Trying Costco Bagels in Japan (No Oven, No Toaster Life)

Living in Japan without an oven or toaster, I had to get creative when I tried Costco bagels for the first time.

The other day, I went to Costco (in Japan) for the first time and bought a pack of bagels.

(I’m Japanese and live in Japan.)

Since I don’t have a toaster or an oven at home, I actually asked Reddit in my previous post how I should eat them.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/s/nTO2kON0iq

Anyway, I tried several methods, so here are my thoughts.

First Impression

At first, I thought American bagels looked much denser and heavier than Japanese ones.

But when I actually ate them, the taste wasn’t that different.

Japanese bagels tend to be a bit more chewy, I think.

Some people in the comments said Costco bagels are “fake” because real bagels are boiled before being baked — apparently Costco skips the boiling step.

But honestly, they still taste good.

How I Cooked Them

Since I don’t have an oven or toaster, I let them thaw naturally.

When I was in a hurry, I used the microwave defrost mode and then toasted them on a frying pan.

A lot of people told me “Just buy a toaster!” but my place is small and I’m a minimalist, so for now, no toaster.

Also, I don’t even have a fish grill (which many Japanese stoves usually come with)

But in Japan, especially for single-person households, not having an oven or a fish grill is actually pretty normal!

About Butter

Many people recommended butter, so I went to the supermarket—

but butter has gotten expensive lately.

So I skipped it.

(I also avoid margarine since it seems unhealthy.)

I’m usually a rice person anyway, (Japanese people love rice. ) so I don’t normally keep butter at home.

Bagels in Japan?

I wanted to compare Costco’s with Japanese bagels,

but I checked two supermarkets and neither of them sold bagels.

I didn’t realize bagels were that uncommon here since I usually eat rice, not bread.

You can get a bagel sandwich at Doutor, a popular Japanese coffee chain,

but honestly, I can’t think of any other places in Japan that have bagels on the menu.

Too bad, I really wanted to do a Japan–US bagel comparison.

Taste Test

Overall, they were pretty good!

Here’s what I tried:

・Olive oil (lots of people said “no,” but I liked it)

・Cream cheese (French one from Costco 🇫🇷)

・Melted cheese

・Melted cheese + honey

・Plain

All of them were nice, but plain + corn soup was surprisingly good!

Since bagels soak up moisture, the soup really balanced it out.

I also brought one to work and toasted it there — definitely tasted better 😂

Maybe I should get a toaster after all…

But since I rarely eat bread, I’m still not sure.

I bought a pack of 8 bagels and now I’m already down to the last one.

If anyone has other good topping or cooking ideas, let me know!