Horseshoe Cafe

06/09/2026

A refreshing treat: Espresso Granita over Whipped Cream and Coffee Jelly (yes, it’s like coffee jello!). Perfect for a muggy rainy day pick-me-up at our favorite cafe, made by our favorite people ❤️❤️

04/16/2026

I love the taste of Kinkan. I use the rind when making Daikon pickles. There was an abundance at my Mother-In-Law’s house this year. I decided to make Kinkan Marmalade spiced with Star Anise… and knew right away it would make a delicious Handpie! We celebrate one year living in our house here in Japan. Life is good.

04/03/2026

Sakura Scenes from our daily walking route. We are blessed to have a really special cherry blossom season, it’s been great weather for them. We are off the beaten path a bit but families still come and hang out under the trees, photographers stop and stroll along the river. It’s nice to see. They are at about 90% full bloom, now we’ll get to enjoy the petal showers as they start to come down. Kids are in spring break now too, what great timing. This season always reminds me of our first visits together to Kumamoto, we usually managed to catch a bit of Sakura. There is even a Sakura Forecast on the news everyday. One of this things I like most about it is there is no real monetization of Sakura- they are planted in many public spaces and everyone can enjoy them. -Sarah

02/24/2026

Mmmmmm.. what toast would you make with a loaf of sourdough levain? I’ve been making these every other day- made with local wheat- we found Kumamoto roasted wheat which adds really delightful flavor- good ol’ from Horseshoe still going strong..

01/26/2026

Today, we finally made a Hatsumoude trip to a local historic shrine, Hikotake-Gu. First drove a car on a narrow, winding road to a half way up the mountain and then hiked to the top where the jou-gu upper shrine sits. This Shinto shrine was established by Keikou Emperor 1900 plus years ago. Izanagi & Izanami, a father/mother gods that created all other Shinto gods including Japan’s official Amaterasu goddess, are worshipped there. Under the cold, brisk weather, we had a silent, serene, peaceful time for a prayer. Time was stopped. As if reserved just for us, no one was around but singing birds and a beautiful scenery. Keep the light, everyone. We wish you all a wonderful brand new year!

12/27/2025

A day after Christmas, we were greeted with the first snow of the season. In the chilly morning, our friends, Mika and Futoshi, of stopped by to give us freshly made mochi for the new year celebration. They were made from the mochi rice they harvested from their own field. How lucky we are! Thank you, everyone, for another great year. Happy New Year to you all in Japan and the U.S.!

12/25/2025

Wishing you all very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Yamaga, Kumamoto!

09/20/2025

Visited a fabric store in Yamaga today- wasn’t prepared for all the beautiful made-in-Japan natural fiber fabrics they had. This one could have been the Horseshoe Menu 😂😂 I was overwhelmed by the possibilities!

05/23/2025

Nice melons! They are in season here in Kumamoto. We stopped by a local Michi-no-eki (roadside station-rest area meets farmers market meets local food court) to pick up some veggies and found these beauties. They are all labeled with their Brix (sugar content) so you know how sweet they are, and priced according to size and quality. We’ve all heard of the $150 melons in Japan- these ranged from around $12 USD to $30 USD for some of the huge ones. They all look so perfect. I had just bought 1/4 of a melon at the grocery store, so I’ll be back for one of these babies soon. We eat a lot more fruit and veg here- it’s available everywhere you go, a lot of convenience stores sell local produce. It’s also packaged in manageable sizes, so you can get just what you need. It tends not to spoil fast either. I generally avoid eggplant but I like the Japanese ones so much I have started growing them in my garden! Living in the countryside, I don’t think a week has gone by without a neighbor dropping off some extra from their harvest. It’s pretty great here.

05/20/2025

We enjoyed many arternoon chats with Alex at Horseshoe Cafe- he was definitely one of our regulars and we are sharing this to help him get the support he needs right now. Please share, donate if you can, and send your best thoughts and prayers to Alex to help him at this time. Thank you all, the community that evolved around our cafe is the best!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-alex-heal-from-a-serious-illness?utm_campaign=natman_sharesheet_dash&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwQ0xDSwKZLNFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHlJ2joTcvqdqzNGe12g2HqXvddGF3AtAWnQnEBK8Cguk7GpIKhMDZbS0WIKz_aem_ov_zuXU4bw8FgHkutabgDQ

Hello friends, I’m Alex Rentumis. About a year ago I was diagnosed with stage 4… Alexander Rentumis needs your support for Help Alex Heal from Serious Illness