RResidents in Japan

How to get a baking oven

So I realized recently that the tiny microwave oven I got from Nitori doesn’t have a baking option (it’s basically just a microwave from what I know of microwaves in America). I really love baking, it’s one of my few joys in life, and I think in order to survive Sapporo’s snowy winters I’m going to need some sort of stand in for an oven. I usually love baking cookies, pies, and cakes so I need something big enough for those. Has anyone lived here long enough to know what the best options are? Online stores or in-person stores are fine. I live in Sapporo, so if it’s an in-person store I has to be within the city. I can only get around by walking and the subway.

44 comments

  1. Most microwaves are convection and act like an oven, you just need to buy a proper one not a cheapie from Nitori. Any appliance store will have a selection.

  2. Step 1) walk into a major home electronics store.

    Step 2) ask staff to show you available baking ovens.

    Step 3) purchase an available oven.

    Step 4) bake

  5. Rather than a separate oven, in Japan the microwave and convection oven are combined into a single unit called an オーブンレンジ (ovenrange).

    They are more expensive than a simple microwave and less common, but still very widely available at any appliance store like Joshin, Yodobashi Camera or Bic Camera, or even Amazon from brands like Sharp, Panasonic, and Toshiba.

    As a word of advice, don’t cheap out.

    Final thought, it used to be that all the good models were also “steam ovens”, which had the function of being able to drip water into the oven to cook in a steam environment. Which I never use, and seemed to add significantly to the price. It looks like some companies are now making decent combination ovens without that complication for less money.

    [https://www.yodobashi.com/product/100000001007246412/](https://www.yodobashi.com/product/100000001007246412/)

  6. Compare stats.

    Panasonic Bistro has a good rep, and a few different models and price points. I bought a Hitachi model a couple years ago and not too happy with it, it lacks power

    …should be easy to find a used or previous model Bistrot for a good deal, but expect to pay 30-40,000 if not more unless it’s used.

    For normal baking it will be sufficient, but not as powerful as what you are used to back home. Also as they are smaller you might get more hot spots etc so takes some time to learn your oven.

  7. Kakaku is the go-to for customer product reviews and ratings.

    https://s.kakaku.com/kaden/microwave-oven/

    I have, and bake in, a Panasonic Bistro, but I think all the higher end lines, like Sharp Healsio and Toshiba Dome perform equally well. Look for a sale and make sure it has a steam option and fermentation setting for better baking.

  8. I got a delonghi convection oven off Amazon. It’s not big by any means but it does the job better than a toaster for small batches. I’m still not convinced by microwaves and steam ovens as this isn’t a really baking culture outside shokupan makers

  9. You can get the fake junk that won’t ever truly get up to temp like everyone here who clearly don’t bake are suggesting. You’ll be disappointed though. However, this is the path of least resistance. It won’t cost too much and you can just pull it out of the box and use it.

    If you want the real thing you go to the gas company. They have some options that are smaller than what you might be used to and they’re expensive(10 to 30 man once you account for installation and what not), and getting them installed can be tricky.

    Pick your poison.

  11. We had a Toshiba stone dome oven that we loved. It got nice and hot, and held the heat really well. My wife baked tons of cookies (she got into icing cookies and tried to start a business out of it), and I was roasting potatoes a few times a week.

    Unfortunately a few months after its 5th birthday (so shortly after the 5 year warranty ended) it ran into some sort of electrical issue with the oven function and stopped working. It still worked as a microwave though.

    Outraged that this expensive oven basically only lasted the warranty period we replaced it with a Hitachi healthy chef. Its much cheaper, and its obvious that its much cheaper. The door doesn’t feel as good, it doesn’t hold the heat as well. The first time I tried to roast potatoes with it I set it for the highest temp it went (210c), and when it was ready I stuck the potatoes in and set the timer for 30 minutes. 30 minutes later they were still white and somewhat crunchy. It has an ‘over temp’ mode that goes up to 250c, but basically once it reaches that it drops back down to 210c as the holding temp. So the next time I tried to roast my potatoes I stuck them in for the preheat period, let it get to 250, and then set the timer for 20 minutes. Then my potatoes were nice and golden brown.

  13. I bake, and the Toshiba Ishigame Dome is great. It has a stone “kiln” lining for baking (heat retention). You’ll likely want to get a midrange or better model, as the low price ones have a low max temp.

  14. I have an anova steam oven and can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s a great option if you have space.

  15. I searched コンベンションオーブン on amazon and got a small one from Iris Ohyama which has been great !

  17. Yeah man, I had a bit of trouble with this as well, I ended up getting a delonghi convection oven. The thing you have to research a bit is the voltage and amperage of your outlets in your kitchen, how old the wiring is and the amperage of the breakers assigned to said outlets. The oven I got uses close to 2000W, my house is brand new so it’s a bit sketchy, but I can manage on a 120V circuit with a 20A breaker. But I cannot use any other appliances within the same circuit. However, if your house/apt. was supplied with an induction cooktop, chances are that it has its own separate 200V circuit with a 25A breaker. My house does, so I piggyback off of the induction cooktop if I need to use other apps like my microwave etc.

  18. There are standalone units you can even find on Amazon. Hitachi makes one that’s a 32L unit. I was thinking about it but then it came down to lacking space

  19. I actually found one of those dual oven/microwaves secondhand for 1万 on mercari and it was in great condition and honestly didn’t look used much. Been baking cookies and cakes ever since! But I have to bake multiple batches because the size isn’t so huge. It’s slightly bigger than your average microwave?

    But if you wanna be safe and get one brand new and to see the size in person then i definitely recommend going to one of those stores people are suggesting here. And make sure they have an “oven” setting for baking.

  20. What you’re looking for is a convection microwave oven. I have one that fits on top of my fridge. I regularly bake bread, pies, Chicago-style pizzas (2 at a time). It’s not the largest, but it gets the job done.

    オーベンレンジ

    [https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%97%A5%E7%AB%8B-%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%96%E3%83%B3%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B8-%E6%B8%A9%E5%BA%A6%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B5%E3%83%BC-%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3%E3%83%97%E3%83%AB%E6%93%8D%E4%BD%9C-MRO-HE4Y/dp/B08M64HQL3/ref=sr_1_6?__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&crid=1U12UHTT2HGKP&keywords=%E9%9B%BB%E5%AD%90%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B8&qid=1691718054&sprefix=%E5%AF%BE%E6%B5%81%E5%BC%8F%E9%9B%BB%E5%AD%90%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B8%2Caps%2C310&sr=8-6](https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%97%A5%E7%AB%8B-%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%96%E3%83%B3%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B8-%E6%B8%A9%E5%BA%A6%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B5%E3%83%BC-%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3%E3%83%97%E3%83%AB%E6%93%8D%E4%BD%9C-MRO-HE4Y/dp/B08M64HQL3/ref=sr_1_6?__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&crid=1U12UHTT2HGKP&keywords=%E9%9B%BB%E5%AD%90%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B8&qid=1691718054&sprefix=%E5%AF%BE%E6%B5%81%E5%BC%8F%E9%9B%BB%E5%AD%90%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B8%2Caps%2C310&sr=8-6)

    Something like that to get you started.

    Good luck!

  21. I got a second hand one. Microwave+toast+oven very convenient.
    It is not as hot as a gas oven. But I can use it to bake most things. Just takes a little bit longer.

  22. 1. Join a group on Facebook where people give away stuff
    2. Be quick and claim
    3. Pick up!
    4. Win!

    It’s how I got mine

  23. Had one of those microwave/oven combos for 4 years and only discovered the oven feature a month ago. Been making pizza almost every day since :L

  24. Best match will heavily depend on the temperature range, cooking type, and cooking size you need.

    I had a nice little Sharp combi that I bought on Rakuten for about $120 that saw me through my apartment days. It only went up to 200C so somethings took a bit longer to cook or had to be finished with a toss in a frying pan for crisping, but it was the perfect size to sit on top of my refrigerator. Quiet small and a rotating plate, so only round dishes could go in.

    I recently settled into my long term home and upgraded to a Healsio (heavily discounted through a Sayonara sale friend). It is amazing and I love it, but even with the discount, it was not cheap and it is huge.

    If you’re more into baking, my friend recommends aiming for one with a stone top.

    ETA: I use my oven for many things besides normal baking. For example, I find it very useful to be able to set a timer when grilling fish or naan instead of using the little fish tray under the hob. One of the Healsio features is being able to place multiple different ingredients for meal in at the same time – like sweet and sour pork with the pork on a grill rack on the top tray and sliced onions on a foil sheet sharing the bottom tray with a dish containing the sauce, green peppers, and carrots.

  25. As several others noted, get something that is multifunctional.
    1- Will you be here for long? If not, maybe best to get a unit secondhand from 2nd Street, Big Bang, Bookoff, etc. Perhaps pay more than what you could get on jmnty/Mercari/Yahoo auctions, but the stores typically have at least a 30 day warranty.

    2- Adjust your expectations. American stoves are huge! Units here are doll-sized, but still function well. As with most aspects of life here, after adapting to the space/size limitations, one can muddle through.

    3- Are you able to get electric or gas? If it’s gas only, as someone else noted, it might be better to ask the neighborhood gas store for assistance. Such appliances (in a rental) may require proper gas ppl to hookup.

    4- We’ve had a Panasonic Bistro for almost 15 years. I can microwave, steam, grill, defrost, and bake in it. We regularly make pizzas, lasagna, cookies, cakes, breads, rolls – you name it. It came with 2 baking sheets and one grill sheet.
    I don’t have counter space, so we bought a separate cart with shelves, drawers, and rice storage.

    Wishing you speedy success in finding what you want.

  26. I have this [one](https://amzn.asia/d/88Zr0fk) it’s a Rinnai gas oven that you can use in just about every apartment. The maximum temperature is 300 degrees so not quite good enough for pizza but with a pizza stone and a longer baking time. You can bake a pizza. Everything else bakes just fine.
    You can also source one from Yahoo auctions second hand!

  27. If you are looking for something close to an actual oven get a 4-slice toaster oven. I’ve used my toaster oven to bake bread and brownies. I found that the オーブンレンジ is not a very good oven. It may be better now, but there may not be a temperature setting; it might be a wattage setting.
    I don’t know the model number since it’s been a long time since I bought it, but my toaster oven has temp settings from 60°-250° C, a timer that goes to 60 minutes and control over the heating elements to bake or broil.

  29. There are small 100v counter top models that take an hour to heat up everywhere.

    I got my big built in oven from China. It’s 200v and built into my ikea cabinet. It was cheap, with a dishwasher and built in microwave together for about -$900 USD maybe and shipping was maybe $200-300 for all of that.

    Since Covid things have gotten a lot more expensive and a lot of companies don’t let you do the import process at the harbor by yourself anymore.

  30. I have a Sharp RE-SS10X, combo microwave/oven, which I bought for around ¥35,000. It’s not cheap but not nearly as expensive as the high-end models that go for ¥100,000. I’ve been happy with it and successfully baked cakes, brownies, lasagnas, pizzas, and roasted meats and veggies.

    My advice is to get the biggest oven you can afford. Mine is 31L. I started off with a 26L and I just found that volume too small.

  31. Order online.

    A friend uses Toshiba ishisomething dome.

    If you buy a 1- or 2-yo model you get a substantial discount.

  32. I was on a similar hunt a few years ago and managed to find one that works well enough. It’s an iris ohyama from Amazon, less than 8,000¥. I’ve baked cookies and cobblers as well as breads. It’s not big, but it’s great for the price

    [https://www.amazon.co.jp/Iris-Ohyama-Convection-Oven-PFC-D15A-W/dp/B00PU3PHOQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=340F9OBENTD1P&keywords=oven&qid=1691724480&sprefix=oven%2Caps%2C258&sr=8-8](https://www.amazon.co.jp/Iris-Ohyama-Convection-Oven-PFC-D15A-W/dp/B00PU3PHOQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=340F9OBENTD1P&keywords=oven&qid=1691724480&sprefix=oven%2Caps%2C258&sr=8-8)

  33. The little electric combination 100/110V microwave/ovens that you get at Yodobashi, etc are OK but have some real limitations once you start to use them a lot, particularly if you are used to cooking with a typical Western kitchen gas or electric fan forced oven.

    For example. they only take one tray at a time, so if you want to cook 3-4 trays of cookies, you’ll have to spend an hour rotating the single tray in and out to complete the batch.

    The small volume loses heat very quickly as soon as you open the door. Further, the electronic system will also disable the heat when you open the door so the oven has to heat up again. This really sucks when you’re roasting something and open it to rotate it, it will always lose a lot of heat and roasting small stuff just takes longer. Hot spots are pretty bad too so you need to rotate often.

    The heat limit is often around 210C. This is too low for bread. You cannot heat a sourdough dutch oven in this thing, it’s just not powerful enough.

    The 発酵/fermentation option which you can set to 30-45C seems useful in the marketing material but the electronic system limits it to 90 minutes at a time so it’s really useless for fermenting anything like yoghurt or koji which takes 8+ hours. (name me anything that ferments in 90 minutes…)

    The electronic control system is infuriating, for example you can’t turn it on until you’ve opened the door. There are endless safety triggers you have to get used to.

    Given the space in a typical Asian kitchen I guess these ovens are acceptable. But don’t spend too much money on one if you’re a serious baker or want to make bread you’ll probably quickly want to upgrade to a gas one (If I move to inaka I will!).

  36. I got an oven second hand and it’s been great for baking! Second hand stores are full of them practically brand new.

  38. convection oven is the one you’re looking for. Also make sure to confirm the maximum temp you need.

  39. So the largest electric oven you can get for a somewhat reasonable price 35,000 yen is the Sharp 31 Liter Microwave / Oven RE-SS10X. Hitachi also has a 31 L one.
    I’ve been able to fit… just barely, fit a small Costco turkey in it…. With very minimal veggies…
    I had to actually cooked most of the veggies in a pan and add then later..

    Anything larger then 31L is over ¥100,000 and might need 200V or Gas…

  40. Don’t go cheap if you want to bake properly. Take a look at the Panasonic Bistro Range. Good.. And hold high temperatures consistently.

  42. I’ve owned three of this brand over the years and have been very happy with them. Lots of features, including grill and stream functions. And with the controls on the door, it’s the largest and widest interior of its class, big enough to cook up to a 7kg turkey.

    Panasonic NE-BS8A-K Bistro Oven Range, Steam Bistro, 7.9 gal (30 L), 2 Tiers, Swing Search Infrared Sensor, Black (English Language Interface Not Guaranteed) https://amzn.asia/d/1has3ci

  43. You might have some trouble getting baking pans, etc, too. I had to actively search for baking supplies in Tokyo. Consider getting a microwave with a bake function. They are usually still fairly roomy.

  44. I have got a small comfee 4 piece toaster oven for my wife. She loves to bake in it (even though its very small and my wife is a beginner)

Leave a Reply
— Previous article

Quick 5 day trip
Next article —

Question about an old Okinawan or Japanese term for a disease: sin-kae-ju

You May Also Like