If bread theft is wrong, then baby, I don’t wanna be right.
If you have young children in Japan or have walked anywhere within eyeshot of a bookstore, you’ll likely recognize the Bread Thief (Pan Dorobo). This is a series of children’s books in which what appears to be a mouse disguised as a loaf of bread steals bread from bakeries around the world.
It’s a charming series that manages to pull off the very difficult task of making theft a fun and heartwarming topic for little kids to read about, so much so that it has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and is now celebrating its 5th anniversary with a big festival in the Ebisu neighborhood of Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward.
It’s sure to be fun for bread-craving kids of all ages, as guests enter through the Welcome Arch and view panels of characters from the latest book, Bread Thief and Apple Mask.
From there, they can get their photos taken with cutouts of characters from all the books, like the Fake Bread Thief and the Mysterious French Bread.
After that, visitors will be treated to the never-before-seen Bread Thief Balloon that is said to be quite huge. After that, it’s game on! First, kids can get some exercise and test their coordination in the Step Game by stepping in certain places to quickly move the Bread Thief towards his goal… which I’m going to assume is bread.
Then there’s a Ball Throwing Game where three balls must be thrown into holes in order to advance. Those who complete the challenges will get a randomly chosen celebratory sticker.
Then there’s another area of spots for photo ops, followed by the ultimate photo op and a chance to meet the Bread Thief live in the felt!
That’s not all there is to enjoy at the Bread Thief 5th Anniversary Festival though. At five times on 16 and 17 August, author Keiko Shibata will do a live reading and Q&A with special appearances by the Bread Thief and Fake Bread Thief.
And of course, it wouldn’t be a Bread Thief celebration without a full range of merchandise for sale. Whether it’s key chains, T-shirts, tote bags, pens, bottles, and more, if it’s got a picture of an ambiguous mouse-bread character, then it can be yours for the right price.
▼ T-shirts like this one cost 3,850 yen (US$26).
If you happen to be in Ebisu from 14 to 17 August and want to see why everyone’s crazy about this kleptomaniacal critter, then reserve your ticket today and head on down. Just leave your bread at home for its own safety.
Event information
Bread Thief 5th Anniversary Festival / パンどろぼう5周年フェスティバル
Venue: Yebisu Garden Place
恵比寿ガーデンプレイス
Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Ebisu 4-20
東京都渋谷区恵比寿4丁目20番
Open: 14 – 17 August, 2025
Stage shows
16 August from 1:30 PM and 4 PM
17 August from 10 AM, 12:30 PM, and 3 PM
General admission: Free
Admission to play the games: 800 yen (in advance), 1,000 yen (same day)
Admission to the stage show: 4,000 (in advance), 4,300 (same day)
Official Website
Images: ©Keiko Shibata／KADOKAWA
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