Intensely Japanophilic Pâtisserie Made in Pierre Hermé Marunouchi Now Offers the Ultimate Bento

Celebrated as ‘the Picasso of Patisserie’, Pierre Hermé has opened an audacious new store: Made in Pierre Hermé Marunouchi. A pâtissier known to be a connoisseur of things Japanese, and who chose to open his first shop in Japan, Hermé has chosen the theme ‘the finest Japan has to offer should be signaled to the world from Marunouchi, the heart of Tokyo’. Not merely sweets, but many deli and food specialty items created in collaboration with Japanese producers line the shelves of the unorthodox store.

The first surprising thing is that the name of the store is not ‘PIERRE HERMÉ PARIS’ but ‘Pi-e-ru E-ru-me’—the Japanese pronunciation in katakana characters, in purely Japanese vertical writing. The logo was created under the direction of Naomi Hirabayashi. Other leading-edge members of Tokyo’s creative community have also collaborated: décor designed by Masamichi Katayama of Wonderwall, ambient music programmed by ‘NF’ Ichiro Yamaguchi and Shotaro Aoyama, plus product selection by Yu Yamada.

Even more astonishingly, Monsieur Hermé sells bento (Japanese boxed lunches). True to form, a Pierre Hermé bento has coordinated colors with fresh, delicate flavors. In a restaurant, wouldn’t quality like this cost several thousand yen? Once again, hats off to the brilliant master.

Food such as soy sauce, rice, and nori seaweed, sold through co-branding arrangements with top-tier Japanese producers, are perfect souvenirs for overseas visitors. A store charged with new potential, letting us discover the coolest of Japanese cool through the filter of Pierre Hermé—even if you don’t work in Marunouchi, wouldn’t it be worth a visit?