There’s a reason these are some of the best sandwiches you’ll find in Japan.

One of the best things about travelling to different regions in Japan is discovering the hidden eateries loved by locals that tourists are yet to discover, where you can enjoy hearty meals at good prices, making for an experience you’ll cherish forever.

If you’re in Nagasaki and want to eat fruit sandwiches like a local, then our Japanese-language reporter, Mariko Ohanabatake has a secret place she’d like to share with you: Cafe & Bar Umino.

▼ ウミノ (“Umino”)

Born and bred in Nagasaki, Mariko knows all the good places tourists from outside the prefecture don’t. Umino is a long-established coffee shop that used to have two locations in the busy Hamanomachi Arcade, but it’s become so popular it now has a third sit-down branch, on the fifth floor of Amu Plaza Nagasaki at Nagasaki Station.

While this location is relatively new, with a stylish, modern interior, it still retains the retro look of the long-established coffeehouse.

While many locals like to stop here for coffee and cake, the specialty is actually their milkshake, with a large signboard at the front drawing it to everyone’s attention.

Whenever Mariko visits Nagasaki, though, she skips the cake and milkshake and always orders one thing here — the fruit sandwich set.

▼ On this occasion, she ordered the “Half Sandwich Set” for 1,000 yen (US$6.48)

This set includes three fruit sandwiches, a drink and a salad. Though the sandwiches might seem small compared to others on the market, they’re actually large in volume and surprisingly filling.

The fruit inside varies slightly depending on the season, and winter to spring is especially special, as it’s the only time you get strawberries in the filling. At other times of the year, melons and mangoes may be included in place of strawberries, but whatever time of the year you visit, you’re sure to receive delicious seasonal fruits as that’s something this cafe prides itself upon.

With so many stores and cafes selling fruit sandwiches in Japan, what makes these so special? According to Mariko, these sandwiches truly are one-of-a-kind, and there’s one reason for it.

▼ The delicious cream.

Mariko describes the cream as out of this world, as it adds just enough sweetness to the tartness of the fruit and saltiness of the bread to create an exquisite harmony of flavours that outshines any other fruit sandwich she’s ever eaten. As fruit sandwiches are often made by specialty fruit stores, they tend to use cream that’s slightly less sweet to bring out the sweetness of the fruit, but at Umino, they concentrate on bringing out the sweetness of the cream to its fullest, giving the entire sandwich a truly addictive flavour.

▼ A unique taste that’s sweeter and creamier than its counterparts.

Mariko suspects powdered sugar is added to the cream to give it its divine sweetness, but when she asked staff about the ingredients used, they told her their cream was “a trade secret“. Staff seemed well aware that their cream is what brings customers back time and time again, as it really does have a unique sweet cream flavour that’s unlike anywhere else.

If you’re not in the mood for fruit sandwiches, though, Umino has many other delicious dishes on the menu, including egg sandwiches…

▼…and a strawberry cake called “Candle”, which is only available in winter and made from the same cream as the fruit sandwiches.

Though Mariko has tried these other dishes, she always finds herself ordering a fruit sandwich because they’re truly that good.

▼ When she visited this month, she got a chance to try the special limited-time strawberry fruit sandwiches, which were dreamy.

▼ You can also order half-a-dozen full-size fruit sandwiches for 1,000 yen, which makes for a very filling meal.

For Mariko, no other fruit sandwich in Tokyo, not even these wildly popular jaw-dropping varieties, compares to the ones served up at Umino in Nagasaki. It’s one of many ways people in Nagasaki do things differently to the rest of Japan!

Restaurant information
Cafe & Bar Umino / カフェ＆バー　ウミノ
Address: Nagasaki-ken, Nagasaki-shi, Onoecho 1-1, Amu Plaza Nagasaki 5F
長崎県長崎市尾上町1-1　アミュプラザ長崎5F
Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (last order 9:15 p.m.)

Related: Amu Plaza Nagasaki, Hot Pepper
Photos © SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]