Overlooking the spectacular stretch of sea at Hojo stands an old-time wooden building that wouldn’t look amiss somewhere in the American mid-West. This is Betty Crocker’s, a cake house, coffee shop and restaurant, conveniently located for beach-goers and hungry drivers on the seaside route.
On the outside, Betty Crocker’s Hojo bears a passing resemblance to a certain house in Amityville, celebrated for its paranormal activity. Everything is very normal on the inside though, where the various rooms and nooks are decorated in a homely, eclectic style that might be designed to appeal to women, although I find it very agreeable myself. There are two conservatory rooms on the sea side offering picture views of the Seto Inland Sea and Kashima Island. The rest of the restaurant is a single large room, partitioned off into little corners decorated in their own style, creating a nice feeling of intimacy.
The menu offers something for everyone. Main dishes include omuraisu – an omelet filled with rice with various sauces. Also pasta, oven-baked hamburger, gratin, and a daily chef’s special. These fairly standard coffee shop offerings are all reasonably priced.
Perhaps the main attraction of Betty Crocker’s is its cakes and sweet pies, many of which feature banana, something of a rarity for cakes in Japan – there’s a banana and chocolate pie, and banana and cream pie. They also have pumpkin mont blanc pie, suggesting a generally American theme to go with the name. My family rate Betty Crocker’s cakes as a good regular option – a decent size, not too sweet, generally satisfying. You can also buy cakes to take away, either as slices or whole cakes.
I sometimes go to ‘Betty’s’ with my wife for a weekday lunch, and we like sitting in the airy conservatory, enjoying the view of the sea. You can get coffee and cake anywhere, but it does feel special to have it somewhere with a view.
Betty Crocker’s is a good option if you want to stop at the nearby Fuwari Road Station for shopping and a beach walk, but you want something a little Western to eat. From Betty’s, a walk along the sea wall in either direction offers an easy, scenic stroll.
