Shimanto Town Exploration

(This is a blog translated into English using chat GPT）

So, a while back, I wanted to go to this shop called “Enro” and I made a plan to go to Shimanto Town and visit the shop while I was there for some errands.

I live in Shimanto City, and this is Shimanto Town. Both used to have different names in the past. Shimanto City used to be called Nakamura, so sometimes people still refer to it as Nakamura. Shimanto Town seems to have been formed by merging Kubokawa, Taisho, and Towa villages. I found out about it just recently when I looked it up! It feels like Kubokawa got renamed, that’s the impression I have.

So, this shop “Enro” is located in Kubokawa. However, it’s not in the central part of Kubokawa but a little further away. It can be a bit tricky to find, so if you want to go, I highly recommend checking the “Directions” in the archive of their Instagram story. It’s very easy to understand!

At that time, they were having a Japanese tableware exhibition, and I was really passionate about collecting Japanese tableware. I went there with the mindset of finding lots of great items to buy! I was hoping to come across some Kō-Imari (Old Imari) pieces as well since I heard they had them.

One series that caught my eye at first glance was this blue one. They were quite large, so I thought they would be perfect for dinner parties and such. However, when I looked at the price, it was a bit higher than I expected, so I hesitated to buy them. (I remember the large plates being around 20,000 yen) In the end, I didn’t purchase them.

But the layout and presentation were really lovely. When you see the whole setup from this perspective, you’ll want to have everything. It was such a beautiful space.

Then, the one that I deliberated on until the end was this cut glass series. The prices weren’t as concerning, so I debated whether to buy the whole set. However, I realized that I don’t have any storage left in my house! That became the deciding factor, and I gave up. But now I regret not buying them.

By the way, the shop is more spacious towards the back, and on the other side, there were many interesting things like old furniture and toys. It felt like there would be a lot of things you’d find in Sanbara’s grandpa’s warehouse, so when it’s time to get rid of everything, I should have them come here for appraisal!

Oh, by the way! It’s not in Shimanto Town at all, but there’s this shop called “MIRA” that I recently discovered in Kochi City. It’s a place where you can enjoy European spirits and Asian-French cuisine. Looking at their Instagram, the taste and presentation of their dishes are varied and absolutely my style. I really want to go there. The atmosphere of the shop is also incredibly lovely.

Then, one day while I was looking at their logo, I felt like the taste was similar to “Enro.” So, I did a little research and found out that it’s actually by the same illustrator, Tomiki Iwasa! Just as I suspected! Moreover, this person has also illustrated the posters for Village, which anyone in Kochi must have seen.

I love all of Tomiki-san’s illustrations! I’m really bad at drawing, so I envy people who have that artistic talent.
Enro is fantastic. MIRA is fantastic. Tomiki-san is fantastic. I just love these connections.

I’m going on another exploration in Shimanto Town on Thursday, so I’ll visit Enro again and check out everything!