A new confectionery shop focused on Japanese cheese, "RE:CHEESE TOKYO" (リ・チーズ トウキョウ), will open its first store in Ginza, Tokyo, on Sunday, November 22, 2026. The shop carefully selects domestic cheeses made by cheese artisans across Japan and presents the character and appeal of each one.
RE:CHEESE TOKYO handles only domestic cheeses of world-class standard, chosen by cheese selector Atsuko Minami (皆見敦子), who has visited at least 160 cheese workshops in six countries and is a leading name in cheese importing and sales in Japan. Its cheese sweets are made to bring out the individual character of each ingredient.
The brand's signature item is "Yoin" (余韻), a cookie made with generous amounts of carefully selected domestic cheese as the main ingredient. It aims to express in cookie form the quiet spread of savory flavor and aroma felt when eating cheese, and the pleasant taste that lingers after a meal. The thickness of the dough and the way it is baked are carefully adjusted to each cheese's moisture content and degree of aging, and pastry chefs bake every cookie by hand, shaping each cheese's character into a sweet. The cookies are described as "cookies that live through time," reflecting how the flavor of cheese changes with the seasons and how the savory depth of aging grows day by day.
The lineup also includes the cheese cracker "Yoi" (宵), which concentrates savory flavor and aroma with freeze-dried cheese from Tokachi, and the gift assortment "Yui" (結), which uses as little butter as possible and plenty of carefully selected cream cheese and white mold cheese from across Japan for a light melt-in-the-mouth texture and varied flavors. The cheese platter "Yoin Gokei" (余韻五景), which lets customers taste the natural cheeses used in "Yoin" in bite-sized pieces, will also be sold. With these two approaches, sweets and cheese, the shop offers a new way to encounter cheese made in Japan.
The first store is located in Ginza 7-chome, where the Namiki-dori and Hanatsubaki-dori streets cross. Beyond selling sweets and cheese, the shop plans to hold salons, seminars and workshops in due course, where visitors can learn about the depth of domestic cheese and the thoughts of the artisans who make it seriously.
Baked Sweets Made With Domestic Cheese
Three baked sweets will be available under the theme "savor Yoin, enjoy Yoi, give Yui." The cheese platter "Yoin Gokei," a selection of the domestic cheeses used in the "Yoin" cheese cookies, will also be sold.
"Yoin" (余韻): Hand-Baked Cookies Made With Notable Domestic Natural Cheese, Sold in Limited Quantities Each Day
From left: semi-hard, hard aged, blue, white mold, chèvre (seasonal)
Chosen by Atsuko Minami, who is well versed in cheeses from around the world, notable cheeses from across Japan are reworked into baked sweets. The cookies pursue the pleasant, long-lasting "lingering flavor" felt after eating.
Cheeses with very small distribution volumes are used generously as the main ingredient. Examples include a cheese made only from summer grazing milk from Biei, obtained specially for RE:CHEESE, and a blue cheese made by hand-piercing holes one by one. To express the taste of each distinctive cheese as it is, the pastry chef checks the daily condition of the cheese and carefully adjusts the recipe, thickness and baking level for each type, hand-baking the cookies one by one. The lineup consists of four standard types and one seasonal cheese.
"Yoin" (余韻): Box of 5 Cookies
Semi-hard: ¥2,800 (tax included)
Cheese used: モール温泉ラクレット (Tokachi)
This is a raclette cheese whose surface is carefully washed with "moor hot spring water" from Tokachigawa Onsen, a plant-based natural hot spring, and then aged. The cookie offers the deep richness and abundant savory flavor of the raw milk itself.
Hard aged: ¥3,000 (tax included)
Cheese used: フロマージュ・ド・美瑛 (Biei)
This is a specially made RE:CHEESE cheese crafted only from summer-only grazing milk from Biei, where the cows grow freely on pesticide-free herbs and fresh young green grass. Each bite brings an overwhelming savory flavor and the rich aroma of the land.
Blue: ¥3,000 (tax included)
Cheese used: 葵 – aoi – (豊田)
This blue cheese is made by a young cheese artisan who, in pursuit of the ideal of "making the most delicious blue cheese I truly believe in," pierces holes in the cheese mass by hand one at a time. Very rich, with an abundant aroma and savory flavor, its gently spreading taste also suits drinks such as wine.
White mold: ¥2,800 (tax included)
Cheese used: アンジュ・ド・カレ (Kuromatsunai)
This rare cheese comes from a workshop in Kuromatsunai Town, Hokkaido, where all the cheese is made by hand. It has a deep savory flavor and a rich aroma reminiscent of mushrooms. The workshop is also known for adjusting the balance with skill and sensitivity honed through daily trial and error, making cheese suited to the season, which makes this cookie a true expression of "cookies that live through time."
Chèvre: ¥3,200 (tax included, seasonal)
Cheese used: 朝比奈醍醐 (Shizuoka)
This cheese is made by a cheese artisan who moved deep into the mountains of Shizuoka Prefecture. It is available only for a short period, from the end of spring to the beginning of winter, when goat's milk can be obtained. The cookie made with it brings a light tang, followed by the savory flavor of goat's milk and a scent reminiscent of fields and mountains. It is a seasonal taste available only for a limited time.
Note: The cheese used and the prices vary by season.
"Yoin Gokei" (余韻五景): A Cheese Platter to Sample Notable Japanese Cheeses in Single Bites
From left: white mold, aged hard, blue, hard, chèvre (seasonal)
Customers can taste rare cheeses that are normally available only locally or through limited sales channels, all at once. Comparing them with the "Yoin" cookies makes it easier to appreciate both the strong flavor of the ingredients themselves and the gradations of taste once they are turned into sweets. It is also suggested as a gift for cheese lovers and discerning recipients.
"Yoin Gokei" (余韻五景): Box of 5 Types, ¥3,800 (tax included)
Contents:
- White mold: アンジュ・ド・カレ (Kuromatsunai)
- Aged hard: フロマージュ・ド・美瑛 (Biei)
- Blue: 葵 – aoi – (豊田)
- Semi-hard: モール温泉ラクレット (Tokachi)
- Chèvre: 朝比奈醍醐 (Shizuoka)
Note: The cheese used and the prices vary by season.
"Yoi" (宵): A Savory Treat With Concentrated Flavor From Freeze-Dried Cheese, for Evenings With Fine Drinks
From left: plain, basil
This savory sweet was created with the hope that people will spend a pleasant time with cheese and wine at the end of the day. Freeze-dried cheese, which is rare in Japan, from 広内エゾリスの谷チーズ社 in Tokachi, Hokkaido, is kneaded generously into the dough. After a delicate, light texture, the rich aroma, salty flavor and savory taste of the cheese, drawn out by freeze-drying, pair well with fine drinks such as wine and sake. It comes in two flavors: "Plain," characterized by rich cheese flavor, and "Basil," with a refreshing flavor.
"Yoi" (宵): Box of 5 Bags
- Plain: ¥3,000 (tax included)
- Basil: ¥3,000 (tax included)
Note: Prices vary by season.
"Yui" (結): A Gift Assortment Made With Selected Cream Cheese and White Mold Cheese
This assortment of nine types was created with the thought of "connecting the hearts of cheese artisans across Japan with those of customers."
Butter is kept to a minimum, and in its place plenty of high-quality cream cheese and white mold cheese selected from across Japan is used. The result keeps a rich depth of flavor without the heaviness typical of cheese, and melts surprisingly lightly in the mouth. The box also includes cookies made with cheeses recommended for each season, such as freeze-dried cheese with concentrated savory flavor. With varied flavors and an attractive appearance, it is suggested as a special gift for business occasions or for someone important.
"Yui" (結): Box of 9 Types
- Cookie tin: ¥7,800 (tax included)
- Cookie box: ¥6,800 (tax included)
Contents:
- White mold spice cookie (白カビスパイスクッキー)
- White mold whole-wheat biscuit (白カビ全粒粉ビスケット)
- Cream cheese orange cookie (クリームチーズ オレンジクッキー)
- Cream cheese sucré (クリームチーズ シュクレ)
- Cream cheese sablé (クリームチーズ サブレ)
- Cream cheese sablé nantais (クリームチーズサブレ・ナンテ)
- Cream cheese caramel romias (クリームチーズキャラメルロミアス)
- White mold shell cheese, plain (白カビ シェルチーズ プレーン)
- White mold shell cheese, cocoa pepper (白カビ シェルチーズ ココアペッパー)
Note: The cheese used, contents and prices vary by season.
A New Cheese Culture From Ginza, a Hub of Culture
RE:CHEESE TOKYO offers two approaches to carefully selected domestic cheese: the surprise of enjoying it as a sweet, and the luxury of tasting it as it is.
An increasing number of cheese artisans across Japan are now making domestic cheeses that are distinctive in their ingredients and methods. Some workshops have also achieved excellent results in international competitions, and Japanese cheese now rivals the level of cheese from around the world. At the same time, opportunities to learn about the thoughts of domestic cheesemakers and the value of the cheese itself remain limited, and sales channels are still not sufficient.
As a "window" connecting makers of domestic cheese with customers, RE:CHEESE TOKYO is opening its flagship first store in Ginza, Tokyo, to share the appeal of Japanese cheese with visitors from Japan and abroad. The interior is based on a milky-white color reminiscent of cheese, and the store includes a glass-walled cheese workshop and confectionery workshop. Visitors can experience the artisans' handiwork up close while discovering Japanese cheese anew.
Note: The cheese workshop is scheduled to begin operating in early spring 2027.
About the Brand and the Cheese Selector
RE:CHEESE TOKYO acts as a "window" connecting makers of domestic cheese with customers, and proposes two ways to encounter domestic cheese: tasting it "as it is" and enjoying it "as a sweet." It handles only domestic cheeses chosen by cheese selector Atsuko Minami, who is well versed in cheeses in Japan and abroad, and offers cheese sweets that focus on the "lingering flavor" (余韻) that spreads when the cheese is eaten. While making use of the character of each domestic cheese, the brand aims to pass its value from makers to customers and on to the next makers. Based in Ginza, Tokyo, a global hub for food and fashion trends, it aims to create a new "baton" connecting people through cheese and to build a new cheese culture that can only grow in Japan.
Cheese Selector Atsuko Minami (皆見敦子)
Cheese adviser Atsuko Minami (みなみ あつこ), who has built relationships of trust with producers by visiting cheese workshops around the world and across Japan, serves as the cheese selector. Valuing the relationships with producers that she has built, she conveys the individual character and appeal of each carefully selected domestic cheese, reading not only its taste and aroma but also the climate of its region, its ingredients, production method, aging and the artisan's thoughts.
Profile
From her thirties, she worked as a wine and food adviser at Vinos Yamazaki (ヴィノスやまざき). Taken to local cheese workshops and specialty shops during buying trips, she became fascinated by cheese and began selling cheese along with wine. She continued studying at チーズ＆ワインアカデミー東京, which was in Hiroo, Tokyo, and has visited at least 160 cheese workshops in six countries in search of cheese from Japan and abroad. She also wrote a serial column in 味の手帖「ハイ！！チーズ」 (ended in 2023).
Store Information
The photo is for illustration purposes.
- Opening date: Sunday, November 22, 2026
- Address: 7-6-12 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 第5ポールスタービル 1F Room G
- Access: About a 5-minute walk from Ginza Station (Tokyo Metro); about a 12-minute walk from Yurakucho Station
- Business hours: Weekdays 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM; weekends and holidays 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM (hours may change)
- Phone: 050-8897-6009
- Closed: Irregular holidays
- Official website: https://recheese.jp/
- Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recheesetokyo
