Taste of Japan: Yummy acai bowls and locomoco at Hachioji’s AINA Café

acai bowl & locomoco lunch (Photo by Luis Samayoa)

I crave eating Acai bowls and I’m always looking for a new place that does not require me to travel to Okinawa. After some recent research, I chose to hop on my bicycle at Yokota Air Base and pedal over to AINA Café in Hachioji.

The café is easy to miss on street level since it is on the third floor of a building down the street and around a corner from Hachioji Station. Look for the blue wave on a sandwich board on the sidewalk and you’ll find the right place.

Once I got inside, the music on a speaker tied to the ceiling welcomed me with Hawaiian vibes. The interior was clean, and the décor added to the island vibes of the music. It felt like I’d been transported to an island getaway. The cashier spoke English, so ordering was easy.

For my order, I chose the locomoco lunch meal and the hapa size acai bowl. Their locomoco was served in a giant bowl and was like half a salad with a scoop of salty rice, topped with a 200-gram hamburger steak and a nice fried egg.

locomoco lunch (Photo by Luis Samayoa)

My small acai bowl (Photo by Luis Samayoa)

The rice wasn’t the best but once mixed with the steak sauce and egg yolk it turned out much better than by itself. The hamburger steak was cooked well done and covered in sauce.

Though my acai bowl was small, it was a good size for sampling the first time. The acai puree is topped with granola, a few slices of banana, strawberries and blueberries. Overall, it was good. Not the best like Okinawa, but it was still delicious enough and close enough to return to get a temporary acai fix.

The music and food were a good break from riding my bike a long distance outside of my comfort zone. AINA Café seems great for families and the menu has a variety of options.

If you drive there, you’ll have to park at one of the paid parking lots in the area, or it is an easy walk from Hachioji Station if you take the train.