Category Archives: Cafes

Best places to chill.

Asyukutei: An izakaya style sushi restaurant with a Bali feel

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At the end of April, Asyukutei opened in Chuo Park. Asyukutei’s very simple design and pure white exterior may make it appear to be another little Kochi cafe, but closer inspection of the menu outside the front door reveals that it is a sushi shop in disguise.

Then, you walk in and find yourself even more confused. You discover that it is really a sushi shop disguised as a Bali inspired izakaya cafe… While a little ambiguous, the small space has a good atmosphere and feel to it. The food was just as enjoyable.

While Asyukutei’s main focus is on sushi, they have a daily lunch set that, at least on the day we went, was not sushi–it was gingered pork, red miso soup, rice, and a little side of fish for 850 yen.

The daily sushi plate lunch (1050 yen), was an 8 piece set–each piece was quite a bit bigger than the average kaiten zushi, so the price seemed reasonable. This set also had the red miso soup and side of fish.

Both sets were very good, but if you’re not in a mood for sushi, you might want to make sure the daily lunch set is not sushi.

Oh, and one more point, he cooks all of his rice in an Okama (traditional style Japanese pot [see picture below]).

At night, there is a course meal for 3500 yen which had a lot of goodness on it. It changes daily, and includes an 8 piece sushi plate. If you want more control of what you get, you can order items individually, although it might get expensive fast. Oh, and of course, there is sake.

Talking to the owner, his goal is to make sushi a more accessible food–especially for foreigners who struggle with the typical scribbled kanji menus of other sushi restaurants. He plans to work on an English menu to help with this. Ultimately, I think he wants his place to be known for good sushi in a casual, izakaya-esque atmosphere.

The owner was a very friendly man, so go practice your Japanese conversation skills and learn more about sushi and fish!

Next time you’re downtown and wanting to try something different than your usual, we hope you’ll check out Asyukutei and support their efforts in making a more friendly, social sushi shop.

details

Tel. 088-871-1866

Times:  11:00 am – 2:00 pm;  5:00 ~

 



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El Mortero’s Spanish Cuisine Night: Authentic Spanish Catering Under the Stars

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Al fresco dining and authentic Spanish cuisine? Finally, two rarities on the Kochi
culinary map are coming together for one night on July 30th. El Mortero, a local
Spanish catering company (run by a real Andalucian), will be presenting a full-
course Spanish dinner at Deer Land Farm, a popular dairy farm that is located just five minutes north of the city by car. This is a great opportunity to enjoy tapas, gazpacho, paella and many more honest to goodness Spanish dishes—all under the evening sky! Space is limited to 20 customers, so you’ll need to book in advance.

details

Date: Saturday, July 30th

Place: Deer Land Farm (Okazaki Bokujo)

Time: 6:30pm start

Cost: 3000yen (drinks separate)

Menu: Tapas, soup, salad, two main dishes (including paella), and dessert. Non-
alcoholic and alcoholic drinks available.

Reservations and further info: 080-5660-8688 (English OK)
elmorterokochi@gmail.com

Directions:  Head north on Prefectural Road 270 (runs past Kamimachi 2-chome and Naka-mama Shotengai). It’s five minutes by car from the Tsutaya in Nakamama and one minute north of Yukawa Onsen in Engyoji. Deer Land Farm will be on the right side and is signposted.

The map below show Yukawa Onsen, so just head a little farther north until you find the sign as shown in the picture below.

 



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L’aperitif s’il vous plait! June 2nd

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Are you, like me, one of those people who can’t help thinking that most meals peak at the starter and then vaguely disappoint after that?

If so, Thursday June 2nd is your lucky day…

Bring on the Aperitif festival!  A bunch of Kochi’s best French and Italian chefs will displaying their wares at various stalls dotted around Central Park in the city.  Go along, buy yourself a glass of wine and then sample as many starters as you can manage.  The basic price is going to be 300 yen per dish, with some of the more sumptuous ones costing more like 500 yen.   It should be a great atmosphere, and we are hoping to discover some brilliant European restaurants hiding in Kochi that the Kochibeat has yet to unearth!

DATE: Thursday June 2nd

PLACE: Chou Koen

TIME: 5pm – 9pm

COST: As much or little as you want.

 


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Candle Night: Kochi Bathed in Candlelight

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This amazing two day event in Nangoku has two faces–day and night–offering something for everyone. Whether you want art, music, good food, dancing, or just like seeing things burn, you don’t want to miss Candle Night.

An event for everyone

First of all, what will the event be like?  Well just head over to the event homepage to take a look at the pictures.

Looks beautiful, right?  The candle creator is called Mow Candles, and he has been making a variety of candles since 2007.  Since then, he has been adding the magic of candlelight to events all around Kochi, Japan.

Candle Night is an event to showcase his candles, and the art decoration will be led by design, photography, and video powerhouse, hygge.

day

Candles don’t do such a great job during the day, so the event organizers decided to make the showcase on food.  There will be a variety of food vendors to choose from.  Check out the event page for more details on who will be providing food.

The day time activities will have no kind of cover charge, so just go and enjoy the good food and atmosphere.  Oh, and why not buy some awesome candles?

night

When the sun goes down, you’re gonna need a ticket to stay.  Tickets are only a 1000 yen (elementary students are free), but there is a limited number.  Furthermore, you’ve gotta get one before April 28 from one of the cafes involved, or from the event organizers.  I’ve attached a picture down below with a google translated screen shot to save explanation time.

Sticking around for the night time transformation is a must.  So get your tickets.  If you have problems, comment below and someone will help you out.

The event space has different areas that you will want to move around and check out.  There will be outdoor music by DJ’s Suneo, U2K, and Eka.  There will also be a couple of garden/outdoor spaces lit up with candles.

details

This event seriously looks awesome, and I’ve heard great things from people who have been in the past.  If you’ll be in Kochi, don’t miss it for anything!

where:  【hygge】デザイン×写真 (design and photography)

dates:  4/30 & 5/1

times:  Day  1:00 – 5:00;  Night  6:00 – 10:00

parking:  Hitoshi Nobu Temple (about 100 car capacity)

info:  info@hygge.in


大きな地図で見る


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Tosa Cha Tea House: A real cup of local tea in Obiyamachi.

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Tosa cha cafe is a newly opened tea house in Obiyamachi. Yes. You heard that right: opening in Obiyamachi. And it’s not a pachinko parlor or hair salon! Hark at these glad tidings – Obiyamachi is not dead as many feared. there is still life! It’s something you really want to support, which is made really easy in this case, because the building is stylish, the atmoshere is bubbling, the food is healthy, cheap and good, and the tea is sumptuous!

Praise indeed, you say. Well, check it out for yourself. Go at lunchtime for the day’s set menu, and the ‘osusume’ tea of the day, chosen by the resident tea somelier! If it’s a sunny day, relax in the courtyard and let the pros tell you how to really brew a proper cup of green tea, and then enjoy the way that each pouring of the same tea has slightly different flavor and strength.

Or, go in the evening to the second floor, and have some izakaya fare and a small cup of local sake while overlooking Obiyamachi Koen.

It made me very happy to discover that there are people who haven’t given up on our little arcade, and even happier when it was actually really good!

The details

土佐茶カフェ　(Tosa cha Cafe)
Open 11am – 10pm
Holiday: wednesday
Tel: ０８８－８５５－７７５３
Website

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Panorama: City view with a cafe

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If you’ve never been up to Godaisan, there is an old observatory that apparently used to have a cog train going up to it. After the train stopped and was removed, the building was left in a fairly unkept state, but people continued to freely go up for a look out over the city.

With the addition of Panorama on the second floor in the observatory building, you can now enjoy the excellent view of the bay and the city in a relaxing cafe setting. Go in, have the soup curry with saffron rice (my favorite), and then pop up on the deck to get an excellent view of the city–returning back to the cafe to enjoy a nice cup of coffee and maybe some ice cream.

The cafe is very large, and the atmosphere is extremely laid back–it’s all self serve. I also love the eclectic decor and art scattered around the interior, although there is one piece that is highly disturbing. You will have to go look for it yourself because I couldn’t look at it long enough to take a picture…

There are only a few choices on the menu, but they all seem to be pretty solid. Definitely a great place to go when you’ve got a few hours to kick back, even stopping on your way down the mountain to visit Chikurenji or the new tropical green house at Makino Botanical Gardens.

If you’ve never been up there to see the city from above, I really recommend this place! Check out this night time panoramic shot to see what you’ve been missing.

The Details:
高知市吸江210-1
（五台山展望台2階）
Tel. 088－861－3036
Weekdays　10：00～17：00
Weekends and Holidays 10：00～21：00


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Naughty Food and Early Booze:  Three places to break New Year’s resolutions

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The Kochibeat wants to help you have a realistic start to 2011, so we kick off the January gastronomy guide with three little tempters…

1.  Tosamon

This cafe in central park doesn’t have a very naughty menu, and you can be good and have a nice cuppa tea in the center of town at anytime.  But unlike other central cafes, this place will give you the option of a glass of wine, beer or a variety of cocktails.  It is very conveniently located, just opposite Daimaru at the bottom of the footbridge.  it is connected to a really nice gift shop and there are usually a spare couple of tables.   It could provide an excellent alternative to Hirome ichiba as a central meeting place.  The staff are also super friendly, and the service excellent.

Opening times 9am – 10 pm (11pm on Saturday nights)
website

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2. Habotan

Now we are getting naughtier.  This very traditional izakaya located just across from central park on the south side of the densha-dori is a den of booze and unhealthy, strangely delicious food.  It opens at 1pm and is full of old Japanese men by 1:05pm.  the reason?  cheap sake and good food!  An afternoon beer, some yakitori and maybe some raw horse (Yup, i tried it – not bad!!)  seems to be the poison of choice for the locals.  The atmosphere is fantastic in a very Kochi-sense, and it is tempting to stay there for a lot longer than intended.  The staff are all old craggy women, who will squeeze you in to any of the randomly laid out seats that they can find.  The further you go back into the Izakaya, the more afraid you are of a fire breaking out!  It really is a rabbit warren at the back, so for anyone a little nervous, just prop yourself at the bar.

The menu is located on scraps of paper plastered to the wall.  Good luck with ordering!  Or just ask a lovely waitress (or kindly neighboring gentleman) for the osusume (recommendation) and hope you don’t get the sparrow on a stick. (Yup, I tried that too, it is not good.)

Opening times 1pm – 11pm
Telephone: 088-872-1330
website

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3. Yasube

This is ultimate after-work snack for city dwellers: officially the most sought after gyoza in Kochi.  It really is fantastic.  There are three places to get your hands on this delight; one opposite bowl jumbo, another in the depths of hirome.

Our particular fave though, is a makeshift izakaya in harimaya – cho.

The menu is super simple:  GYOZA, lovely, lovely garlic filled, super fried gyoza.  and beer.
And guess what?  Between five and seven they have a happy hour!  half price beer! I know, a happy hour in Kochi, how naughy is that!?

Opening times:  5pm – 12am
website

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Happy new year everyone!


Please comment and let us know if you check any of these places out, or have anything to add to our naughty list!

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Pousser: Bread. For the Soul.

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A baguette. A good, good baguette.  A crispy, crusty, soft
soul baguette.  This lovely loaf of pan lives right here in
Kochi at the melt-your-heart French bakery, Pousser.

Pousser is located just one block east of Decembre café on Sunday Market Street. The
surrounding neighborhood is home to many a kick back cafés
and creative shops.  It’s a great place to wander around on a
lazy afternoon.

Pousser specializes in French-style breads and pastries
but they also carry a few of the Nihon classics (what is
Kochi without An Pan Man pan?).  I might suggest the Cheese
Bread, or as I like to call it, the Cheese Bomb (\190).
Also, the Pizzetta, a savory pan platter with sliced
sausages and basil (\250), could cure any heart ache.

Owners Emi and Keisuke Yokota have spread their arms far
around Kochi as they provide breads to restaurants and
cafes throughout the city (Decembre Café, Café Creole, and
many more). While Pousser has only been open for 2 years,
the Yokotas have over 15 years of experience.  Everything
about this bakery is imbued with a sense of dedication to
their craft; good bread, good people, good atmosphere.

Come and stop by.  You’ll be a regular in no time. See you
there.

Details:

Address: 高知市はりまや町2丁目13-10
Kochi City, Harimaya Street 2 Chome 3-10
Phone: 088-855-4770 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              088-855-4770      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Hours: 7:30-19:00 (closed Tuesdays and holidays)


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Got something to contribute?  Use the comment section below to add your on experience of Pousser.

Friendly Food – Bar e Caffe Cammino

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Another great restaurant in Harimaya-cho!

Cammino is easy to spot because of the rarity that is a terrace outside.  There really should be more of these in Kochi, and from our experience, sipping a vino rosso alfresco is the best way to appreciate this place.

The food is good, especially the starters; try the katsuo tataki Italian style.  The pasta is pretty standard as are the pizzas, but the best thing (other than the afore mentioned terrace) is the service.  These guys are super friendly, and they also speak a bit of English.  It doesn’t feel too forced either, you can really relax here, and the back ground music is surprisingly good, which is not true of all the restaurants in Kochi.

They are also doing a Christmas meal special at the moment for 4,200.  It looks really impressive, with meats, fish, a real bit of roast and some booze thrown in too!

The details:

from the east entrance of Obiyamachi, cross over the north-south tram street.  Head into Harimaya-cho and look out for the decking-terrace on your left.

Open 12:00 – midnight (closed between 3 and 5)

Day off Tuesday

Tel:  088-855-6265

More information:

http://www.zukan.co.jp/open-info/101206cammino.html

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A New Moon Cafe: Mixing art and food in Aki

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If you happen to be traveling East of the city, cruising down the 55 along the lovely coast of Kochi Prefecture, and have a little time on your hands, there is a must-stop once you happen upon Aki City. Located along the 55 on the right side of the road (if headed toward Muroto) is an apartment complex called the Sora Sora Building (そらそらビル). Situated on the 5th floor of the Sora Sora Building is a cute little restaurant called “A New Moon: Café-Gallery.”

Although the space in the café is limited to the size of a studio apartment, the atmosphere is relaxed and open. With high ceilings, an open kitchen, unique, comfy furniture, and a lovely view out the back windows, the place feels like you just stopped by a friend’s house to eat lunch and chat. Not only that, but as the name suggests, this café is also a little gallery with paintings and sculptures on display, ready to be bought by interested customers.

The adorably designed menu (accordion-style fold-out) features homemade curries, sandwiches, salads, donuts, cakes, unique chocolates (chocolate covered yuzu peel), French toast (my suggestion), and a variety of espressos and hot/cold drinks. Meal prices are on the medium to high side, with most drinks starting at 400 yen and meals going from 400 yen to about 900 yen.

One nice thing about the open kitchen in this little café is that it allows one to watch as the cooks prepare everything on the spot, as well as smell all the deliciousness you are about to partake in. The downside? The service is a little slow, seeing that there are only two cooks and they make nearly everything right after you order it. But like I said, if you have time on your hands, come and sit down, enjoy the atmosphere, and relax in a comfy chair with a friend. :)

Telephone Number: 0887(34)3157
Open from: 12PM-5PM Thursday through Sunday
Sora Sora Building, Floor 5 about the “Magical” video store.
Address: 安芸市庄之芝町1-51

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