La Monstera - For a Great Omurice Lunch

**CLOSED**
(There is a restaurant oriented towards natural foods in its place. It's open for breakfast, too.)

I should probably start with the obvious question: What is omurice?

According to Wikipedia, omurice is

an omelet made with fried rice and usually topped with ketchup.

Hmm. I'm not sure that does this melty, fluffy egg and tomato-and-demi-glace sauce justice, so here's a photo:

Omurice

It's a pretty popular Western-Japanese dish, and for just under 1,000 yen and just minutes south of the airport, the omurice served at La Monstera Cafe could be easily be your first or last lunch in Yakushima. Either way, the light, cheery atmosphere and seating limited to four small tables assures you a relaxed dining experience. I tagged on a mini baked custard for desert and my taste buds were singing for the rest of the day. La Monstera (named after the plant, I assume) also serves a few other dishes, or you can drop in for coffee before catching a flight, but I'm pretty sure most of the locals come for the omurice!

A light and cheery, yet cozy and intimate atmosphere.

This is a monstera plant, but
note that the sign for La Monstera
restaurant is in Japanese:
ラ・モンステラ.

Location: A few minutes south of the airport, near the Hayasaki (早崎) bus stop　in the back of a small cluster of shops on the ocean-side of the road. (30.3746,130.6648)
Hours: 11:30am to 4pm. Open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday ONLY*

*Hours are subject to change, so please call the restaurant or check ahead.