Local Guide
Five recommended cafes in Omachi and Hakuba where a special time awaits you.

From home-roasted coffee shops serving fresh coffee, to patisseries offering confections made with local ingredients, to cafes with terraces in spectacular locations. Here are some of the recommended cafes in the Omachi and Hakuba areas, which are surrounded by nature at the foot of the Northern Alps, that you should visit at least once.

*Please note that due to the prevention of the spread of the new coronavirus, the hours of operation may change and the cafe may be closed. Please check in advance before visiting.

Heartwarming home-roasted coffee and handmade sweets

Apple Pie
Apple Pie" 700 yen, served warm. The "Mima Blend" (550 yen) is an easy-to-drink cup with a good balance of bitterness and acidity.

A house with plastered walls stands in a meadow in the Mima district, located 1,000 meters above sea level in the eastern part of Omachi City. Lined up in the showcase are seasonal sweets from the owner's father's confectionery in Hyogo Prefecture. The tarts made with fruits from Shinshu, cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, and other delicacies that go well with coffee are all available. The apple pie, available only in fall and winter, is made with half a fresh red apple from Matsukawa Village. Following a recipe from the German countryside, the hollowed-out core is filled with nuts and cinnamon, then baked and wrapped in a pie for a rustic taste.

Relax in a café that looks like the living room of an English house

The quaint space with old sideboards and sturdy sofas.
The quaint space with old sideboards and sturdy sofas.

To accompany the cake, you can enjoy a cup of coffee. The owner roasts seven to eight types of single-origin coffee beans and three types of blends in a roasting machine in the corner of the store. Coffee beans, baked goods, and handmade confiture can also be taken out.
The interior of the store, designed in the image of an English country house, is a peaceful space with antique furniture. There is also a balcony with terrace seating where you can enjoy the view of the Nakayama Highlands with rape blossoms in spring and white buckwheat flowers in late summer. In winter, you will be warmly welcomed by the flames of the wood-burning stove, and enjoy elegant moments throughout the four seasons.

Miasa Coffee
  • Address 14902-1 Mima, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
  • Direction 12 min. drive from JR Shinano Omachi Stn.
  • Business Hours 10:00 - dusk
  • Closed Thursdays, Year-end and New Year holidays *Open all year round in May and August
  • TEL 0261-23-1102
  • Parking Free of charge

Take a break with homemade waffles and herbal tea

Belgian waffle with buckwheat topping
Belgian waffle with buckwheat topping" 600 yen, herb tea "Organic African Nectar" 500 yen

This cozy café-restaurant stands on a vast hillside. The menu features a daily lunch full of home-grown vegetables and dishes using wild game that the owner traps himself. Handmade desserts such as scones made with dried fruit from Nagano Prefecture and soft-serve ice cream sundaes with homemade fruit sauce are also popular. The savory waffles studded with crunchy buckwheat seeds are served with two kinds of ice cream and apple compote. A wide variety of herbal teas are also available, with a choice of aromas and benefits.

Cafe on the plateau where cute animals soothe you

The terrace overlooking the relaxing highland scenery. There is also a goat in the shed in front of the restaurant.
The terrace overlooking the relaxing highland scenery. There is also a goat in the shed in front of the restaurant.

The six tables on the terrace offer a panoramic view of the Nakayama Plateau, the setting of a TV drama. Despite being only a 10-minute drive from Shinano-Omachi Station, you will encounter abundant nature. The view is spectacular in every season: fields of rape blossoms in spring, white flowers in buckwheat fields in summer, and the snow-capped Northern Alps in autumn as the trees turn into brocade. In front of the café, sheep and goats can be seen basking in the sun. A relaxing tea time while feeling the highland breezes is a special treat. Seasonal vegetables from their own farm and homemade scones are also recommended as souvenirs.

Farm Cafe Rabbit
  • Address 8295-48 Omachi, Omachi City, Nagano Prefecture Nakayama Kogen MAP
  • Direction 12 min. drive from JR Shinano Omachi Stn.
  • Business hours 11:00-15:00 (L.O. 14:30)
  • Closed Tuesdays *Closed from December to March
  • TEL 080-1065-1627
  • Parking Free of charge
  • Memo Closed until April 2021

Enjoy home-style cooking in a former linen warehouse

Tomato Mentshi
Tomato Mentshi" served with homemade sauce is 900 yen. A small bowl of fried egg and other small dishes are also included.

This café-restaurant is located in a narrow alleyway from the center of Omachi. The restaurant is popular for its homemade home-style dishes using local seasonal vegetables, and offers about eight different lunch menus every day. One of the most popular dishes is "Tomato Mentshi," in which tomatoes are substituted for eggs in Scotch eggs. This dish is full of ideas, blending crispy fries, ground meat, and fresh tomatoes. It is also a great value at less than 1,000 yen with rice, miso soup, salad, and three small dishes.

After dinner, visit the art gallery attached to the cafe.

The interior of the restaurant is furnished with artist's chairs. The owner and her husband are both in the year of the rabbit, so there are rabbit motif items here and there.
The interior of the restaurant is furnished with artist's chairs. The owner and her husband are both in the year of the rabbit, so there are rabbit motif items here and there.

The restaurant is housed in a 170-year-old building that was once a warehouse for storing hemp. The original beams, plaster walls, and wooden furniture give the restaurant a warm feeling. From spring through fall, the wooden terrace is a pleasant place to enjoy a glass of Omachi wine or other alcoholic beverage.
The art gallery is filled with glass, ceramics, woodwork, felt, paintings, and other works. Local artists are on duty daily, and workshops are held almost every day. Stop by after dinner to find your favorites.

Cafe & BAR Asagura
  • Address 4095-13 Omachi, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
  • Direction 10 min. walk from JR Shinano Omachi Stn.
  • Business Hours 11:30 - 14:00 (L.O. 13:30), 18:00 - 23:00 (L.O. 22:00)
  • Closed Wednesday
  • TEL 080-8901-6727
  • Parking Free of charge

Delicious Omachi ingredients in friendly sweets

The
The "Cassis Chocolat" (400 yen) is made with local blackcurrant mousse handpicked by the owner. A pot of black tea (410 yen) is also available.

This patisserie was opened by a female owner who trained in Vienna. The shop offers 10 to 18 varieties of fresh pastries that incorporate many Omachi ingredients, such as chiboust made with Omachi red apple and Shinshu cream cheese, chiffon cake using "rape blossom oil" from the rape blossom fields of the Nakayama Highlands, and pudding made with Matsuda milk, a well-known local product, and eggs from heir farms. The most popular item is the cream puff, a mixture of fresh cream and custard filled with crispy cookie dough. On weekends, the cream puffs are often sold out by mid-morning.

Relax with cakes, drinks, and limited-edition pancakes

About 20 kinds of rustic baked goods are on the table in the center.
About 20 kinds of rustic baked goods are on the table in the center.

The restaurant is located in a corner of Omachi Hot spring ryokan where many hot spring ryokans are located. It is a convenient place to stop by while strolling through the hot spring district. The spacious store has a counter and table seating, and all cakes and baked goods can be enjoyed with coffee or tea. The store also offers a limited number of soups, Viennese-style pancakes called "Kaiserschmalen" (reservations required by the day before), and bread made from dough imported from Germany and baked in the store. It is perfect for a light lunch.

Conditri Anne Mariele
  • Address 2811-11 Taira, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
  • Direction Approx. 15 min. by car from JR Shinano-Omachi Station
  • Direction Take a bus from JR Shinano-Omachi Station, get off at "Omachi Onsen-kyo" and walk about 1 minute.
  • Business Hours 10:00-17:00 (L.O. 16:30)
  • Closed Closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and irregular holidays
  • TEL 0261-85-0702
  • Parking Free (Omachi Onsenkyo shared parking lot)

Enjoy homemade bread, sweets, and home-roasted coffee.

Prosciutto cheese toast with mini salad (550 yen), stone oven cheese cake (500 yen), Ethiopian mocha (600 yen)
Prosciutto cheese toast with mini salad (550 yen), stone oven cheese cake (500 yen), Ethiopian mocha (600 yen)

This small café is run by a couple who moved to Hakuba from Aichi Prefecture. The couple offers aromatic coffee roasted by the wife, homemade yeast breads such as campagne baked in a wood-fired oven by the husband, and sweets. There are three types of blended coffee and five to six types of straight coffee with different characteristics, all of which are carefully brewed using nerd drip. The most popular regular sweet is the "stone kiln cheesecake" baked in the residual heat of the bread oven. The smooth, rich cheese flavor gently spreads in your mouth. If you are feeling hungry, we also recommend the cheese toast made with Japanese wheat bread.

Spend time in the modern store with Japanese-style rooms and a view of the mountains.

Opened in 2010. The wood stove is warm in winter.
Opened in 2010. The wood stove is warm in winter.

The interior of the store, laid out so that the Hakuba Mountains can be seen from the windows, has a modern appearance that combines Japanese and Western styles. The counter made of cherry wood from North America is a special place to have your coffee brewed right in front of you. There are comfortable sofa seats and a Japanese-style room where you can take off your shoes and relax, and the Japanese-style room is popular with small children. The bread-making workshop has a glass wall where you can see a large French-made wood-fired oven. Visitors can enjoy a relaxing time while chatting with the owner and his wife.

Coffee Senju
  • Address 5848-15 Kitashiro, Hakuba-mura, Kitaazumi-gun, Nagano MAP
  • Direction 5 min. drive from JR Hakuba Station
  • Business Hours 9:00-17:00, Jan-Mar 11:00-, Sat, Sun, national holidays 9:00-.
  • Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, other irregular holidays *Only on Wednesdays during peak season
  • TEL 0261-72-5005
  • Parking Free of charge

After a day of sightseeing, how about a relaxing moment in a hot spring village nestled in the Northern Alps, where you can enjoy a rural Shinshu Experience with the hospitality of a sunken hearth?
Hoshino Resorts KAI Alps is within easy access to tourist attractions: Ogisawa, the entrance to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, is about 20 minutes away by car, and the Hakuba area, which is popular with skiers in winter, is about 30 minutes away by car.

The inn of a hidden hot spring healed by the hospitality of a sunken hearth

Hot springs are drawn from Kuzu Onsen, a hidden hot spring located at the foot of the Northern Alps with an abundance of hot water.
Hot springs are drawn from Kuzu Onsen, a hidden hot spring located at the foot of the Northern Alps with an abundance of hot water.

About 80 minutes by car from Nagano Station. This hot spring ryokan is located in Omachi Onsen-kyo. Guest rooms and hot spring bathhouses are lined up on both sides along "Gangi," an arcade in the snow country, where you can experience the countryside of Shinshu, with fair days and traditional games in summer, and snow games with kamakura and kanjiki in winter.
All Guest rooms are "Shinanomotenashi no Ma" (Shinano hospitality room). The rooms are decorated with kirie art frames and lit by lanterns made of Matsuzaki washi paper, creating a peaceful atmosphere. In the earthen floor with a sunken hearth, you can enjoy the hospitality of the countryside, such as oyaki, baked apples, and heated sake. It is as if you have returned to your hometown, where you can spend time relaxing both body and soul.

Hoshino Resorts KAI Alps
  • Address 2884-26 Taira, Omachi-shi, Nagano MAP
  • Direction 80 min. by express bus from JR Nagano Station to Omachi Onsen-kyo, 10 min. walk from the bus stop.
  • TEL 0570-073-011（Kai Reservation Center)
  • Parking Available
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.