only addresses food loss, but also offers workers a highly flexible working environment. Employees can take advantage of shifts that accommodate their individual circumstances.
The bakery has quickly developed a clientele. Customers are drawn by the daily variety of products from shops from across the city and even country. In fact, they sometimes return only to find the items have sold out due to the shop's popularity.
Conceived by Renowned Chef
"Irrashaimase! We're the night bakery." In front of a bookstore near Tokyo Metro's Kagurazaka Station, people hear the call and stop off to purchase items. On this particular day, about 200 products are sold between this shop and another that operates in front of JR Tamachi Station. They come from bakeries in various neighborhoods around Tokyo, including Shimokitazawa and Oji.
The night bakery is the brain child of celebrity chef and TV personality Nahomi Edamoto. The business was launched on World Food Day on October 16, 2020.
Continue reading the full story on Japan 2 Earth to learn more about the night bakery and where you can find it in Tokyo.
And find more great articles on the environment and the challenges of achieving the SDGs on our affiliated website Japan 2 Earth (J2E), sparking a transition to a sustainable future.
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(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: Ryu Kajiwara
