Eating delicious food
at a café with handmade architecture.

The girls crossed the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge from Sunrise Itoyama to Oshima Island safely.
Oshima is an island of about 42 km².I heard that a mountain called Mt. Kiro is famous for its spectacular view. Shall we take a quick trip there?

“No, no, no.... The slope to Mt. Kiro is quite steep. I'll pass”, said Sakudo.

Oh, is that so? According to Sakudo, “It is hard for beginners to climb Mt. Kiro...so I recommend it to those who are quite fit or those who usually ride a bicycle and want to enjoy the spectacular views of Shimanami. Having say that, since it is a breathtaking scenery, our staff went to Mt. Kiro to take pictures.

It is indeed amazing! It takes only 10 minutes by car to reach the top of Mt. Kiro. There is also an observatory, so you can load your bicycle onto your car and go there.

A house like a foreign fairy tale appeared
at the end of a tangerine field.

Well, Notteru girls are going around Oshima. Tangerine fields spread out along the load. It's kind of soothing, isn't it?

Then, we came across a small western-style house.
What a spacious garden! What a sense of style! It is as if we are not in Japan. It is like we are in a fairy tale.

This is Tomoura Site, a cafe run by the owner, Yuko Watanabe.
Her husband is Canadian, and when he visited Imabari after marrying Ms.Watanabe, he was impressed by the view of islands and decided to move here. He was also impressed by the warmth of the relatives in Watanabe's home, and he wished he could raise his children in such a place. Sometime after moving here, Ms.Watanabe came across this land and started a café.
“It was a wasteland, so I started by clearing this land.
I wanted to open a café that could not be found in a city so I made the garden space wider.”

Inside the turban shell is a turban shell marinated in basil sauce, and the pasta is filled with fresh turban shell.
“This dish has a scent of seashore. Is this seaweed, wakame? Delicious!”, said Sakudo.

On the other hand, this is a “Raw egg on rice set” that our staff member ordered for a quick meal between takes. Oh, it is quite gorgeous.

The restaurant also offers a variety of other dishes, such as curry simmered for a week and home-roasted coffee, having a thing for each menu item.

Eating rustic-tasting pancakes
at Oshima Stone Café.

As we left the Tomoura site and drove slowly, we found another nice store nearby, “Ishi no Cafe” on Route 317. As the name suggests, the architecture is impressive with large stones covering the floor.

These stones are Oshima stone quarried from here in Oshima. And it was designed by Toyo Ito, a world-renowned architect. In 2011, Mr. Ito opened the Imabari Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture on nearby Omishima, and is currently working on a project to create the most beautiful island in Japan, Omishima. In fact, he is closely associated with Imabari, doesn't he?

“My family is in the quarrying business, and I wanted people to know more about the quality of Oshima Stone. That's why I asked Mr. Ito with whom I was connected through NPO activities, to design this cafe.”,

Mana Yano, the owner of the stone café,told us. The construction was all done by ourselves, with only some carpenters joining in. It took about a year with the help of the neighbors. I feel like I heard the same story earlier... I wonder if the islanders like DIY. Still, it is hard to believe that they built this house by themselves.

The specialty here is their original pancakes. We just had lunch a few minutes ago, but since we're here, why don't we all share? Pancakes take about 20 minutes to make because they start mixing the flour after receiving orders. The restaurant recommends eating them with thick soft-serve ice cream, another popular menu item. The rustic flavor of the pancakes, which are not too sweet, matched the richness of the soft-serve ice cream, and the taste was exquisite.

Eating a parfait from a pastry shop
on a terrace with a view of the ocean.

Now that their stomachs were satisfied, they got back on their bicycles and headed for Hakata Island. Hakata Island is famous for its salt production, “Hakata no Shio”, and it is a well-known brand sold in supermarkets nationwide. It is also an island of shipping and shipbuilding. In short, it coexists with the sea just like any other island. And I found a café with a great view of the sea.

This is “Patisserie T's Cafe Tamaya.” From the terrace in the back of the store, you can see the Shimanami Sea.
This view is hard to find in the city.

“My predecessor was a Japanese-style confectioner, but I wanted to try something different, so I started a confectionery store. We originally owned this place so we asked a designer from Matsuyama to build this café. We made the windows bigger, raised the floor 70 cm, and designed it so that we can see the ocean beautifully,”
says the owner-pastry chef, Kunisada.

“I don't think of myself as a patissier...I'm just an old man in a pastry shop.”
Kunisada says shyly, but says the shop is so popular that customers come all the way from Hiroshima and Tokyo to visit.

By the way, Notteru girls, Watanabe has been saying “I want a parfait...” ever since she entered the cafe. But you just had lunch and pancakes earlier, right? Can you eat a parfait?
“I can eat it”, says Watanabe clearly.
As expected of Notteru girls.... Sakudo also ordered a strawberry tart. I guess bicycling makes you hungry.

I was amazed after taking a bite. Delicious! Why is this parfait and cake so good?
“It's nothing special. Because of my skill? Haha.”
Kunisada was not sure whether he was being modest or boastful, but when I persistently asked him about it, he gradually told me about his specialties.
“I wanted it to be a parfait made by a pastry shop, not a parfait from café. If the cream is not delicious, the aftertaste won't be as good. The chocolate is from Valrhona, the same company that Jean Paul Evin uses, and it's very good. It has a crunchy pearl croquant chocolate inside, so you can enjoy the texture. We are also very particular about the fruits we choose.”
The quality of each ingredient combined with the professional skill makes such delicious sweets.

By the way,
“For beginners, the round-trip course (Sunrise Itoyama - Oshima - Hakatajima) may be just right,” says Sakudo.
But having satisfied their cravings for sweets, the powerful duo headed for Omishima a little further on.

(Continue to “Part 3 Omishima - Souvenirs”)