Aiming to be a Hub for New and Delicious Discoveries in the Neighborhood

About a three-minute walk from Nakano-Fujimicho Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, turn right onto Nakano-dori, and you'll spot a quaint wooden building, like one found in the European countryside. This is Boulangerie Lebois, spelled "Lebois" (Le + bois, meaning "forest" in French), owned by Asaharu Mori. Chef Mori is the third-generation owner of a bakery in Kanazawa. After graduating from a baking school in Tokyo, he worked at a bakery for five years, then trained in France for about three years before opening this shop in 2001.

Actually, the first time I visited Lebois was when I was helping a friend who ran a party catering business. She asked me to pick up some reserved bread from a delicious bakery in Nakano-Fujimicho.

To be frank, this isn't an area known for many stylish shops. But stepping inside, the place was bustling with a wide array of offerings, from authentic hard-crust breads to anpan, butter rolls, and quiches. Several years have passed since then, and upon revisiting Lebois, the atmosphere that makes people feel happy seems to have only grown stronger.



There are over 60 types of bread lining the shelves. The sweet buns and butter rolls are made in a slightly smaller size, perfect for children to hold. Perhaps because of their size, they look particularly charming arranged on the shelves.

Chef Mori's motto for bread making is "no cutting corners." He constantly monitors the dough, creating the optimal taste and texture using the best ingredients and recipes. Lebois primarily uses homemade wheat leaven, but also incorporates yeast. For their firm hard-crust breads, they use their own grape leaven.

"I still can't forget the shock of the incredibly delicious croissant I had on my first morning in France," says Chef Mori, whose croissants are made with plenty of fermented butter, intentionally using only yeast and no homemade leaven. The result is a crispy exterior and a soft, fluffy interior.

The "Cranberry Noir," with walnuts and cranberries, is made using a blend of grape leaven and yeast, with added lard. Its light texture, making it an approachable introduction to hard-crust breads, is very popular. Also unforgettable is the whimsically shaped "Macadamia Campagne," a prize-winning bread. The two round buns on top hide whole macadamia nuts, and the center of the loaf also contains halved macadamia nuts.



Even during the interview, customers came and went without pause. A young boy in a school uniform bought an anpan to take home. Chef Mori quietly told me, "He comes here almost every day. He's one of our regulars." Lebois is clearly a beloved bakery for the local community.

"I hope people will start saying, 'If you go to Lebois, you'll find something new and a little different.' In a way, I want it to be a base for sending new and delicious things to the neighborhood. And I also want to make sweets in the future..." says Chef Mori.

The passionate dedication of the chef, condensed into this small shop, will gradually spread through Nakano, carried on the fragrant aroma of freshly baked bread.