Mr. Tadamitsu Shiratori

The Origin of "Cake Shop

When I was 16 years old, I got my large motorcycle license. At that time, you could get a large motorcycle license at that age, but I was bullied at the examination center. I was bullied at the test center. They said, "How can such a small boy ride a large motorcycle? At that time, the pass rate was 2%, and I heard that it was the most difficult time to get a large-size license. I was a big guy, so I was able to handle the bike. My mother said that I must have grown taller because I always drank milk from the store instead of water.

Every time I had a long vacation, I would go touring in Hokkaido. I would leave the house with a tent on my back and travel haphazardly until the vacation was over.

I've been riding a Kawasaki Z1100R since then, and I've been riding the same bike for 36 years now, maintaining it myself. I have only moved on to another bike once. I do all the repairs and maintenance that I can. I like to tinker with anything mechanical.

I didn't have any specialized training in confectionery making, but I think it's the same in the sense that we use our hands to create something.

You use a lot of machines to make confectionaries, don't you? Of course, I do as much maintenance as I can. I think I am a cake maker who understands the feelings of machines.

What we inherited from our predecessors

The cream puffs in the shape of a swan are the same recipe as the previous generation, and nothing has been changed.

Many people say that the cream is light and elegant, and I think that's why the original recipe was so good. At that time, it must have been a high-class cake shop, so they tried to use luxurious ingredients sparingly.

As they kept trying not to raise the prices, they ended up becoming a commoner's price store.

The cream puffs are all handmade without using molds, so each one has a different shape and face. We get a lot of customers who want to take them home, and we also get orders for large quantities of cream puffs, such as 50, but I guess everyone has to slightly reorient their heads just before they eat them. Sometimes people ask for the strawberries to be separated for decoration, but I have never heard of anyone asking for the neck to be separated for later.

Since being selected as "Ippin of Itabashi," the number of customers who come from far away to buy our baumkuchen has increased.

Until then, people living nearby or who used to live in Itabashi often bought our products because they were nostalgic, but now there are more and more cases where people give our products as gifts to their family and friends who are far away because they are Ippin, a local specialty of Itabashi. We are grateful for the endorsement we have received.

Sweets are, for me, in a word, "delicious.

My father, who made the recipe, and I are both big drinkers and picky eaters, but when we eat our cakes, we think, "Oh, it tastes so good. I think it's a reward for us.

Old things that shine brighter

The store opened in 1966, so I guess it's been 55 years now.

Young customers nowadays come to my store because they find this kind of old-fashioned store cute. I have no idea what's cute about it myself.

However, I think it's okay to have something old. I've been riding my old bike for a long time, and I want to keep the store the same way, while taking care of it as well.

Anyway, my main goal is to keep the shop the same.

I want to do my best to keep the prices as low as possible so that I can continue my business for a long time.

Text and photos by Tsutomu Ogasawara