Cafe 'Yumeya' or Cafe Dream Shop

 I went to cafe 'Yumeya' in Nasu highland about an hour driving from home with my wife a few months ago.


The cafe was renovated of an old farm house in beautiful and quiet mountains.

The served traditional Japanese dishes and Indian dishes arranged for Japanese tastes.

It's a bit hard to access because I had to drive through winding narrow streets to get there.

 I enjoyed the atmosphere of the cafe both inside and outside very much.

Cafe Black Cat / Kuroneko-Kan

The menu, on the left, was hand written on envelops.

Two months ago, yes, quite long ago, I went to Cafe Black Cat in Mohka city with my wife.

It was a hot summer day.

Rice, bread, vegetables and tofu were colorfully put on a lunch plate.

It was delicious and the fat free foods would perfectly fit for those who concern their healthy diet.

We took a walk along a brook dropped by on our driving way to Cafe Black Cat.

Kuri-gohan or Boiled Rice with Chestnuts

How to Cook Kuri-gohan,

1. Buy a net of chestnuts.



2. Choose twenty good shaped chestnuts.




3. Cut open the shells, then peel the skin with a small knife.
   Take your time, be careful not to cut yourself.
   Peeling uncooked chestnuts is laborious.

   If you soak chestnuts in hot water for about 30 minutes before peeling them, it'll be easier but you lose the flavor a little.

If you like mushrooms, carrots, podded peas or pieces of fried bean curd, those can be added.

4. Cut them in pieces, then put them in a rice cooker with chestnuts.

5. Start the rice cooker.

6. When rice is cooked, let the rice steam for about ten minutes before opening the lid.

Ingredients:
  20 pieces small chestnuts
  3 cups Japanese rice
  1 teaspoon soy sauce or 1 teaspoon salt
  1 tablespoon mirin or sake
  3 cups water

Wtih soy source version

Without soy source, podded peas topping version

Cosmos Flower Fields, 2013

'Kinu Green Park' run by Utsunomiya city has tennis courts, baseball fields, an outdoor obstacle course, camping fields, a rollerblade course, and flower fields.

My most visited and most favorite tennis courts are in KGP, because of its huge flower fields just next to the tennis courts.

It has been on the top season for cosmos flowers since half a month ago. 

I carry my tennis rackets and a camera when I go to KGP. 

The pictures I uploaded are all taken in KGP.

We Take a Walk in Matsue City

We took a walk along the moat of Matsue castle on the first day of our trip to my hometown.

At that day, Emi still had enough energy to enjoy walking and eating sweets.

It's one day before Emi caught a cold and was sick in bed.

My Mother's 88th Birthday

On our way back to Tokyo from Shimane, I took a picture of Mt. Fuji

My two daughters, my wife and I went back to my home town Shimane prefecture to celebrate my mother's 88th birthday last week.

My brother arranged a river-viewing room at locally famous restaurant Naniwakan for the celebration party.

Front Left: my brother, Front Center: my mother, Front Right: my sister in law,
Back Left: Rina, Back center: me, Back Right: my wife Kiyono

Unfortunately, my daughter Emi was sick in bed because she caught a cold at the day of the celebration party.

I feel very very happy to celebrate the day with my mother and other family members.


I sincerely pray that my mother's healthy and happy life last as long as possible.

My mother likes flowers. She likes to grow vegetables and flowers, and also she likes hand-knitting.

Cafe Ammonite

 Even the season in Japan, according to the calendar, has changed into autumn, it's been very hot these days.

I went to Cafe Ammonite with my wife the other day.

The cafe was located in the suburbs of Utsunomiya city surrounded by vegetable fields.

The foods they served were very nice.

But, it's a bit hard to access to the shop because there were no nearby bus stops, no train stations and streets around the shop were very complicated.

Cafe del Olive

Cafe del Olive is a restaurant which was renovated of an old warehouse.

The walls of the warehouse was made of thick locally famous ohya-stone.

As is always the case with a warehouse, it had an entrance with solid-looking metal doors.



My wife and I went up through a narrow stairs to the second floor and had lunch there with a quiet atmosphere that many old Japanese houses have.

Orion Wine Bar

My wife and I had lunch at Orion Wine Bar the other day. 

Nice atmosphere and good taste dishes gave us a pleasant afternoon break.

Soba Cafe YuAn

I went to Soba Cafe YuAn with my wife the other day.

Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup.

We ordered two dishes of chilled soba, sweets, a cup of tea and a cup of coffee.

Chilled soba is often served on a sieve-like bamboo tray with a dipping sauce on the side.

Cold soba is very nice for lunch especially on a hot summer day.

Obon Festival

We had an Obon holiday last week.
My company gave us one week paid leave from August 12 to 16.
Obon is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors.
It's said that the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars during this season.
Many people visit their ancestral graves and make offerings of flowers and incense during the holiday.

I've had a rather quiet week; I went to a forest and brook park, restaurants for lunch, and Nasu highland for getting relief from the heat.

The festival ends with Toro Nagashi, or the floating of lanterns. Paper lanterns are illuminated and then floated down rivers symbolically signaling the ancestral spirits' return to the world of the dead.

Yukata Go Well With Matsuri

Many young Japanese girls love to wear traditional clothes, 'yukata' in summer festivals.

Yukata are kind of summer version of kimono.

Kids are wearing 'happi' or straight-sleeved coat in the second and third pictures.

Happi are also traditional clothes to festivals in Japan.