Kominka Cafe ZENZAI (Kagoshima)

Hi, Mrs. Wada here, back on duty. This time, I’m going to introduce the cafe we visited during our Kagoshima trip.

Kominka Cafe ZENZAI (Kagoshima)

The cafe’s name is ZENZAI, which refers to a sweet Japanese red beans soup with rice ball toppings. This cafe was featured in my favorite TV show “Furucafe-kei, Haru-san no Kyuujitsu“, a show that introduces traditional Japanese houses renovated into cafes.

Let’s go in!

Noticed the curved pathway in the picture above? That’s to give disadvantage to attacking enemies (giving them no clue to what’s ahead). This is one of the unique features of the house landscape in this area. This house is used to be a samurai house.

Open space

Front

High floor level; chicken were raised under the house in the old days

Cafe front door (close-up)

Artistic ceiling lights, made of different materials such as paper, glasses, bamboo, etc.

Saobuchi is pointing towards the tokonoma! It represents that the owner (samurai) at that time is prepared to die.

Window seats

Old-fashioned window lock

Saobuchi

Furu Cafe Zenzai Kagoshima

Lunch menu

Chiffon cake with iced coffee (and a unique wooden fork!)

Oops, I should have ordered their specialty zenzai (only realized later on). It was a sunny day and just couldn’t resist ordering a cold drink.

Mr. Wada’s choice; matcha parfait with azuki (sweetened red beans) and (shiratama) sticky rice balls

So happy to get the window seat! Checking every corner of the cafe while recalling the scenes in the TV show.

Fully enjoyed the house and their food!

Information

Lastly

I was worried that it might be crowded during the holidays, but it turned out alright, we didn’t have to wait long. It was actually a good thing we visited late in the afternoon to enjoy a relaxing time. It would have been nice also to explore the neighborhood.