The clouds had parted and the sun was shining. Chloe’s flu quarantine had been lifted and we got the thumbs up to hit the streets. With it being a sunny and crisp 49 degrees, we figured the best place to start our day was to go out for breakfast.
One of my requests for this trip was to experience eating out for breakfast. Other than having breakfast at the hot springs (which doesn’t count as a normal breakfast), I’ve never eaten out for breakfast in Japan. I didn’t want anything fancy or special, just something typical, and that’s exactly what we got.
We went to a family restaurant called Jonathan’s. It’s a chain restaurant pretty similar to Denny’s or any other place like that. I was tempted to order the “Japanese set,” with rice, salmon, miso soup, and pickled vegetables, but I opted for one of the egg specials instead. Two eggs scrambled, one mini sausage, one mini bacon, two mini hashbrown patties, and a small salad. Salad seems to be a breakfast staple here. At first I thought it was just something Aya’s mom did, as she includes salad every morning at breakfast. But seeing it with all of the breakfast specials on the menu it seemed like a real thing. Oh, and my breakfast came with a giant piece of toast. It was an inch and a half (3.75cm) thick and the size of a dance floor.
I LOVE plain white Japanese bread. It doesn’t look like much, but when lightly toasted with a little bit of butter, it’s amazing. My friend from college introduced it to me for the first time and I’ve loved it ever since. And everyone I’ve introduced it to since loves it as well. If you’re lucky enough to live close to a Japanese bakery, I highly recommend getting a loaf.
The kids ordered pancakes which included a little tube of chocolate sauce to draw pictures on them. That combined with a little whipped cream and a tiny flag, the girls couldn’t have been happier.
After looking over the menu and seeing what was served, I think I know why we don’t go out for breakfast when we visit. It’s really no different or no better than what Aya’s mom prepares every day. But I think we all liked being out and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
All of our sets came with the “drink bar.” After we each had three cups of coffee and the girls drank their weight in orange juice, we were ready to continue our day NOT cooped up in the apartment.
