Ever since Doutor, the coffee shop in Hachiman, closed two years ago, I've been feeling a bit lost in my morning cafe habits. Come to think of it, Doutor was open on weekends, holidays, and even New Year's Day. For me, a cafe wasn't just a place to have a drink. It was a place of relaxation, incorporating the atmosphere of the shop, the presence of other people, the music, and more.
On weekdays, I eat bread and coffee at a bakery's eat-in area, but occasionally I'll have tea at the Italian restaurant on the Hachiman Co-op grounds, which started morning service in January of this year. Both restaurants are closed on Sundays, so I take the bus to Sendai Station and have tea at the Doutor inside the station.
Rather than being tossed around depending on the day of the week, I sometimes think it would have been better to just go to Sendai Station, which is open year-round. When Doutor was in Hachiman, there was a middle-aged man who would take the bus from Kaigamori to get there.
Still undecided today, my cafe refugee life continues.
八幡のコーヒーショップ、ドトールが一昨年に閉店してから、朝のカフェの習慣の迷走が続いています。思えばドトールは土日祝日、元日でさえ営業していました。私にとってカフェは単なる飲み物を飲む場所ではありませんでした。お店の雰囲気、人の気配、流れる音楽その他が含まれた癒しの場所でした。
平日はパン屋さんのイートインでパンとコーヒーをいただきますが、たまに今年の1月からモーニング営業を始めた八幡生協敷地内のイタリアンのお店で紅茶を飲んだりします。しかしどちらも日曜日には休んでしまうので、バスに乗って仙台駅に行き、駅内のドトールでお茶します。
曜日によって翻弄されるなら、最初から年がら年中やってる仙台駅に行った方がいいのではと思ったりします。八幡にドトールがあった時は貝ケ森からバスで通っていた中年男性がいました。
今日も決めかねてカフェ難民生活が続きます。
