Café Patrie opens in Ijuin, featuring books, antiques, lunch sets with homemade desserts

PUBLISHED Feb 2, 2023

Inside Patrie

It has been a month since Patrie, a café with books and antiques, opened in Ijuin, Hioki City.

The café had been operating in Higashitaniyama, Kagoshima City, until last August and opened in its current location on December 20. Norie Fukumori, the owner, moved to Hioki City in April 2021, wishing to live in the countryside. She also decided to relocate her business to a new location, worked on interior design, and opened it last December along Route 206. “Patrie” means “homeland” in French.

The café has an area of approximately 60 square meters. Fukumori did most of the DIY work on the interior and asked people to help her decorate the walls via social media. Fukumori is also an antique collector, and the store is dotted with antiques, primarily Japanese antiques, that she has collected for over 30 years. Fukumori says, “I have sprinkled a nostalgic atmosphere here and there.” There are also bookshelves throughout the café so single customers can spend a leisurely time reading a book. It has 14 seats, including table and counter seating.

For lunchtime, the café offers Lunch of the Month (1,650 yen), which changes monthly. It includes a main dish, side dishes, rice, miso soup, salad, dessert, and a drink. All desserts are homemade, and there are three to four to choose from. For the regular menu, Chashu-don Set (1,600 yen), with braised pork belly, is also available. “I use antique dishes from the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras to serve food, so please enjoy the dishes as well,” says Fukumori.

Fukumori added: “I want to offer delicious food so Patrie can become a second spiritual home for people. I hope my customers will feel relaxed and comfortable as if they have come home to where they grew up.”

Opening hours: 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays (Lunch is served until 2 p.m.). The café is temporarily closed on February 3. Parking is available for three cars in front of the café and ten in the second parking lot.

  • Inside Patrie

  • Inside Patrie decorated with antiques

  • Monthly Lunch Set from Patrie

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