There are many Shinshindo bakeries in Kyoto, but this one is my regular, and I love it. It’s clean, it’s friendly, there’s a cafe space upstairs where you can sit and eat, and there’s a restaurant adjoined to the bakery where you can get a pretty decent lunch or dinner if you want more than a snack. If there’s a place to buy a better baguette in Kyoto, I’ve not yet found it. I buy baguettes here several times a week, sometimes sandwiches, sometimes sweet pastries etc, and I’ve had lunch here many times. When you eat in the restaurant, for a small, additional, and reasonable charge, you’ll get to sample a lot of the different breads from the bakery, as someone comes around regularly to keep you topped up with as much bread as you can eat with your meal.

Sometimes when I go to buy a baguette, if I get there at the right time, the chef at the back will see me and bring out a fresh, warm one for me; that’s great service. I love that you can see the chefs baking, through a large window behind the cashiers. Anyway; great bakery, great selection of breads and pastries, well worth a visit.