![\"Made](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3013158.jpg\")
<\/a>Made with the finest ingredients, this teatime assortment goes perfectly with its relaxed surroundings. (\u00a9\u00a0Kawaguchi Y\u014dko)<\/p>\n
Soon a pot of tea and a double-decker plate stand are brought to my table. The upper plate holds a currant and raisin scone, crunchy on the outside but mouth-meltingly moist on the inside, served with clotted cream and strawberry jam, plus two pieces of cake from a selection that changes daily. The lower plate bears an assortment of sandwiches and pickles. From fresh cream to ham, the quality of the carefully selected ingredients makes the tastes on offer shine.<\/p>\n
From Requisition by the US Army to Recovery and Return<\/p>\n
Enoki-Tei\u2019s English-style house, built in 1927, was designed by architect Asaka Kichiz\u014d. The street originally had three residences built to the same design standing side by side, which reportedly made it the envy of Yamate, with the air of a genuine European residential area. Today, Enoki-Tei is the only one of the three still standing. Incidentally, Bluff No. 234, right next door, was also designed by Asaka in the same period.<\/p>\n
The wooden-framed sash windows, the converging double staircase, and the fireplace\u2014still in use!\u2014are all just as they were when the building was first erected.<\/p>\n
The building\u2019s current owners are the And\u014d family, who lived in the Yamate area before World War II, but were forced to move when the US Army requisitioned their house during the postwar occupation. Patriarch And\u014d Yoshio\u2019s long-held dream of returning to Yamate finally came true in 1969 when the building that now houses Enoki-Tei was put on the market.<\/p>\n
The previous owner was Franklin Warren, an American who acted as an attorney for Japanese defendants at the postwar Tokyo Trial.<\/p>\n
\u201cWarren was kind enough to let us keep anything we liked in the house, including some antiques that were 150 years old,\u201d says And\u014d Miho, who was in elementary school at the time. \u201cHe was of advanced age and living alone, and the yard was quite overgrown.\u201d<\/p>\n
As it turned out, the house was also the site of special memories for And\u014d\u2019s mother Chizuko. In her student years, she once served as a model for photographs taken in the garden.<\/p>\n
After taking ownership of the house, the And\u014d family breathed new life into it while carefully preserving its original form. The warmth of their life here became the fertile soil from which the caf\u00e9 would later be born.<\/p>\n
From Living Room to Caf\u00e9<\/p>\n
The impetus to open the caf\u00e9 was an event on a winter\u2019s day. Chizuko noticed two female students taking photographs and invited them into her living room to warm up. By all accounts, the two young women couldn\u2019t help exclaiming with delight over the tea and homemade cake she served.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that, my mother started talking about opening a caf\u00e9,\u201d says And\u014d with a laugh. The And\u014ds were already friendly with the English and German families who lived nearby, and Chizuko enjoyed both baking cakes for the frequent parties the circle held and offering warm hospitality when it was the And\u014ds\u2019 turn to host.<\/p>\n
And so, in 1979, Enoki-Tei opened its doors. Its core principle is to offer refreshments and hospitality with all the heartfelt care and attention one would show a friend visiting one\u2019s home. This is why the caf\u00e9 maintains rigorous quality standards for ingredients. The strong black tea, made with water of precisely the right temperature and steeped for precisely the right length of time, is another embodiment of this principle.<\/p>\n
Afterglow of the Tokyo Trial<\/p>\n
Franklin Warren, former resident of the Enoki-Tei building, is an indelible part of the caf\u00e9\u2019s history. Warren acted as attorney for Japanese defendants at the Tokyo Trial, raising a voice in protest against a country victorious in war judging the nation it had defeated. He had a deep understanding and love of Japanese culture, and remained in the country after the trials, keeping in touch with surviving families and living in this building until his final years. Toward the end of his life, his existence became quiet and solitary, led in \u201cgloomy rooms lit only by a single light bulb\u201d\u2014a far cry from the lively atmosphere at Enoki-Tei today.<\/p>\n
The antique furniture in use at Enoki-Tei includes two chairs said to have been used by judges at the Tokyo Trial. Beyond the steam rising from the teacups, the weight of history remains. At sundown, as the caf\u00e9 interior grows still, the hush that descends on the building must be profound.<\/p>\n
Preserving Her Mother\u2019s Recipes<\/p>\n And\u014d began helping her mother with the caf\u00e9 as a university student. In 2000, she became its second owner, attained certification as a tea instructor, and began serving afternoon tea worthy of an English-style building. Seasonal afternoon tea sets can be enjoyed by reservation in private rooms on the second floor.<\/p>\n In the tearoom on the ground floor, cake and coffee are also readily available. The cheesecake and certain other confections are still made to Chizuko\u2019s original recipes.<\/p>\n The cherry sauce used on the cheesecake is also mixed with cream and used as the filling in the caf\u00e9\u2019s cherry sandwich biscuits. These remain among Enoki-Tea\u2019s most popular offerings.<\/p>\n<\/a>
The lovingly preserved antique furniture enriches every moment here. (\u00a9\u00a0Kawaguchi Y\u014dko)<\/p>\n<\/a>
And\u014d Miho, second (and current) owner of Enoki-Tei. (\u00a9\u00a0Kawaguchi Y\u014dko)<\/p>\n