Breakfast is the bomb at B.C.C. White Rock

I am all about embracing culture and I love the Japanese, but sometimes I just can’t stomach raw fish for breakfast. Give me juicy salmon roe and Hokkaido-famous sashimi at any other time of the day, but the effects of my Western upbringing have lingered long enough that I still can’t look raw squid in the eye before 11am.

Luckily for me, the number of places in Hirafu offering a Western-style breakfast is on the increase. This season, much to the delight of the locals, B.C.C. Whiterock has set up shop in Tamashii, just opposite Seicomart, between the hours of 7am and 10am.

Anyone who has been to the BCC Whiterock Café in Kutchan will be familiar with their fluffy fresh bread, mouth-watering pastries, and lip-smacking sandwiches, and the friendly team supply bread and baked goods to a number of cafés around town.

I don’t rave about sandwiches unless they are really good, and BCC’s pork pâté sanga has me pulling out my glow sticks and going for it. The pâté is made in-house, and then tenderly nestled on a perfectly crusty baguette with some juicy pickles, making for a supremely tasty mouthful.

There is a selection of other delicious sandwiches if you find the idea of pâté scary (you don’t know what you’re missing), but I also highly recommend the Croque-Monsiuer; a savoury creation of bread, cheese, cream and ham that will make your taste buds want to party.

If you have a sweet tooth the pastry section will grant your every breakfast desire. Almond croissants, blueberry muffins, pain au chocolat and dark cherry danish were among the selection last time I visited, all freshly baked and ready to melt gently in your mouth, the way only good pastry does. Add a hot espresso and you are ready to dine in style in the peaceful sunshine of the Tamashii morning.

BCC Whiterock has a bit of a cult following when it comes to locals, and word is spreading quickly of their breakfast residence in Tamashii. My tip is to get there early before the locals beat you to the sandwiches!