Did you know there’s a restaurant right near JR Soja Station where you can try Soja’s B-grade gourmet dish, Kinojo Castle Curry?
“Kinojo Castle Curry” is a chicken curry simmered in an iron pot and packed with iron.
This luxurious chicken curry, with its sweet, thick sauce and generous chunks of ingredients, has a mild flavor that appeals to everyone.
The owner’s carefully prepared, house-roasted coffee after the meal was also a revelation: “Can the way it’s brewed really make this much difference to the taste?”
Kissa Konon is also a café quietly run by the chair of the Soja City Tourism Association.
We heard all about what inspired Kissa Konon, how it got started, and even the story behind Kinojo Castle Curry.
Here we introduce Kissa Konon, a place we highly recommend for lunch or a café break around JR Soja Station.
The information presented here is as of the article’s publication in June 2019. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Kissa Konon: Enjoy B-grade gourmet food and house-roasted coffee by JR Soja Station
Kissa Konon is just a 30-second walk from JR Soja Station.
The café had its grand opening on March 14, 2019.
As mentioned at the beginning, it is a café quietly run by the chair of the Soja City Tourism Association.
The café came about after the chair, while serving in that role, heard local residents say, “The area around JR Soja Station feels a little deserted.”
Wondering what he could do to help, he decided to open “Kissa Konon” and “Itsutsu no Ki Acupuncture and Moxibustion Clinic & Oxygen Box” together with his son, who is an acupuncturist.
With “health” as one of its key themes, he is working to revitalize the area around JR Soja Station while also serving as chair of the Soja City Tourism Association.
He doesn’t make much of a public show of his role as chair of the Soja City Tourism Association, but the reason he started the café is truly wonderful.
Recommended menu items at Kissa Konon
Here are the main items on Kissa Konon’s menu. Prices are as of October 2020.
| Menu item | Price (tax included) |
|---|---|
| Blended coffee | ¥400 |
| Single-origin coffee (Mocha, Guatemala, Kilimanjaro) | ¥450 |
| Breakfast set | ¥550 |
| Soft drinks | ¥300 |
| Kinojo Castle Curry | ¥550 |
| Soba-meshi | ¥550 |
| Hamburger steak set meal | ¥700 |
Now, let’s take a look at two especially recommended B-grade gourmet items on the menu: “Kinojo Castle Curry” and “house-roasted coffee.”
“Kinojo Castle Curry,” packed with ingredients and iron
Kinojo Castle Curry is chicken curry cooked in an iron pot.
The reason for cooking it in an iron pot, we were told, is that “iron from the pot dissolves into the curry, allowing you to absorb it.”
It’s a good choice for people with anemia caused by iron deficiency.
I was surprised to learn that you can absorb iron from an iron pot.
The reason they are so particular about iron is that the ancient province of Kibi has strong ties to it.
The province of Kibi prospered through ironmaking using a technique called tatara.
The Yamato court took an interest in tatara ironmaking and sent Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto to seize the iron.
Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto is Momotaro.
In the Momotaro legend, Ura—the ogre—was actually just making iron and wasn’t a bad person at all.
The province of Kibi prospered through iron, and because Ura ruled Kibi from Kinojo Castle, they named the dish Kinojo Castle Curry.
Kinojo Castle Curry is generously filled with chunky vegetables and chicken.
The sauce is thick and sweet.
The secret ingredient behind its mellow sweetness is tuna flakes.
There is also a Kinojo Healthy Curry for those watching their carbohydrate intake.
It has less rice, but comes with plenty of finely shredded cabbage instead.
The shredded cabbage goes wonderfully with the mellow, sweet sauce of Kinojo Castle Curry!
The sauce clings nicely to the cabbage, making it just as delicious as the rice.
“House-roasted coffee,” exceptional in flavor thanks to the care taken in its preparation
After your meal, we also highly recommend trying the house-roasted coffee, prepared with great skill by the owner.
If you order a single-origin coffee (Mocha, Guatemala, or Kilimanjaro), the owner takes his time making it, starting by roasting the green coffee beans.
It was my first time watching coffee beans being roasted from start to finish.
As he shakes the pan from side to side and the beans begin to crackle like popcorn, a wonderfully rich, fragrant coffee aroma fills the air.
After letting the roasted coffee beans cool slightly, the next step is to quickly grind them in a grinder.
Then, when I tried the finished coffee, I was really surprised.
It has the deep flavor you expect from coffee as soon as it hits your mouth, but it leaves no aftertaste at all, making it light and easy to drink.
This is a coffee I’d definitely recommend to anyone who says, “I don’t like the bitter aftertaste of coffee…”
Just as freshly cooked rice tastes delicious, coffee is best when it’s freshly roasted from green beans and freshly ground.
Apparently, coffee can’t retain its flavor unless it’s brewed within 7 days of roasting, within 3 days of grinding, and within 30 minutes of brewing.
At Kissa Konon, you can enjoy the coffee’s original flavor.
If you don’t mind waiting, they can also adjust the roast to be light or dark to suit your preferences.
Freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee is easy to drink even for people who don’t usually like coffee, so be sure to give it a try.
Interview with Kissa Konon owner Makoto Sano
We spoke with Kissa Konon owner Makoto Sano.
What are Kissa Konon’s special features and what do you focus on?
Sano
“Health” is one of the key ideas we keep in mind.
Our B-grade gourmet dish, Kinojo Castle Curry, was originally called “Countryside Curry.”
Chicken is something you can include in a healthy diet, right?
When we were growing up, every household kept chickens, so chicken has been familiar to people for a long time.
That’s why we called it Countryside Curry, but when we came up with the idea of using iron, we changed the name to Kinojo Castle Curry.
Kinojo Castle Curry is chicken curry simmered in an iron pot or using an iron egg. That’s the requirement.
I hope Kinojo Castle Curry will spread as a B-grade gourmet dish from Soja.
Some people also use the oxygen box at Itsutsunoki, the oxygen box and acupuncture clinic located next door.
About Itsutsunoki, the oxygen box and acupuncture clinic next to Kissa Konon
Could you tell us about the features of Itsutsunoki’s oxygen box and acupuncture services?
Sano
We have Soja’s first oxygen box.
It can help with fatigue recovery, lack of sleep, improving concentration, hangovers, and weight loss. You can try it for 500 yen for 60 minutes, for up to three introductory sessions.
So some people try the oxygen box while they’re visiting Kissa Konon.
You can try it anytime during Kissa Konon’s business hours, so please feel free to stop by.
Looking ahead
Could you tell us about your vision for the future of Kissa Konon?
Sano
Through Kissa Konon, I’d like to make the area around JR Soja Station a lively place.
I’d like to see a few more people walking around.
In Soja, there’s a service called “Aruku Toku” where you can exchange accumulated points for gift certificates.
Anyone who lives or works in Soja City can take part, so I hope people will enjoy walking around town through services like this and that the residents will become healthier.
And I’d be happy if people used Kissa Konon as a warm, welcoming space where they can take a relaxing break.
From the Writer
Just a 30-second walk from JR Soja Station, Kissa Konon is a place where you can enjoy Soja’s B-grade gourmet food and carefully house-roasted coffee.
Created from the Soja City Tourism Association chairman’s desire to “make Soja thrive!”, it is, as its name suggests, a heartwarming place.
I was also truly impressed not only by their passion, but by their ongoing efforts, such as continuing to study coffee and improve their curry.
When you visit Soja, be sure to enjoy Kinojo Castle Curry and house-roasted coffee.
I’d be happy if even more people came to know Kissa Konon.
Photographer: Yosuke Asano (Kibi Navi)
Kissa Konon details
| Name | Kissa Konon |
|---|---|
| Address | 1-2-1 Ekimae, Soja City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 0866-94-2232 |
| Parking | Available Two parking spaces next to “Bakery Tongu.” |
| Hours | 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. |
| Closed | Tuesday Also closed on the fourth Sunday of each month |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Accepted Private bookings and business hours can be accommodated as flexibly as possible. Please inquire. |
| Seating | 13 seats total: 9 counter seats 4-seat table |
| Smoking | Completely non-smoking |
| Restroom | Western-style toilet |
| Website | Konon Sano |
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