A Fantasy for Time Alone / Monthly JIYUCHO Letter vol.65
Once a month, JIYUCHO sends out our newsletter, the Monthly JIYUCHO Letter.
Yamamoto, manager of JIYUCHO and FUTO, shares poems we recommend that month, information about upcoming events, and little scenes from JIYUCHO that may make you smile.
Below is the newsletter sent on May 31, 2026.
We hope you will enjoy reading it. If you would like to subscribe, you can do so from the bottom of the JIYUCHO homepage.
Greetings from the manager of JIYUCHO and FUTO
Good evening. This is Yamamoto, manager of JIYUCHO and FUTO. Thank you for everything through the month of May.
In an ordinary year, June would make us say, the rainy season is here. Recently, though, rather than signs of rainy season, we seem to be feeling signs of summer. I wonder what kind of June this year will bring.
Before a new month begins, perhaps you might tell yourself, good work this month, or imagine, next month there may be something like this to look forward to. I would be very happy if this Monthly JIYUCHO Letter could accompany you for such a time.
This email is sent to those who requested to subscribe to the Monthly JIYUCHO Letter in our shop or on our website.
Podcast JIYUCHO FM: Small surprises, small joys / Worries and thoughts from JIYUCHO's manager and owner
In this episode of JIYUCHO FM, the owner and manager talked about the small surprises and small joys that appear in daily life. They spoke about the kind of discoveries that are easy to overlook, yet can quietly change the color of a day.
When we make a little room in our minds, even ordinary scenes can begin to feel fresh. A word someone says, a sound heard on the way home, or a small change in the air can become a starting point for thought.
Please listen when you would like a gentle companion for your own time alone.
June opening schedule
Even when we say that you write a letter to the future, you may not be thinking only about the future. Of course, there may be moments when you imagine what kind of future you hope for. But I also feel that you may turn toward what is inside your heart now, or toward nostalgic memories from some day in the past.
When you visit, we hope you will also enjoy time like that: stepping away from daily life for a while and traveling freely through your memories and imagination.
On Monday, June 1, both JIYUCHO and FUTO will be closed. On all other days, we will open as usual.
Regular opening hours
JIYUCHO
Weekdays: 13:00-18:00
Weekends and holidays: 10:00-20:00
Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays, open when they fall on holidays.
FUTO
Weekdays: 13:00-18:00
Weekends and holidays: 10:00-20:00
Closed: Tuesdays, open when they fall on holidays.
JIYUCHO and FUTO use dynamic pricing, so prices vary depending on the time of day. Visits before 11:00 are less expensive than peak hours and are usually less crowded. If your schedule allows, please consider coming early.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Availability for FUTO and JIYUCHO can be checked from the reservation pages.
A flower gift wrapped in Ichirin Housoushi
At JIYUCHO and FUTO, if you make a reservation in advance, we can prepare a single flower at your seat.
We have now renewed the wrapping for that flower.
What kind of flower would suit that person? What color would make them happy?
We wanted to wrap not only the flower, but also the time and feelings spent thinking of someone in that way. So we created original wrapping paper named Ichirin Housoushi, and we seal it with a sealing stamp before handing it to you.
Please try it as a gift for someone important, or as a present for yourself.
You can read more from the related article.
One year has passed so quickly: we released live footage from JIYUCHO Otobanchi vol.3
We have released live footage on YouTube from the acoustic live series Otobanchi vol.3, showmore with ZIN and Shuhei Ito, held at FUTO last June.
On the day of the concert, there were moments when everyone in the venue clapped along and sang together. This time, from among those performances, we have released two songs that allow you to slowly enjoy the beauty of the instruments and voices.
The video above is unitbath. It begins with singing that feels as if words are being spoken one by one, accompanied by the quiet tones of cello and piano. The song gradually gathers heat, the sounds overlap, and a world seems to rise up. Please give it a listen.
We have also published a photo-filled report covering the rehearsal and the performance. Please take a look at that too.
You can read the live report and watch the live footage from the linked articles.
A recommended poem in place of closing words
This month, we have shared many different announcements. Thank you for reading to the end.
When choosing a single flower while thinking of someone, or when receiving poetic words carried by music, perhaps we are freely imagining, finding our own answers or not quite finding them, and enjoying the time itself.
So this time, I would like to introduce a poem that seems to invite us back into the joy of imagination and into a world we may have almost forgotten.
How did it feel?
Reading the poem introduced this time, I found myself feeling that when we were children, worlds of imagination and fantasy were much closer to us.
Even now as adults, though, perhaps we are living while enjoying many different kinds of imagination more than we realize. We may no longer often set out on adventures wearing swords and cloaks, but we think of someone, remember nostalgic memories, and imagine the future.
Because that imagination exists, we can place our feelings into a single flower, or find a story that belongs only to us inside music.
If that is true, perhaps it would be good to imagine a little more freely, as we did when we were children. To step once more into a world of adventure from some day long ago, or to find a small magic inside the everyday scene before us.
I think it would be wonderful to remain adults who can live together with fantasy in that way.
What did you think?
Koyama has written many poems and essays over the years. For rainy day time alone, or as a companion for daydreaming, please read some of his past works too.
Thank you for your work this month. May next month be comfortable for you.
Bonus words of the month
You have to get properly full. Taste your honest feelings and your days.
Words, or perhaps strange words, from a JIYUCHO member
Many of the members of JIYUCHO love eating. Wait, this opening is exactly the same as last month.
One day, owner Koyama took those hungry members to a very delicious bulgogi restaurant. This is a scene from that cheerful meal.
Koyama said, Whew, I am starting to get full. Now, Kimi-chan, who loves eating so much, how are you doing? Are you all right?
Staff member Kimi-chan answered, Yes, but I can still eat plenty.
Koyama replied, What? Really? Then order more. You cannot eat such a delicious meal and then end up eating cup noodles alone at the end.
Kimi-chan, a little shaken, said, What? Oh no, what should I do?
Koyama said, For now, you should get a full serving of cold noodles to finish, not a half serving.
Kimi-chan answered, Yes, I will.
Koyama continued, Honestly, do not just casually eat the same amount as everyone else. You have to get properly full. Taste your honest feelings and your days.
Everyone burst out laughing.
The brand concept of JIYUCHO is to taste your honest feelings and your days, but I never imagined the day would come when that idea would be used in a bulgogi restaurant to mean, eat until you are full.
By the way, Kimi-chan did finish a full serving of cold noodles afterward, with a very satisfied expression.
June will be a season with more rainy days.
It may be the perfect season to imagine the future, trace nostalgic memories, or step again into a world you had almost forgotten, enjoying your own journey of imagination.
And both in that imagined world and in the days right in front of you, perhaps it would be good to carefully taste honest feelings such as this is fun, this is interesting, and I still want to eat more.
See you in the next newsletter, at the shop, or perhaps in your imagination.
See you soon.
From Yamamoto, manager of JIYUCHO and FUTO.
