Rider’s Cafe. I ride my Zephyr 550 from time to time. I visited Kozu Coffee (香豆珈琲) in Kanaya, Futtsu City.

I’m constantly on patrol for great lunch spots and cafes you can reach by bike.
Futtsu is quite a distance from Mobara, I’ll admit.

When the weather and climate are nice, country living makes it easy to hop on a bike whenever you want.
When I want to go, I just go.

Kozu Coffee | coffee & tarte tatin

Part highway, then local roads the rest of the way

I use the Kensetsudo Expressway from Ichihara Tsurumae to Kisarazu East, then take local roads the rest of the way.
That way it only costs around 360 yen to get to Futtsu.

Turn right at Muji Minna Mina no Sato. That’s about the only turn you need to make. Straight roads through Chiba are surprisingly convenient.
Round trip takes 3 hours, plus 0.5 to 1 hour at the cafe, so it does eat up quite a bit of time.

May 10th, the final day of Golden Week. There were more cars than usual, but I made it to my destination without any issues.

A trap for first-timers. Kozu Coffee | coffee & tarte tatin

The shop is tucked away in a dead-end alley, so you shouldn’t drive a car all the way to the front.
You’ll probably get stuck.

This is the dedicated parking lot shown on the map.
In the more natural areas of Chiba, it’s safe to say about 90% of parking areas are gravel.
If you park where the cars go, your bike could get knocked over, so I parked mine behind the white shed on the left.
That’s not ideal for high-end bikes.

You can park a bike right in front of the shop, so that’s definitely the better option.

Kozu Coffee – kou’s coffee

Before you visit, definitely check it out on Google Maps first.
It’s easy to get lost.

A 130-year-old farmhouse, fully renovated—what an amazing aura it has

A place like this is really nice.
The atmosphere and character are just wonderful (*´ω｀*)

I came today determined to eat that pudding no matter what.
But then…

SOO GYUU COFFEE

SOO GYUU COFFEE

Oh? It turned out that a former staff member, Soo Gyuu Coffee, was doing a one-day pop-up here today.

Ah… the pudding…
Well, since I came all this way, I’ll have some coffee.

The coffee is so beautiful and aromatic—it’s absolutely wonderful.

I played it safe and ordered a blend, but… it’s aromatic and delicious.
They carefully blend the beans themselves.

I need to buy some beans to take home.

Instead of pudding, I ordered coffee jelly.

The presentation is stunning, but the ice on top was a bit tricky to eat.
It was fantastic—a wonderful coffee jelly!

One shot at Kanaya Port

Chiba is such a wonderful place where you can go anywhere so easily.

The low traffic and fewer people are really nice.
There are also quite a few restaurants and cafes tucked away in quieter spots.
I really relate to the style of working in the countryside at a relaxed pace,
doing what you love in an environment where you can manage your own workload.

If I had more time, I’d like to take the ferry across to Hayama and visit FELICITY COFFEE ROASTERS | Specialty Coffee
sometime.

In recent years, coffee shops have become much more approachable.
More people are friendly and welcoming.

So I’ve found another place I want to visit again!
Fair warning: it gets pretty packed on weekends when they’re open…