Japan Tourism / Morioka Bakery Fukudapan Sells 10,000 Koppepan Rolls Daily

By Shiho Horiuchi / Special to Ryoko Yomiuri Publication

12:35 JST, January 27, 2026

MORIOKA — When it comes to the cuisine of Morioka, the capital of Iwate Prefecture, its three famous noodle dishes — wanko soba, reimen and jajamen — are well-known, but the koppepan from Fukudapan is also a cherished local favorite recognized by every citizen.

Founder Tomekichi Fukuda was born in Hanamaki in the prefecture. He studied under Kenji Miyazawa, later known as a poet and fairy tale author, at an agricultural school and then, applying his knowledge of yeast research, founded the bakery in Morioka in 1948. Soon after opening, he began selling bread at his alma mater, Iwate University. Amidst the postwar scarcity of goods, he focused on the koppepan, which looks like a hot dog bun, with the idea of “providing students with something cheap that fills them up.”

It quickly became popular because one roll provided calories equivalent to two bowls of rice and a bottle of milk. Creating numerous menu items by varying the fillings was an ingenious solution in an era when bread varieties were limited. The bakery has supplied bread for school lunch programs since they began in elementary schools across the prefecture and has offered mobile koppepan sales at high schools in the city since the 1970s.

Visiting its main store in Nagata reveals an extensive menu, with about 50 different fillings lined up behind the counter. Sweet fillings can be paired, with options like “Mix” with different fillings on the top and bottom, or “Half-and-Half” where the two flavors are divided. For savory fillings, customers can fill their bread with their preferred ingredients, resulting in over 2,000 possible flavor combinations.

The most popular combination is red bean paste with butter. “It was born around the 1970s,” said Kiyoshi Fukuda, the third-generation owner. “My mother, who worked at the shop, was asked to make one koppepan with red bean paste and one with butter. However, she accidentally spread them both on one roll.”

Watching the staff scoop generous amounts of filling from tubs and spread it perfectly to the edges of the bread at lightning speed is mesmerizing. The koppepan handed to customers are large, about the size of an adult’s face. The soft, spongy bread combines perfectly with the richly spread salty-sweet filling of red bean paste and butter-infused margarine.

The bread’s texture comes from the “nakadane method,” a two-stage dough kneading process used since the shop’s founding. For savory fillings, the original vegetable sandwich topped with jajamiso, a meat-based miso paste that is a signature of Morioka, is recommended. The fresh vegetables and rich meat miso make a great accent to each other.

There are three directly managed stores in the city, including one inside the Morioka Bus Center, and one attached to its factory in neighboring Yahaba. Some products are also available at major supermarkets and convenience stores within the prefecture. They sell about 10,000 koppepan daily, and during peak seasons, that number can reach about 20,000.

“We bake them at night and ship them out in the morning, so they’re served almost as if they were freshly baked,” said Kiyoshi. Learning the secrets behind this beloved local food, I decided I will visit again.

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