It's all about jams, desserts and cosmos...

Suo Oshima Island (or as most base inhabitants call it, Oshima) is only about 45 minutes away from base and has a number of activities, from a small, but very hands-on aquarium, camping (and cabining!), restaurants, fruit picking, beaches and more. See that tiny search box up there on the left of this page? Type in ‘Oshima’ and you’ll see all of the blog posts I’ve written about my adventures there.

Last week, I took a girls' trip (yes, I do a lot of these... it is cheaper and more fun than therapy) I actually went to three new places on Oshima, one of them you need to hurry and see because cosmos only bloom through October, and maybe the first part of November. A shout out to my friend, Carolyn, for providing the pin for this beautiful field of cosmos flowers, which is a little off the beaten path.

This sign says "Temporary Parking for Cosmos Field" and the name of the family who owns it or planted it, not sure which. Of course, I did not find this out until later, so, no we did not park here. We parked on the road.

After checking out the cosmos, we headed to Jam’s Garden, a cute local shop and café (directions). The Café is not open on Thursdays, so don’t bother trying to go that day. But, trust me, there are other places to grab a bite, one of which I’ll talk about in a minute.

Jam’s garden features handmade jams and jellies that are created on site. There are a couple dozen varieties and you can taste-test them before you buy, which I loved, because some of the Jams were more bitter than sweet and that would have been an unpleasant surprise for a sweet tooth like me!

After buying some jams for the family and to give as gifts,  we headed to lunch at CaféMisaki (directions), which has recently been renovated. They also currently have an ad in the Preview Magazine, so be sure to check that out. They are closed Monday, Tuesday and the 4th Wednesday of the month.

It also sports a gorgeous view, so if you have a small party and the weather is nice, I recommend sitting outside. The photo doesn’t do it justice, by the way.

The café’s lunch menu (yes, there is an English one) is mostly made of curry, which I am not a fan of, but I wasn’t there for lunch, anyway. I was there for dessert. 

Yes, I was there for dessert. I had been shown photos of the desserts they offer and that’s what sold me on the place. There is also an apple tart a la mode that is on the Japanese menu that I was not aware of until after the fact, so I pln to order that the next time I visit Cafe Misaki. So, since I was convinced to visit because of dessert photos, I’ll do you a solid and show you pictures, too, and conclude the blog post with those. Enjoy!