“café BISCUIT” is the first antenna shop opened by Kajitani Foods.
Kajitani Foods’ Cigar Fry biscuits, along with Okayama Kimuraya’s Banana Roll, have been beloved as classic snacks among Okayama residents for more than half a century.
The many ways to enjoy biscuits and dips, as well as breakfast served until noon, are also appealing.
“Cigar Fry and Banana Roll are the kind of snacks you can’t help but get passionate about!”
That’s the spirit behind Café Biscuit, a cafe brimming with love for Okayama.
Even I, a writer who has lived in Okayama for more than 10 years, discovered parts of Okayama and Kurashiki I didn’t know!
The information provided was current when this article was published in May 2022. Please note that it may differ from current information.
A relaxing courtyard oasis: Café Biscuit at Kurashiki Teien
Kurashiki Teien is located along the Kurashiki River in the main area of the Bikan Historical Area.
Opened in 2014, Kurashiki Teien is a complex created by renovating traditional townhouses. The first shop at the entrance is “Café Biscuit.”
A layout of Kurashiki Teien. It is a long row of traditional townhouses.
In addition to Café Biscuit, the complex is home to the following two shops:
- Coffee shop “kobacoffee”
- Shot bar “Salon de Ric’s”
It’s a bit of a hidden gem.
Café Biscuit is Kajitani Foods’ first directly operated shop.
They also offer gift sets and presents, hoping “to introduce Kajitani biscuits to people from outside Okayama Prefecture.”
A narrow lane leading from the entrance to Kurashiki Teien.
You can see the door of Salon de Ric’s, the shot bar at the far end. What a lovely atmosphere!
A little farther in, there are terrace seats overlooking the courtyard. It’s spacious and has a lovely atmosphere.
From the courtyard, you can see a patch of open sky.
There are places like this courtyard in the Bikan Historical Area, and Kurashiki Teien is also a calm, peaceful space.
A biscuit-colored interior? Relax in retro-modern style
The entrance to Café Biscuit has sliding doors. You can feel the traces of its traditional townhouse past.
Let’s go inside Café Biscuit. There’s a counter on the right where you can order drinks and food.
The interior is unified by warm colors, giving it a cozy feel. Could it be the color of biscuits?
The gift corner is on the opposite side of the counter.
Alongside Kajitani Foods’ biscuits, you’ll find Okayama Kimuraya’s special banana cream and orange cream.
It turns out Kajitani Foods and Okayama Kimuraya are affiliated companies in the same group (their factories are next door to each other, too).
The eat-in seating is to the left as you enter. The red and white chairs are cute and retro!
Apparently, there are many tourists on weekdays, while lots of local Okayama customers also visit on weekends.
Folk crafts are displayed at the back of the eat-in area. They’re so charming and cute that I couldn’t help taking a photo.
The works displayed at Café Biscuit are available at the Japanese Folk Toy Museum and +1GALLERY.
What stood out in the shop was a row of about 10 toaster ovens.
The toasters were set up for making toast for breakfast. The idea is that customers can toast their bread in whichever toaster they like.
“Customers often ask me, ‘Are these for sale?’ but…”
said the Kajitani Foods representative. You can try out the toaster you’re curious about here.
Biscuits take center stage! Café Biscuit’s menu
Order food and drinks at the counter. Payment is made in advance.
In addition to cash, they accept electronic money (iD, QUICPay, transit IC cards, and Rakuten Edy). Major credit cards are also accepted.
A biscuit cup you can enjoy while walking around.
Kajitani Foods is best known for its Cigar Fry biscuits, but it also sells new products, such as the milk biscuits on the right.
The caramel Cigar Fry biscuits also look like a good snack to enjoy while walking around.
These are exclusive to Café Biscuit: crispy Cigar Fry biscuits coated in caramel.
Café Biscuit’s menu. Biscuits start at 120 yen (tax included), and dips at 110 yen (tax included).
For example, you can enjoy the following items for 550 yen (tax included).
| Item | Price (tax included) |
|---|---|
| Hot coffee | 320 yen |
| Biscuit | 120 yen |
| Dip | 110 yen |
With the set menu, you can choose three kinds of biscuits. It’s perfect for someone indecisive like me, who wants to try this and that…!
Breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to noon. It’s a rare find in the Bikan Historical Area, where it can be hard to find breakfast.
In fact, breakfast was how I first learned about Café Biscuit.
I wandered around the Bikan Historical Area hungry, and finally made it to this shop.
There are 10 dips to choose from, including Okayama Kimuraya’s special banana cream, orange cream, and a savory olive oil dip packed with ingredients.
The Premium Shimizu White Peach Cream is available exclusively at Cafe Biscuit and the Okayama Kimuraya store in AEON MALL Okayama. When you hear it’s exclusive, you can’t help wondering what it tastes like.
Toast set with dips, toasted in a toaster of your choice!
The morning Toast Set (590 yen, tax included). The set includes:
- Okayama Kimuraya bread (pictured: five-slice loaf; six-slice is also available)
- Two dips of your choice
- Soft drink or soup (+100 yen, tax included)
- Biscuit cup of your choice or Hiruzen Jersey yogurt
Here’s the toaster I mentioned earlier. You can actually bring it to your table and toast your bread!
The recommended toaster is made by the British company Rowlett. It’s said to toast bread just like at a hotel or restaurant. I’m really looking forward to it.
The staff will carefully explain how to use the toaster.
The dips served with the toast. I chose the classic banana cream and the exclusive Premium Shimizu White Peach Cream.
I tried three kinds of biscuits.
- Limited-edition Caramel Cigar Fry
- Light and crisp Butter Crackers
- Milk Biscuits with a subtle milky flavor
It’s nice to have something to nibble on while the toast is cooking.
Before long, the toast was ready.
It’s toasted to a lovely golden brown and looks delicious. I’m glad it’s piping hot.
The toast is fluffy inside and crisp and fragrant on the outside. It goes perfectly with the banana cream.
It was my first time trying banana cream.
It’s light and fluffy, with an indescribably delicate sweetness and a nostalgic banana aroma.
Ah, there’s no other way to describe it than “the taste of banana cream.”
At last, I’ve discovered the nostalgic taste of Okayama.
Hot sandwich set with gooey, melted cheese
This is the Hot Sandwich Set (740 yen, tax included). It comes with the same items as the Toast Set.
Choose from the following four fillings. I went with ham and cheese.
- Ham and cheese
- Bacon and egg
- Teriyaki chicken and potato with cheese
- Apple cheesecake
Okayama Kimuraya bread filled with roast ham, cheese, mayonnaise, and ketchup.
The cheese melts into a gooey delight, and the ham stands out beautifully against it.
The bread from Kimuraya is delicious too, and I polished it off in no time.
The three kinds of biscuits are:
- Cigar Fry
- Kongari Sakusaku
- Caramel Cigar Fry
Caramel Cigar Fry is subtly sweet and fragrant, and so delicious you could eat it endlessly.
I tried topping Kongari Sakusaku with Premium Shimizu White Peach Cream.
Even in one small bite, the fresh aroma of white peach fills your mouth. It’s astonishingly delicious.
“If it goes well with bread, it goes well with biscuits too.”
That’s what the staff member said, and it really does!!
A favorite Okayama snack makes a great gift! Also popular as a wedding favor
A stylish gift corner lined with products from Kajitani Foods.
Apparently, many Okayama residents recognize it as a Kajitani Foods store when they see the biscuits on the shelves.
The Okayama-style “Momotaro Package,” 900 yen (tax included).
The Momotaro Package contains these four varieties:
- Cigar Fry
- Kongari Sakusaku
- Butter Crackers
- Milk Biscuits
Especially recommended is this “White-Walled Package,” 700 yen (tax included). I once gave this White-Walled Package as a souvenir, and
“It’s cute, so Bikan Historical Area, and delicious!”
It was a big hit. The reasonable price of 700 yen (tax included) is another plus.
Okayama Kimuraya’s special banana cream, orange cream, and premium Shimizu white peach cream are also available.
The Banana Roll, a favorite of comedian Inoue from Jicho Kacho, is made with this banana cream.
Apparently, people in Okayama are divided between the banana cream camp and the orange cream camp…?
And then there’s the best-selling Cigar Fry (in a kraft paper bag), priced at 400 yen (tax included).
Cigar Fry was featured by Okayama-born comedy duo Chidori on the program “Hamachan ga!”
Downtown’s “Hamachan” (Masatoshi Hamada) reportedly raved about it, saying, “This is delicious!”
The stylish packaging is also used for wedding gifts.
Kajitani’s biscuits are enjoyed by people who have loved them since childhood and are chosen as snacks. You can feel the love Okayama residents have for Kajitani.
“A taste that never changes” is the motto: the future of Kajitani Foods
“What makes Kajitani Foods special is its familiar taste, unchanged for 60 years.”
That’s what staff member Mitsuko Ishihara told us.
Even as the times have changed, they have steadily and earnestly focused on making simple biscuits, which is surely why they have become beloved long sellers.
“It’s still important to keep sharing what we’re doing now.”
Wherever you go and whatever you do, there’s comfort in knowing that Cigar Fry is still there, unchanged.
It made me feel a little envious of the people of Okayama.
Kajitani Foods’ new venture, true to its motto of “a taste that never changes,” is Cafe Biscuit.
They now have their first directly operated shop—a place where they can see their customers—and it has apparently given Kajitani Foods a renewed sense of purpose.
Cafe Biscuit may become a place that connects people with Kajitani Foods, offering not only new ways to enjoy biscuits and new flavors, but also a new way to experience them.
Cigar Fry and banana cream are favorites of Okayama residents.
I hope that one day they, too, will become familiar, nostalgic flavors for me.
café BISCUIT (Cafe Biscuit) details
| Name | café BISCUIT (Cafe Biscuit) |
|---|---|
| Address | 5-27 Honmachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-427-5515 |
| Parking | None |
| Hours | 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. ※Hours may change, so please contact the shop for details. |
| Closed | None |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Accepted |
| Seating | 18 table seats |
| Smoking | Entirely non-smoking |
| Restroom | Western-style toilet |
| Website | café BISCUIT KURASHIKI |
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
Enter a word to search articles on this site
