HIROSHIMA -- Until she traveled to more than 70 countries, Sanae Mizushima never thought she would open a cafe, but she's done just that with Akai Harinezumi (Red hedgehog) situated near Hiroshima Station.
The inviting smells of food from various countries cooked using spices and herbs waft in the air at the cafe with a red hedgehog painted on the front.
Mizushima, 38, loves eating and traveling overseas, and it ultimately led her to open a cafe that connects Japan with food cultures from abroad.
From Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Mizushima worked at a hospital in Onomichi in the prefecture as a physical therapist after graduating from high school and medical vocational school. On her days off from the hospital, she would travel abroad.
Five years after working at the hospital, she quit and began training at a bakery in Germany for a year.
As Germany is an country of immigrants, many of her colleagues at the bakery were of Turkish and Arab descent, and they were all proud of their own food cultures. Mizushima was moved by the taste of a Turkish lentil soup as she was invited to one of her colleagues' homes. The soup is simple and delicious with tomato paste and chopped onions.
Mizushima resumed working in the medical field in Tokyo after returning to Japan. However, she began to think more about a new way of life as she worked with cancer patients and those with intractable diseases.
Her desire grew stronger after experiencing the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Her colleague from Fukushima Prefecture lost a house in the disaster, and she saw the devastation on TV.
These experiences helped Mizushima realize that life is unpredictable and prompted her to do what she wanted to do with her life.
Thus, she traveled. Mizushima traveled around the world to Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and South America.
She visited the homes of local people and restaurants not listed in guidebooks, whereby she immersed herself in the food culture of various countries.
"Every food has its own background," she said. "If you trace back the history of the various foods, you sometimes find some countries were once the same country or belonged to the same cultural sphere.
"The appeal of food is that anyone can appreciate delicious food regardless of race, religion or ideology."
In Turkey, Mizushima stayed in the home of an Iranian political refugee. There, she cooked nikujaga simmered meat and potatoes to show her gratitude for the bread the refugee bought for her. The refugee ate the simmered dish with relish. It was cold at night, and they slept in the same room. After experiencing the kindness of the refugee, she felt ashamed of the prejudice she had against refugees -- she initially thought something of hers might be stolen by the refugee.
Travel to Austria inspired Mizushima to open her cafe. To find someone who would teach her about local homemade food, Mizushima posted a message on a website that links tourists and locals in various countries. She got a message from a woman in her 50s, saying, "Come to my home to eat."
There, she ate Sachertorte, a chocolate cake from the country, and learned the recipe handed down in the woman's family for generations. Mizushima thought she shouldn't be the only one to enjoy this cake and wanted to share it with others in Japan.
The cafe helped to embody the idea, and hers was named after her favorite cafe in Austria.
With her travel experiences as an asset, she has served 40 to 50 different breakfasts from about 30 countries, including Israel, Costa Rica and Sri Lanka, since opening of the cafe.
Her menu focuses on breakfast as breakfasts reflect the traditions of each country, like cooked rice and miso soup for Japan.
Although the cafe now only serves sandwiches because of the coronavirus pandemic, the menu still carries international notes and flavors.
"People come to Hiroshima from all over the world to learn about the city, so we also want to try to learn about other countries, too," Mizushima said.
She serves food with the belief that food connects people. She hopes her cafe will help customers feel closer to other countries.
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