Probably the most well-known area for the production of peaches is Okayama prefecture.
However, Itano town, a quiet countryside area of northern Tokushima, is also a peach-growing district.
And this cafe run next to a peach garden and where you can taste various kinds of peach sweets opened in summer 2018!

Various peach-filled sweets are waiting for you!

The size of the “Peach Tart” (540 yen) is pretty big, with a diameter of about 10cm, and its decoration of peach compote and jam with whip cream is so gorgeous.
“Chiffon cake with peach jam sauce” (seen behind the tart) is 486 yen.

These are the “no-bake peach cheesecake” and the “Peach Jewel” (518 yen each).
The no-bake cheesecake with peach compote tastes good with its mild sweetness and sourness.
The “Jewel” is a unique sweet with peach jelly made with konnyaku (a jelly-like food made from the starch of devil’s tongue) topped with whipped cream and peach-flavored soft ice cream.

My highest recommendation is this, the “Peach Pizza” (540 yen)!
Maybe you are surprised at this rare combination of peaches and pizza, however, this chemistry is really great!
The combination is very simple, peach compote with whipped cream on a crispy crust.
But the sweetness of peach and cream goes well with the mild salty crust!
The size is about 15cm of diameter, but I believe you can finish it by yourself quickly (because I certainly did).

The lunch is available during the off-season.

The atmosphere of the cafe is natural, just like the atmosphere of this area surrounded by nature.
You can enjoy peach sweets and also lunch (1,080 yen each, with a cup of soup and salad, until 14:00) from September to June of the next year, which is the off-season for picking peaches.
The main lunch course can be chosen from several kinds of pasta and pizza with rich variations.

Try a “honey pizza with peaches and mozzarella cheese”!
You will be surprised by this tremendous collaboration between the mild sweetness of peaches with honey and the saltiness of cheese and pizza crust.

This is a fusion dish of Japanese and western-style; “pasta with home-made ume-katsuo (pickled plum with bonito), chicken, and mushrooms.”
A kind of home-made seasoning, “ume-katsuo” is made from pickled plums (one of the traditional Japanese pickles), perilla leaves, bonito, and beet sugar.
This “ume-katsuo” is also available in bottle, and is actually a very popular product after the peach jam, from among all the products of the peach garden.
This one is very compatible with pasta, so I would encourage you to try this dish as well.

A cafe full of love for peaches

The owner of the cafe, Ms. Hitomi Nishimori, was born and raised on this peach farm of Itano town.
“It was common for me to eat very fresh peaches during the picking season,” Ms. Nishimori says.

Overripe peaches, which cannot be sold at the market, are usually abandoned – and she wanted to do something about this situation.
So, she started a business making jams from these fully ripened peaches and selling them in 2008.
She also opened the peach garden so that people could experience picking and tasting peaches during picking season.
And finally, she opened this cafe in 2018!

You can buy bottles of various kinds of jam, such as peach, fig, and even sudachi citrus, (which is the specialty of Tokushima) at the cafe.

But, the most important thing is that this cafe specializes in providing sweets using only fresh peaches between July and mid-August, the picking season!

On a special note, just look at this gorgeous and Instagrammable one, the “premium peach parfait” (1250 yen)!
As you can see, a whole big, fresh peach is used and topped on a layer of peach jelly, Panna cotta, and peach puree.
The peach with its peel still on is the evidence of its freshness, and only a peach farmer can do this.
So, do not forget that summer is the best season for fresh peaches, and go to “p-chyna cafe”!
 

*Due to a recent shortage of peach, the cafe will be closed in June of 2019. Should the stock run out before that time, there is a chance that the cafe will be closed starting some time in May of 2019. Please check the website or call the cafe if you hope to visit during this time.

Photographs and text by Yuuki Bando