Utsunomia Community Cafe

In Utsunomia there is a curious little noodle-shop-turned-community-cafe that hosts a different restaraunt each day. Day to Day you could would into a cheeky college coffee shop, a fair trade restaurant or ARI's open cafe. It is a beautiful opportunity for groups to share their ideals and their tastes with others.

A local business owns the building and rents it to groups for about $20 a day, the groups then take care of their cooking, advertising, and atmosphere for the day. A student group at Utsunomiya University (right down the street from the cafe) is responsible for organizing the different groups and arranging the schedule, which is a great way for students to get involved in this project.

ARI was featured today and I was able to ride along to help out. I hovered between the dish washing sink and the egg frying pan just trying to do my part to keep the flow of clean plates and sunny side ups, it was great. As with most noodle shops/ local restaurants in Japan this one had an upstairs living area and another room for hosting small parties complete with dumbwaiter to shuttle food up from the kitchen.

I think they could add to the flavor and success of this project by renting out the living space to a college student and hosting parties/meetings for college groups in the other room, maybe opening up the cafe for concerts on Saturday nights it could be classic. When I first heard about the cafe six months ago I was immediately struck by its implications and hope to hear that one of you has opened one in the States before I get back...

I hope everyone is doing well, getting enough food and meeting new people. Life is relationships and we should be friends.

Peace Love and Music

Mike