Take two slices of white bread. Slather with margarine, sprinkle granulated sugar on each side and sandwich them together. Wrap in plastic and slap on a Union Jack.

Voila! You have ¡°,¡± Aomori Prefecture¡¯s signature snack that¡¯s neither English nor toast.

More wartime staple than soul food to many outside of Aomori, English Toast is nevertheless one of the prefecture¡¯s most beloved sweet treats. The numbers back it up. According to its manufacturer, Kudopan Co., they sell an average of 5 million units every year across the Tohoku region, with 90% of total sales coming from in-prefecture ¡ª no mean feat considering the local population only amounts to 1.23 million.