Coming from the United States where baking is easy with a plethora of English recipes, cheap (usually) ingredients, large ovens, and easy access to supplies, baking in Japan can be a bit difficult and overwhelming.
From what I understand, baking in Japan is not extremely popular. In fact, there's no word in Japanese that means "baking" as we understand it in English. The closest I've come up with is 甘いものを作る, which means "making sweet things." That's not to say that the Japanese don't like baked good though (although my Japanese teacher was very shocked every time the adult men in my class ate sweet things during break). There are bakeries, cafes, and cake shops on almost every corner in Tokyo. Walking three minutes in any direction from my apartment, I can easily find four bakeries, two doughnut shops, at least five cafe/coffee shops, in addition to more traditional Japanese sweets and soft cream shops.
I think this prevalence of sweet shops is one of many reasons baking is not a common hobby in Japan. Also complicated things is a general lack of ovens. I'm lucky to have a small oven in my apartment, probably a third the size of my oven from Washington, D.C. However, my apartment is the exception to the rule. Most apartments and houses do not have an oven, probably because that kind of cooking is just not common in Japan. Instead, most people use a combination microwave/convection oven to meet those needs. Other complications? Ingredients in Japan come in small, rather expensive packages. For foreigners in Japan, baking is also complicated by the language difference when it comes to products, measurement differences (if you're American), and perhaps a lack of knowing where to go to find supplies. As I continue to learn about these differences, I hope to share my knowledge with others trying to bake in Japan!
