Kinoshita Shoten Café & Goods
Blessed new week peeps. There is blood 🩸 in the streets, in the rivers and in the seas… even the skies 🌌 when looking at the current state of the crypto market. But if you’ve been around this space for some time and followed the rules, you probably feel calmer than most. Me personally, I was more stressed during those hyper inflated gains we were seeing.
To the meat of the matter
Last Thursday I stopped by my friends Indian café to get some intel on doing jerk chicken at events in the area. When I arrived, my friend and his wife were talking to another couple that owned a cafe as well ( its funny how cafe has basically replaced restaurant, it’s more classy I guess).
After the friend of my friend heard I was from Jamaica, he told me about a restaurant … sorry cafe, that serves jerk chicken and plays Reggae music. He quickly showed me the joint on Instagram. The first thing that caught my eye was that they transformed and old warehouse into a café. Now that’s #SDGs for yah.
The owners of this warehouse café spotted a great opportunity and went for it. They grabbed a prime location as well, right by a station. So that means foot trafic. It’s a real small town and station, so this place actually uplifts the area. They also brought something socially unique to the table I will mention later.
On the outside there was this wooden swing, just by the looks of it, I can tell the owners are woodworkers, the equipment in the back kinda gave that away as well. The café was packed and rightfully so as we got there just after noon. We opted to eat outside but the owner warned us that cats use the table as their bed ( I can imagine the kitty orgies that took place here) and yup, the puss smell was reeking. Not a big fan of cats 🐈.
By the looks of it, all the furniture was either scavenged or made by the owners. People really like that look in Japan and it works with the warehouse transformation theme. The upstairs is where the socially unique concept comes into play. It’s a lounge for kids. The idea is students could stop by on their way from school and grab a muffin and a drink while doing their homework. Not sure how that is going but it is a good idea. But honestly, walking up there didn’t feel so safe, felt fragile and the squeaks of the wood when you walk …. Yeah screw you, I’m overweight 😆.
Not only do they sell food but also accessories and even nail polish. “How about a pair of earrings and a summer orange nail polish with your jerk chicken order?” I get it though, sell what you can on the land you own.
The place was buzzing with university students, mainly groups of females expect for this big group with mainly dudes in the pic below. So the foot traffic is there. We eventually got that couch seat back left in the pic below.
In the pic below you can see my wife taking turns watching the kids in the kiddies lounge. I told her I would not be going back up there, I literally crawled down slowly so I wouldn’t break shit.
You can also see the owners ( a couple), prepping the meals and the other groups of ladies chatting over dessert. Spot the Jamaican flags yet?
We ordered two large jerk chicken dishes with rice and peas as well as the jerk sandwich for the youngest. It was enough to feed the 5 of us as our kids are young and don’t eat much. The jerk chicken and rice & pease was a bit pricey by Japan standards but cheaper than the US. The regular jerk dish costs ¥1,280 and for the large +¥480. So that’s ¥1,760 ( USD 13.5 at the current rate of exchange).
The jerk wasn’t bad, it wasn’t grill cooked but in a frypan and logistics wise I understand why they made that decision. It’s quicker and easier. The jerk sandwich is really affordable at only ¥600. The perfect price point for a grab and go or a uni student.
When we were leaving the chef said:
“Could your kids manage the spiciness of the chicken?”
“Yeah, I make jerk chicken for them sometimes, they are used to it, I’m from Jamaica.
“Oh…. Damn I feel ashamed serving you this jerk chicken.”
He knows that the grill and the smoke is what makes jerk … jerk. But I honestly didn’t mind his pan cooked jerk chicken at all. The rice and peas was good too. The jerk sandwich is a winner for sure. Next time I’ll be sure to go a little later when it’s not too busy so I can have a chat with the owners.
Until next time, walk good.