Interview with owner Shinoka Takuma
Yukari serves delicious food and lifts the spirits of everyone who visits.
We asked owner Shinoka Takuma about what led him to open the shop and the ideas behind it.
It began with a sudden lease agreement that astonished his family
What inspired you to open Yukari?
Shinoka (surname only)
I used to set up at markets and deliver products to Bokkee Kitei.
My younger sister is mainly in charge of developing the menu and recipes.
She lives in Tokyo, but she comes back to Tamashima for half of every month.
At the time, we were making rice flour sweets and bread, as well as bento meals using koji seasonings.
Customers gradually started asking, “Where is your shop?” and I began to feel that I wanted to open a place of my own.
I started looking for a property, but I just couldn’t find the right one…
One day, as I drove past this shop, I noticed that it looked different from usual.
I immediately contacted a real estate agent, who told me that it was going to be available for rent.
I went straight to the agent’s office and signed the lease right then and there.
I had no experience in the food service industry, and I signed the lease without even consulting my family.
My family was shocked and asked, “What are you going to do!?”
With help from my sister and several cooking instructors, we opened on July 7, 2022.
Why did you open the shop in Tamashima?
Shinoka
Because it’s my hometown.
Sometimes people I know or my homeroom teachers from school happen to visit.
It makes me so happy to see them again after all this time.
There’s a fully residential high school nearby, and students from there come in too.
I heard that one student was looking for a place serving food without wheat because their wheat allergy meant they couldn’t eat in the school cafeteria.
We want to make food everyone can eat together, whether they have allergies or not
Why do you serve dishes and sweets made with koji and rice flour?
Shinoka
I started making rice flour sweets and bread because I wanted to make something people with allergies could eat together with everyone else.
I’d heard stories about not being able to eat the same cake as everyone else on your birthday, or having to bring an onigiri from home on bread days at school.
When everyone is having fun together, it’s hard to be the only one who can’t eat the same thing.
That’s especially true for children.
As for why I use koji seasonings, koji was always familiar to me, so using it came naturally.
My mother has always liked fermented foods and koji seasonings, and often cooked with koji.
My family struggled with allergies and asthma, so perhaps she used them because they were “good for your health.”
Koji is said to have beneficial effects on gut health and immunity.
Also, I simply love the taste of koji seasonings.
They add richness to dishes and give them depth.
The secret behind Yukari’s fluffy, delicious rice flour bread
What is distinctive about rice flour bread?
Shinoka
It has a pleasantly chewy texture.
The downside is that it gets rock-hard as time passes.
If you’re not going to eat it right away, we recommend freezing it.
When you’re ready to eat it, warm it in the microwave.
Mochi gets soft when you warm it in the microwave, too.
Warming it lets you enjoy fluffy, delicious rice flour bread.
Yukari’s rice flour bread, finally perfected after many test batches
What is challenging about baking rice flour bread?
Shinoka
My sister had told me, “Rice flour bread is difficult to bake,” but when I tried it, it turned out surprisingly well.
Maybe it helped that I didn’t have any preconceived habits.
When making bread with wheat flour, you usually have to knead it firmly to develop the gluten.
That’s necessary to bake chewy bread.
But when you use rice flour, it’s difficult to bake fluffy, delicious bread.
I’d never made bread before, so I followed the recipe my sister gave me exactly.
Apparently, that was the key to success.
But my sister did a great many test batches before finalizing the recipe.
Even the absorption rate varies slightly depending on the type of flour.
The results also change depending on the flour, ingredients, and the proportions and quantities of water.
The recipe we use now is the result of repeated fine adjustments and many test batches.
I’m the one who mainly runs the shop, but it’s made possible with support from my sister and many other people.
Can customers buy rice flour bread at the shop?
We sell it at markets, and at the shop we sell frozen rice flour bread for takeaway.
My sister also holds rice flour bread-making classes in Tokyo and here at the shop.
We make our rice flour bread with natural yeast and fermented seasonings such as salted sake lees and mirin syrup.
“I loved Yukari’s rice flour bread, so I want to try making it at home.”
Some customers come to the classes saying that.
It makes me very happy.
A shop that can respond to customers’ requests
What are your plans for Yukari going forward?
I’m thinking that eventually I’d like to open a second location in Okayama City.
Some customers make the trip all the way from Okayama City,
so I’d like to open one someday to meet their requests.
It’s just something I’m thinking about for now, though.
I tend to say everything out loud (laughs).
Also, we’re currently getting ready to take orders for birthday cakes and decorated cakes.
Until now, we only took orders when my sister came back to Okayama.
A pastry chef joined our staff a little while ago.
I hope that eventually the shop staff will be able to make decorated cakes.
I want to keep responding to our customers’ requests.
Yukari, a cafe dining spot serving delicious food and good cheer
Koji seasonings and fermented foods help restore balance to the mind and body and give us energy.
What’s more, they bring out the best in the ingredients and make dishes delicious.
Koji is like magic.
Yukari offers plenty of lunches and sweets showcasing the appeal of koji seasonings.
Why not visit during the change of seasons, when people are more prone to feeling unwell?
Koji Cafe Dining Yukari details
| Name | Koji Cafe Dining Yukari |
|---|---|
| Address | 439-3 Tamashima Tsumazaki, Kurashiki City |
| Contact | 090-8606-0707 |
| Parking | Available 2 spaces beside the shop and 4 beside the building. There is also space for 3 kei cars a short walk away. |
| Hours | 11:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m. Last order at 10:00 p.m. Sunday: 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Takeout: 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. |
| Closed | Wednesday |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Accepted |
| Seating | 5 tables for two 2 tables for four 8 counter seats |
| Smoking | Entirely non-smoking |
| Restroom | Western-style toilet |
| Families with children | Children’s tableware and chairs available. Strollers welcome. |
| Accessibility | Wheelchair access available. Steps near the entrance and restroom. |
| Website | Koji Cafe Dining Yukari: Instagram |
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