Pasadena Japanese Bakery Wa-Iro: Hokkaido Flour Salt Rolls

Wa-Iro, at 38 S Raymond Ave in Pasadena, is a Japanese bakery and café that has quickly become the place in Old Pasadena for a salt and butter roll and a matcha. The case is filled with the breads you would find in a neighborhood bakery in Japan, from curry pan to a savory takoyaki bread, and the shop bakes in small batches through the day rather than once at dawn. It is a short walk from Colorado Boulevard, and it stays open into the evening on Fridays and Saturdays.

The name explains the idea. Wa-Iro's homepage says wa means harmony and connection and iro means color, and that together they reflect the many colors and flavors of Japanese culture. The shop describes itself as a place to slow down, share something freshly baked and experience Japanese hospitality, and the layout supports that: a long bread case, a drinks counter and seats for a short stay.

The bakery's own claim about its bread is specific. Its dough begins with 100 percent Hokkaido flour from Japan, free from additives and preservatives, and the team says it uses traditional methods and Japanese ingredients wherever possible. Hokkaido wheat is prized in Japan for soft, slightly sweet bread, and it is the reason the rolls here have the pillowy crumb people expect from a Japanese bakery.

The Infatuation reviewed Wa-Iro in June 2026, praising the noticeably soft and squishy interior of the salt and butter roll and recommending the curry pan, the takoyaki bun and the Japaninis. That review is the best outside guide to what sells first.

Start with the salt and butter roll, which the bakery calls a signature. It is the shio pan style: a rolled dough baked with butter so the base turns crisp and salty while the inside stays soft. The menu lists three versions, the plain roll, a tomato basil roll and a mentai roll with spicy cod roe. Order the plain one first, then decide whether you want the savory upgrade.

Curry pan is the second essential. The menu describes it as Japanese curry-filled fried bread, and The Infatuation describes a thin, crisp shell wrapped around a generous amount of gravy-like curry. Eat it warm, ideally at the shop, because fried bread loses its crunch on a long walk.

Takoyaki bread is Wa-Iro's own invention and the item that sets it apart from other Los Angeles bakeries. The menu calls it a savory seafood donut, a bread version of the Osaka street snack of octopus balls. It is a good choice if you want something unusual that still feels like Japanese comfort food.

The sweet side of the case covers the Japanese bakery classics. There is a white milk bun and a matcha milk bun filled with matcha cream. Purin a la mode is a pastry version of the retro café dessert, with custard and caramel sauce. Sunrise is the shop's name for a Japanese concha with no filling, which is close to the melon pan sold in Japan, a domed bun with a sweet crackled crust.

Other sweets include a salt and butter cookie, French toast, a cinnamon roll and a strawberry Danish. Because the bakery brings out trays throughout the day, the selection shifts with the hour, and an afternoon visit can turn up a fresh tray of something that was gone at breakfast.

For lunch, the panini section mixes Japanese and Californian flavors. The Japanini combines pesto, tomato, jack cheese, bacon and shiso, a Japanese herb with a minty, citrus edge. There is also a yakisoba panini filled with stir-fried noodles, a cheesy jalapeño panini and a sausage panini. The Infatuation singled out the Japaninis for their cheese-crusted exterior.

Wa-Iro is as much a café as a bakery. Its premium matcha latte uses matcha from Gion Tsujiri of Kyoto, which the menu notes was established in 1860, and the premium hojicha latte uses roasted green tea from Nodoka, an organic Japanese tea brand. Select specialty drinks use coffee from Maméya, and the drip pour over is a single-origin Ethiopia Yirgacheffe.

The signature drinks are where the kitchen plays. Sea salt matcha cold brew tops caramel cold brew with a salty matcha foam. The sakura strawberry latte adds strawberry espresso, vanilla foam and rose petals, and the dirty black sesame latte is finished with toasted kinako. There are also banana cream and strawberry matcha lattes for people who like their matcha sweeter.

The hours shape the visit. Wa-Iro opens at 8 am every day except Tuesday, closes at 4 pm on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and stays open until 9 pm on Friday and Saturday. Weekend evenings are a good alternative to the morning rush, and the late hours make it a rare Japanese bakery you can visit after dinner in Old Pasadena.

Because the bakery says fresh trays come out of the oven throughout the day, it is worth asking at the counter what is coming next. Japanese bakeries in Japan often time their most popular breads for specific hours, and the same logic applies here: if the curry pan case is empty, a new batch may be close. Use the tongs and tray system, and let staff bag fried items separately.

Raymond Avenue sits on the eastern side of Old Pasadena, the historic district of brick commercial buildings around Colorado Boulevard. From the bakery, walk one block north to Colorado Boulevard for shops and the alleys that run behind them. Continue north along Raymond to the Armory Center for the Arts, a community art center with free gallery shows, and to Memorial Park, a small green space with a band shell beside the Metro A Line stop.

If you drive, the bakery points visitors to two-hour street parking around downtown Pasadena and to the School House Garage on Green Street, directly across from the shop. The A Line station at Memorial Park makes it easy to arrive by train from downtown Los Angeles.

Address: 38 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91105. Phone: 626-314-3567. Hours: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8 am to 4 pm, Friday and Saturday 8 am to 9 pm, closed Tuesday.

Wa-Iro publishes its full bread, panini and drink list at wairobakery.com but no prices, so this guide does not quote any. Follow @wairobakery for seasonal items. Ask Karpo to plan a Japanese bakery and matcha crawl around Pasadena.