At Taiyo Terrace restaurant, the sunlight shines through the windows, giving the white-tiled interior a refreshing atmosphere. In this setting, customers are greeted by the beaming smile of Akiko Kajihara, the owner whose restaurant's name literally means "sun terrace."
Kajihara, 32, has enjoyed cooking since she was a child. After graduating from a culinary school, she trained for about 10 years in Tokyo and elsewhere at Italian and other restaurants.
Last November, she opened the restaurant in her native Yamanashi Prefecture town of Fuji-Kawaguchiko, a few minutes' walk from Kawaguchiko Station on the Fujikyu Railway.
Kajihara loves Italian cuisine so much that she has traveled to Italy to enjoy its food.
"The Japanese have a different physical constitution from those of foreigners," she said, "so, I want to make my restaurant a place that serves food that is easy on the body and encourages customers to feel like coming daily."
The restaurant only serves three main items: set meals with meat or fish, and curry with rice.
On the day of my visit, I ordered a set meal with fish (1,250 yen before tax). It featured pesticide-free brown rice harvested at the foot of the Yatsugatake mountain range that straddles the border of Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures. Since brown rice usually remains a bit hard even when cooked, Kajihara doesn't use an electric rice cooker but a pot so she can cook the rice for a long time to make it soft.
The set featured grilled miso-marinated mackerel. It also came with miso soup and seven small side dishes, such as simmered yugao gourds, potatoes stewed in cream and eggplants in balsamic vinegar. Nutritionally balanced, the meal was satisfying despite the small servings of each dish.
Another recommendation is the beef tendon curry with rice served with a salad for 980 yen. The curry is prepared with seven kinds of spices, including cumin and turmeric. Simmered for more than two hours, the meat melts in the mouth. Onion is the only other main ingredient. The roux is made with plenty of whole tomatoes for a refreshingly tangy flavor.
"I enjoy cooking so much that every day passes too fast," Kajihara said. "I want to keep on serving meals that can help people become healthier from the inside."
Taiyo Terrace
Open: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (last orders); 6 to 9 p.m. (last orders)
Closed: Irregularly. Check www.facebook.
com/taiyo.terrace
Address: 3681-2 Funatsu, Fuji-Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture
Phone: (070) 3628-5819
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
