[PHOTOS +VIDEO] カちゃん Exhibition at Tono Station

  Licca-chan (リカちゃん, Rika-chan) display at Tono Station! The first model was released in July 1967 by toy manufacturer Takara Co. (now Tomy Co., better known as Takara Tomy). According to her character profile, she was born on May 3 to a French father and Japanese mother. Her full name is Licca Kayama. She is …

[VIDEO] Sea Cloud: The Movie

In honor of this summer's most popular iced coffee beverage, Michael's Cafe American proudly presents Sea Cloud, the movie! (okay it's not really a movie, it's only 42 seconds long, but if you drink as much coffee as I do, 42 seconds is a long time) Our Sea Cloud Iced Latte is made with fresh whole milk from local …

[VIDEO] Cafe Sports

Exclusive footage: Michael And Rimi team up for round one of the Championship Clipboard Toss Finals. Round two, Michael tosses solo, without receiver. Let the games begin!   

[VIDEO] Fire in the Sky

This week has brought lots of guests, visitors, and distant family members to Tono, to celebrate Obon. Last night a fireworks show was held at the shores of the Hayase river. We live only two blocks from the river, so just walking down the street from our home, we were able to see it, and …

Now Available: Tono Coffee Roasters’ Sampler Package

Just in time for the August travel season, when lots of people from all over Japan come to visit, 遠野市観光協会/Tono Tourist‏ debuts this special sampler package featuring 3 local  handcraft coffee roasters, Mamehiko, Tono General Store, and our own Black Ship Coffee. Stop by the Tourist Information Center to find out more. https://www.facebook.com/tonojikan.jp/posts/1570535016426001

Grilled Chicken & Burgers at Michael’s Cafe

ITALIAN BAR ITTEMICCA and Michael's Cafe American teaming up again to offer indoor and outdoor dining, for folks arriving in Tono this week for Obon (お盆). Featuring grilled hamburgers, made with the finest Tono beef, and chicken skewers on the grill, with hot sauce. Have you tried Tomo's custom-made hot sauce? You might need a …

Updated August Calendar

Check in for more updates this August, things are changing from week to week, as we celebrate Obon (お盆) and have extended hours, and days. We're open 9 consecutive days in the middle of August! And are opening a little earlier (not shown here) so if you come in at 10:30, we can serve fresh coffee, …

Summer Break for Conversational English

August is party time in Tono, lots of festivals, travel, and family visits. So we're taking a few weeks off our regularly scheduled conversational english classes. We'll be back September 4th, the usual time!

Kanreki Rocks! Celebrating 60 at Michael’s Cafe

Why celebrate one birthday when you can celebrate two? We teamed up to combine the July birthdays of Kazuhiko Tada & Michael Dougan and threw a party.  The tradition of commemorating the 60th birthday as a special one is new to me. In the Chinese zodiac it means completing a cycle. In Japan it's called …

Sunday Afternoon Movies at Michael’s Cafe

This Sunday's movie was Mr. Baseball, a sentimental sports classic from 1992, starring Tom Selleck, Ken Takakura, Aya Takanashi, Dennis Haysbert, Toshi Shioya, Kosuke Toyohara ... (see more). A joint U.S.-Japan production, rich in cross-cultural humor, Mr. Baseball is my favorite East-West comedy.  Filming locations include Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Marchant Stadium, Lakeland, Florida, USA, Yankee Stadium - E. 161st Street & River Avenue, …

‘American Day’ in Tono

It's American Day in Tono today, July 21st. Statue of Ichiro! Thanks to Chiemi for taking and sharing snapshots from the event! We didn't get to attend, because we're at the Cafe! But we enjoyed seeing some of the attendees, like this mom and daughter. 

Conversational English Every Tuesday & Thursday

Inquire in at Michael's Cafe for more info, or just drop in on one of our Tuesday or Thursday Conversational English sessions, we welcome guests!

[VIDEO] Tono Chefs at Hotel Aeria

This week Michael's Cafe American partnered with Italian Bar Ittemicca, On-Cafe, NoTo General Store, and other Tono restaurants to serve dishes featuring our finest local ingredients to attendees of a JCI event, July 7th at Aeria Hotel. Also in attendance were dancers, lions, drummers, and other assorted traditional Japanese performers. What did we serve? Chicken …