A note on the words: melon pan is a classic Japanese sweet bun covered in a crisp cookie (biscuit) crust. Despite the name, a plain melon pan contains no melon. At Ashigara Service Area the bakery shapes them like Mt. Fuji in plain, ramune (a Japanese lemon-lime soda) and cream-melon versions. Curry pan is a bun filled with Japanese curry and coated in crumbs; this one wraps a sweet curry made with Kagoshima kurobuta (black pork) in a crunchy rice-flour crust. Sawayaka is Shizuoka’s famous hamburg steak chain, where getting a table is notoriously hard.
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Bakery ROYAL Garden on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Melon pan fans, thank you for waiting! It is time for Hangover Meshi!
Now then, on my way back from a trip to Gotemba, I thought I might stop and eat at that famous hamburg steak restaurant chain “Sawayaka” on the way home, but I couldn’t get a reservation at all (lol). Just what is going on with that chain? So I gave up and decided to head straight back to Tokyo. Then, when I pulled into the nearest rest stop, Ashigara Service Area (SA), I spotted something great!
Fujisan Melon Pan (Mt. Fuji melon pan)!!
Because of the rain I couldn’t see Mt. Fuji at all, so this is just right. I’ll satisfy myself with this instead (lol).
This is the bakery corner of the yoshoku (Japanese-style Western food) restaurant “ROYAL Garden” on the Tokyo-bound (up) side of Ashigara Service Area on the Tomei Expressway. Apparently on clear days it is a service area where you can also dine while looking out at Mt. Fuji, though of course on this day it was raining. Their specialty is “Fujisan Melon Pan,” which turns Mt. Fuji itself directly into bread (a sweet bun with a crisp cookie crust; the plain one has no melon in it). Besides plain, there are also ramune (Japanese lemon-lime soda) flavor and cream melon versions, and apparently if you buy three they give you a special box for them. That box is quietly cute, too. For now, I bought a few to eat at home.
I didn’t want to get caught in traffic, so I drove all the way back in one go! I want to eat that bread!
Breads that were sitting right next to the Fujisan Melon Pan, which I couldn’t help buying too (lol).
A curry pan (fried curry bun) filled with a sweet curry made with Kagoshima black pork (kurobuta) and finished in a rice-flour crumb crust! The rice-flour crumbs on the outside are crunchy and fragrant, while the dough underneath is chewy. The curry is sweet and mild, and it feels like the savory richness of the pork spreads gently as you eat. I have always loved curry pan. Delicious.
The other one is the Premium Melon Pan. …Except, to tell the truth, all the way until I got home I was completely convinced it was an Ebina Melon Pan (lol). Because the famous Ebina Melon Pan with its “No. 1 in sales worldwide” sign was lined up right next to it, I mixed them up completely. Apparently it is a bun whose dough is kneaded with Hokkaido milk and cream containing Furano melon juice, wrapped around a melon cream filling. Every time you take a bite, the aroma of melon wafts up softly, and the dough is moist. I see — this really lives up to the “Premium” name.
And honestly, having cream inside is the best!
And here is the main event: Fujisan Melon Pan!
According to the sign at the shop, it is a bread meant for enjoying the crunchy biscuit crust and the fluffy texture inside. Bite into it and the surface crumbles with a light crunch, while the inside is so soft and fluffy you can easily tear it apart by hand!! Since it is only mildly sweet, it is a very easy bun to eat. The ramune flavor is full of playfulness right from the name. The cream melon has smooth melon cream inside, and lining all three up to taste and compare is the way to go! That said, they are surprisingly quite filling, so you might not be able to finish a whole one by yourself (lol). I think splitting them among about four people is just right.
Bringing home Mt. Fuji-shaped bread as a souvenir from the Tokyo-bound side of Ashigara SA. Just lining up the three — plain, ramune flavor, and cream melon — turns the dining table at home into a little Mt. Fuji tour. After a run of sweet buns, the Kurobuta Curry Pan makes a welcome savory break, and if you added Ebina Melon Pan too, you could enjoy the expressway’s famous bakery specialties all in one luxurious stop. I headed straight back to Tokyo without eating anything to beat the traffic, but eating these once I got home was delicious and more than made up for earlier.
Here’s hoping I run into more good food today too!
Gotemba Bakery ROYAL Garden Menu
Fujisan Breads
Ashigara SA’s top pick. Choose any three Fujisan breads and the box is included at no extra charge.
Known for its crunchy biscuit crust and fluffy interior
Filled with melon cream
Sold in the refrigerated case; filled with whipped cream and meant to be eaten chilled
Free box (normally 80 yen) when you buy any three Fujisan breads, in any combination.
Melon Pan & Savory Breads
Moist dough kneaded with melon juice, topped with a crisp biscuit crust
Dough made with Hokkaido milk and cream containing Furano melon juice, wrapped around melon cream
Sweet curry made with Kagoshima black pork, in a rice-flour crumb crust
Morning Set
Available 8:00–11:00 only. A set of your choice of bread and a drink for 500 yen.
Example: Iced Cafe Latte + Fujisan Cream Melon Pan for 500 yen
Some breads are excluded from the set (marked on the signs at the shop).
*From the signs at the shop at the time of the October 2026 visit. Prices include tax, and the lineup changes by season. Please check at the shop for the latest details.
Bakery ROYAL Garden (Yoshoku / Ashigara Station, Gotemba Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
