Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2010

Who could’ve guessed that Japan’s struggling rice growers would have their prayers answered by… bread? Sanyo recently unveiled the Gopan, which it’s touting as the world’s first all-in-one rice bread maker. With this compact bakery-in-a-box in your kitchen, there’s no need to worry about buying rice flour: it even does the milling for you. The entire process from rice to loaf takes just four hours, and there’s also a “gluten free” setting for people with wheat allergies. Sanyo hopes that the Gopan will increase rice consumption and, in turn, help raise Japan’s self-sufficiency rate above its current level of 41 percent. Ambitious? You betcha. The device is due to go on sale here on October 8, but if you can’t wait that long to find out what these rice loaves taste like, you can try free samples at Gopan Cafe (below), a limited-time eatery that will be operating out of ZipZap burger shop in Harajuku through September 30 (6-9-11 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku; www.zip-zap.jp). Curious diners will be able to try bread made from both white and brown rice, with different toppings offered every two weeks.