In a corner of Kosai called Arai, the old town has been left standing as it was, and the city is running a project to convert the old houses there. For Koreans, think of the remodelled hanok in Ikseon-dong — it’s along those lines. The people running the cafes get support, and visitors get a lovely atmosphere and a tidy interior, so everybody wins. This is exactly the sort of thing that keeps a local economy alive.
On the way
Buildings from the old Edo period are still standing. When you have something like this, developing the area for tourism gets much easier.
The front entrance
It has that proper old-farmhouse feel.
The dessert case
Natsumikan cheesecake, cheese pudding ice cream made with free-range eggs, rich cheese pudding made with free-range eggs, carrot cake and on and on… Not one ordinary item on the list.
Free-range fertile eggs
They sell eggs too. And blackberries beside them…
The menu
The prices aren’t steep, which means you can drop in without giving it much thought.
Blackberries in the garden
This kind of unhurried feel is really nice.
The wall
Inside
The space isn’t big, but it’s been done up nicely in a retro style.
The lighting
Even the clock is made of wood.
Chairs and the garden
Books
The place was full of people, too.
The one-plate lunch, quiche
The food did feel like it was made with good ingredients, though it wasn’t amazingly delicious or anything. It is a cafe after all, and space is limited, so I suspect they make things in advance and reheat them to order.
Roast chicken salad bowl
Grilled chicken plate
The chicken comes on its own plate.
Not all that memorable, I’d have to say…
The interior, snapped quickly in a gap when people had cleared out
A glass of water
Coffee
Free-range fertile egg pudding
The flavour was incredibly rich… It made me wonder whether the ingredients really make this much difference.
Chocolate brownie and banana ice cream
The chocolate is rich too, but the banana ice cream was especially good. I got the sense they know how to use fruit.
Natsumikan cheesecake
The fresh, tangy side and the rich cheese side go together well.
Maybe because it’s a cafe, the meal was merely fine, but the desserts — thanks to those good ingredients, I suppose — tasted genuinely special. It’s remarkable that a cafe this good is here.
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