Calling all café lovers – Kawaguchiko has you covered!

With the vista of Mt. Fuji to gaze upon and a location well apart from the hustle and bustle of major cities, Kawaguchiko can be the ideal place to escape from the world. Many people who aren’t just sightseeing in the Mt.Fuji area – they simply wish to unwind. With that in mind, here are some of the ideal places in the area to enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee.

*The following opening hours are correct as of 30th April 2021.

Taiyou Terrace

Situated quite close to Kawaguchiko station, where many places will be competing for your attention, this is a small, hidden gem. Good coffee is served here as well as some alcohol. The set meals here get excellent reviews, with special praise going to the fish, which is tender and tasty.

Café Prado

This can be the ideal coffee lover’s choice. This place usually only serves Japanese patrons, so the English part of the menu is minimal, with your choices being simply ‘coffee’ and ‘tea’. However, while the recommended coffee is delicious, the Japanese menu has an impressive list of world coffees, from Peru to India to Guatemala. Name a popular coffee-growing country and chances are they’ve got it.

The interior is sweet, professional and calming, with soft music playing and your coffee served in dainty crockery. Café Prado is also well-known in the area for its cakes and sweets, which are also available to take out. No Japanese required here – just point at the one you can’t resist.

Please note :
・No children 6 years old of age and under are admitted.
・No group (5 people and more) are admitted.

Yamatoya Café

This women-led business tries to cater to every kind of café-goer. Alone, you’ll be invited to sit at the counter. Friends will be seated at tables while families with young children can be found in the Japanese style tatami rooms. The interior and the menus are English-speaker friendly. The building is noticeably modern and new. The coffee is good, but this place is perhaps even better if you’re hungry – they serve balanced and delicious Japanese-style set meals.

Please note : Tatami rooms are available only for a group who is
・4 adults and more
・2 adults and more with children

38 Kawaguchiko

Functioning as café, restaurant and bar, 38 Kawaguchiko clearly advertises itself as catering to westerners and those who enjoy western-style food. The owner has spent a significant amount of time abroad and speaks English openly and fluently. The hamburg steak – an example of ‘yoshoku’, Japanese interpretations of western dishes – is popular here. It resembles a delicate, ground meat hamburger patty served as a steak with a sauce, usually demi-glace. The various pasta dishes are highly rated as well. The interior is modern, neat and comfortable. A home away from home maybe?

TABiLiON Coffee and Books

Compared to the other cafés on this list, Tabilion is a little farther away from our hostel branches. This café may suit those with a car or who don’t mind cycling.
However, your reward for the extra journey is a sophisticated experience for which this café is rather popular. Tabilion establishes a subdued atmosphere using low lighting, comfortable seating and typically abstract and meditative music. It also tends to be open later than most other cafes in the area, closing at 11pm under normal circumstances. There is a well-stocked library of Japanese works ranging from manga to photography and coffee-table books. You can curl up with one and enjoy the mild and bitter blends of filtered coffee and desserts.

Galerie Couleurs (Kuruuru)

Couleurs is half-dainty café and half-art gallery, with fine coffee and delicious desserts available. Compared to other cafés in the area, one of its biggest advantages is the large window inside that directly faces Mt.Fuji. Being able to sip coffee with a magnificent view of Mt. Fuji is a rare experience – one only matched by waking up to that experience should you stay in the Mt.Fuji area.

TOCORO. CAFE & BAR

When you enter this sophisticated place and look along the bar counter, you’ll probably see little suspended beakers like those out of a chemistry class lined up on display.

This is because Tocoro serves ‘siphon’ or vaccum-brewed coffee. Now largely forgotten in the west and considered impractical, this method is still practiced in some cafés in Japan. Siphoning produces a consistently clear brew that is worth the novelty alone.

You can enjoy your coffee with a concise menu of western meals and desserts.

Food (and drink) for thought

You can see now that Kawaguchiko gives you plenty of choices when it comes to relaxing with a beverage and a bite to eat. If you want to know more about getting to these places or more about the area in general, the staff at K’s House Fuji View and K’s House Mt.Fuji are well-informed and always happy to help. We hope to see you someday soon!

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