BUTTER NO ITOKO, the craft sweets brand from Nasu, Tochigi, is opening a new store on the second basement floor of the Main Building at Ginza Mitsukoshi on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
To mark the opening, the store will offer an exclusive flavor, "BUTTER NO ITOKO Cheesecake," created by Yuichi Goto (後藤裕一), owner-pâtissier of the patisserie Equal (イコール) in Shibuya, Tokyo. Goto has supervised the BUTTER NO ITOKO recipe since its development, and the new flavor brings a patisserie's technique and sensibility to an approachable souvenir sweet.
The store will also sell Equal's signature cheesecake every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, limited to 20 pieces per day. Sales start at 1:00 PM, and sales may be suspended during some periods.
Why Ginza Mitsukoshi: Bringing Patisserie Quality to an Approachable Form
Ginza Mitsukoshi is a place to choose gifts for loved ones or a special treat for oneself. The new store aims to offer a sweets experience built on rarity and originality, which this location makes possible.
Goto's "patisserie quality" is presented here in the form of a familiar souvenir sweet. Together with the sustainable story behind BUTTER NO ITOKO, which gives new value to skim milk, the store offers everyday sweets with a touch of quality from Ginza.
Store Information
- Store name: BUTTER NO ITOKO Ginza Mitsukoshi Store
- Opening date: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
- Location: Ginza Mitsukoshi Main Building, B2F, Western Confectionery section, 4-6-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
- Business hours: 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (follows Ginza Mitsukoshi's business hours)
Products are available in limited quantities and may sell out. Product lineup and offerings are subject to change.
BUTTER NO ITOKO Meets Cheesecake in Ginza
BUTTER NO ITOKO is a craft sweets brand from Nasu that started by focusing on skim milk, a byproduct of butter making. Fluffy gaufrette (ゴーフレット) dough sandwiches a milk-rich jam made with plenty of skim milk. The sweet offers three textures, "fluffy, crisp, and melting," and the recipe has not changed since the brand's launch.
Goto, who supervised that original recipe, teamed up with the brand again to create "BUTTER NO ITOKO Cheesecake" in honor of the Ginza Mitsukoshi opening.
The Cheesecake Flavor: First Bite BUTTER NO ITOKO, Lingering Taste Cheesecake
The sweet sandwiches a smooth jam with a soft cheese aroma and a butter cream with the rich depth of cream cheese. The first bite delivers the familiar taste of BUTTER NO ITOKO, and as you keep eating, the flavor shifts toward cheesecake.
The flavor aims for a balance between the elegant sweetness and refreshing tang that are characteristic of cream cheese, so it is rich yet leaves a clean aftertaste. The butter cream uses fine-grained sugar instead of raw sugar (粗糖), adding a cheesecake-like smoothness to the crisp, melting texture.
A Violet Box With a Patisserie Feel
The violet (すみれ色) packaging reflects the concept of the Ginza Mitsukoshi store, "the world of the patisserie." Foil-stamped lettering gives the box a refined, premium look while keeping its approachable feel.
The box holds the delicate, rich flavor of the Cheesecake sweet and suits a treat for yourself or a gift for someone special. It packs two kinds of "happiness," BUTTER NO ITOKO and cheesecake, into a single bite.
Weekend-Only Cheesecake From Equal
The Ginza Mitsukoshi store also sells the signature cheesecake from Goto's patisserie Equal every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
It is a baked cheesecake made with fresh-type cream cheese from raw milk produced in Normandy, France, and slowly baked at a low temperature. It has a smooth melt and a rich cheese flavor, and the salty crust layer and the cream on top combine for a refreshing aftertaste.
- Product name: Equal Cheesecake
- Content: 1 piece
- Price: ¥780 (tax included)
- Sale days: Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Quantity: Limited to 20 pieces per day
- Sales start: 1:00 PM
- Note: Sales may be suspended during some periods.
About Yuichi Goto (後藤裕一)
Yuichi Goto was born in Tokyo in 1980. After working at Hôtel de Mikuni (オテル・ドゥ・ミクニ) in Yotsuya, Tokyo, and Cuisine[s] Michel Troisgros (キュイジーヌ[s]ミッシェル・トロワグロ) in Shinjuku, he became the first Asian chef pâtissier at the main restaurant of Troisgros (トロワグロ) in France.
After returning to Japan, he opened the restaurant PATH in Yoyogi-Hachiman with chef Taichi Hara (原太一) of Bistro Rojiura. In September 2019, he opened Equal, a takeout patisserie. He is a leading figure in Japan's sweets and bakery scene.
Equal on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equal_pastryshop/
Product Lineup at the Ginza Mitsukoshi Store
The store carries classic products and gift items.
BUTTER NO ITOKO
This is the brand's original flagship product. Butter-scented gaufrette dough sandwiches plenty of milk jam made from skim milk. It offers the textures of fluffy dough, crisp butter cream, and melting milk jam.
- Flavors: Cheesecake (Ginza Mitsukoshi store exclusive); Milk, Salted Caramel, and Chocolate (standard); Mont Blanc (seasonal)
- Price: ¥1,080 each (box of 3 pieces)
BUTTER NO ITOKO Hitotsu (バターのいとこ ひとつ)
- Flavors: Cheesecake (Ginza Mitsukoshi store exclusive); Milk, Salted Caramel, and Chocolate (standard)
- Price: ¥378 each (box of 1 piece)
BUTTER NO ITOKO THE GOLDEN BOX
A gift box with four flavors, Milk, Chocolate, Red Bean Butter (あんバター), and Salted Caramel. It suits sharing with family and friends as well as gift-giving.
- Price: ¥4,158 (12 pieces per box, 3 each of Milk, Salted Caramel, Chocolate, and Red Bean Butter)
Itoko no Rusk (いとこのラスク)
These rusks are made by using every bit of the delicious BUTTER NO ITOKO dough, baked to a crunchy texture. They have a cookie-like texture and a lightly toasty flavor.
- Itoko no Rusk Tetra: ¥999 (Butter Sugar, box of 6 bags)
- Itoko no Rusk Assort: ¥1,998 (Butter Sugar, Chocolate, Matcha, and Milk, 3 bags each, box of 12 bags)
Melting Baked Cake (とろけるベイクドケーキ)
This sweet was born from the concept "What if BUTTER NO ITOKO became a cake?" It makes use of the edges of the gaufrette dough and is finished as a baked cake with a gentle sweetness. Milk jam is placed inside and covered with a white chocolate coating like a lid, and crushed strawberry candy is tucked in as a secret ingredient. The cake offers the sweetness and richness of milk with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.
- Melting Baked Cake Milk and Salted Caramel: ¥972 each (box of 3 pieces)
- Melting Baked Cake Assort: ¥1,944 (box of 6 pieces)
All prices include tax. Product lineup and package designs may change depending on the season and sales situation.
About BUTTER NO ITOKO
BUTTER NO ITOKO was born in Nasu, Tochigi, in 2018 from a desire to raise the value of skim milk, a byproduct created when butter is made from milk. Skim milk, which is something like a "cousin" (itoko, いとこ) to butter, is turned into a milk-flavored jam. The jam is sandwiched between butter-scented gaufrette dough to create a sweet with three textures, "fluffy, crisp, and melting."
