I departed Tokyo in the morning on the Tohoku Shinkansen and arrived at Shin-Hanamaki station in the afternoon. I rented a small car at Shin-Hanamaki station, and enjoyed driving for about an hour to Tono. Tono is famous for Tono-Monogatari (Legends of Tono), which is a Japanese folktale. My smartphone informed me about the the traffic information I needed. I parked my car and entered a café called Non-No at Tono JR (Japan Railway) station for lunch. I was surprised by the outfit the café master was wearing. He was dressed in a Kappa-like costume. He smiled like a Kappa, talked like a Kappa and moved like a Kappa. I looked around to see the menu listed on the wall and ordered a Kappa-ccino. Kappa (a river imp) is one of the Yokai (moster) characters in the Legends of Tono.
I left Kappa café to visit Kappa-Buci, the water stream where Kappa is said to be alive. The town of Tono in Iwate is located in the northern Honshu Island in the coastal area. Tono is surrounded by mountains and is full of warm hearted people.
For your information :
Name of cafe : Non-no located in front of Tono JR Station
Travel agent for Farmers stay in Tono : Tono Natural Life Network
http://www.tonotv.com/members/yamasatonet/PDF/English-npo.pdf
Contact : kuwahata.yamasatonet@gmail.com
Related link:
http://www.tonojikan.jp/Several_languages/english/english.html
https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/spot/histtown/tono.html
Kappa-ccino
Cappu-ccino featured Kappa tasted at Tono, Iwate, Japan