Local Guide
Six local cafes featuring Mashiko pottery

Mashiko pottery is favored by a wide range of people for its versatility in a variety of settings. It has become so popular that a pottery market is held in Mashiko Town every spring and fall. Mashiko is also a popular area for experiencing the arts, with fashionable galleries and general stores lining the streets. Here are some recommended cafes.

This café-restaurant has the feel of a house on a plateau nestled among the trees, with a comfortable atmosphere.
The popular menu item is the Fune Plate. It is a hearty plate with a salad made from fresh local vegetables and three kinds of hors d'oeuvres. The contents of the cocotte change with the seasons, such as wakasagi in summer, sweet potatoes in fall, and gratin in winter.

The "Nanban Kowameshi" is a highly recommended dish, consisting of glutinous rice mixed with crushed rice crackers, shiitake mushrooms, peanuts, and pork, served with crispy fried white fish (sea bass).

A café you can enjoy with your eyes

The café, which was renovated from a potter's studio and residence, is a peaceful place to spend time while enjoying the view of Mashiko's lush greenery from the terrace seats. Time passes slowly as you enjoy carefully prepared dishes served on Mashiko pottery dishes made in the adjacent studio and served at large wooden tables.

Local Guide Comment
The tableware is innovative, and one of the things to look forward to is what kind of tableware it will be served in.
Café Funé
  • Address 5196 Mashiko, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi MAP
  • Direction 15 min. walk from Mashiko Station (Higashino Kotsu Utsunomiya bound for Mashiko).
  • Business hours 11:00-16:00
  • Closed Wednesdays, Thursdays, Year-end and New Year holidays
  • TEL 0285-81-6004
  • Parking Free of charge

The cafe is surrounded by a forest at the foot of Mt. Amemaki, the highest mountain in Mashiko (533.3 m above sea level). The cafe is popular for its artistic space and pizza baked in a stone kiln that they built with a Mashiko kiln-maker as a base and later improved themselves. The sticky pizzas baked with carefully selected ingredients are Neapolitan style. There are about 20 kinds of pizzas in total. Seasonal pizzas are also available.

The "Spinach, Pancetta, and Fried Eggs with Half-boiled Eggs" pizza is a must-try. The "Siciliana" with garlic, anchovies, and black olives and the classic "Margherita" are popular.

Local Guide Comment
All of the oven-baked pizzas are delicious, but we especially recommend the recommended pizza of the day.

Terrace seating and artistic space

The terrace seating, which was expanded in 2017, is semi-open-air and full of a sense of freedom. The lights made from gourds, a specialty of Tochigi Prefecture, are the work of Hyotan no Lantern Room, which also has a store in Mashiko. The store is also filled with other works by Mashiko's many craftspeople, such as pottery and fabrics. The store owner, who used to work in the music industry, has created a cozy space with his unique selections, and the conversation about music is often lively in front of the open reel deck installed in the shop.

Located at the entrance of a mountain trail, the café is also visited by many climbers and trekkers.

Local Guide Comment
The restaurant has a handmade atmosphere, and the "gourd light," which is also found inside the "Kai Kawaji" building, gives off a warm glow, creating a relaxing atmosphere.
Teahouse Amemaki
  • Address 1234 Kami-ohane, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi MAP
  • Direction 10 min. drive from Mashiko Station
  • Business hours Weekdays 11:30-15:00 (L.O.14:30)
    Weekends & Holidays 11:30-16:00 (L.O.15:30)
  • Closed Monday, Tuesday, 1st, 3rd, 5th Wednesday (open if the day falls on a national holiday)
    Closed on weekends and holidays
  • TEL 0285-77-5354
  • Parking Free of charge

The store, run by Mashiko Pottery Yokoyama, features an antique-style retro atmosphere. It offers a wide range of lunch menus from Japanese to Western cuisine, including homemade sweets matched with Mashiko pottery dishes and plate lunches that change with the seasons.

The soba menu using locally produced flour from Mashiko is popular. The soba, ground by Mashiko soba artisans, is a thirst-quenching dish that goes well with tempura. This is a spot where you can taste Mashiko ceramics and local products.

The interior of the restaurant shows various faces.

In addition to comfortable table seating, there is also a tatami room and a kids' space, so feel free to bring your children. There is also a photo gallery and sundry goods space, so you can enjoy looking around.
The cups at the free drink bar are all Mashiko ware made at Kiln YOKOYAMA. You can enjoy a relaxing tea time with a cup of Mashiko teahouse original blend coffee.

Local Guide Comment
At the drink bar, you can choose your favorite Mashiko-ware cup, and it is hard to decide which one you want. There is also a wide selection of toppings.
Lunch, Cafe & Sundries Mashiko no Chaya
  • Address 3527-7 Mashiko, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi MAP
  • Direction From Mashiko Station, take the Higashino Kotsu Utsunomiya bound for Mashiko Junior High School. 10 min. walk from Mashiko Junior High School Mae bus stop.
  • Business hours March-November: 10:30-17:00 (L.O. 16:30)
    December - February: 10:30 - 16:30 (L.O. 16:00)
  • Closed Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a national holiday), year-end and New Year holidays, and occasional closing
  • TEL 0285-72-9210
  • Parking Free of charge
  • Memo Reservations: Available if you enter before 11:30 AM

The third Mashiko teahouse, run by Mashiko Pottery Yokoyama, is a café-restaurant tucked away in the forest to enjoy Mashiko's natural space. To spend a relaxing time, you can take off your shoes and change into slippers.

The "Wagyu Beef & Mochi Pork Hamburger Steak" is a plump, grilled hamburger steak topped with a seasonal sauce. The lunch set comes with a choice of nine appetizers, including salads, marinades, deep-fried dishes, and homemade pickles that change with the seasons, and can be arranged on a Mashiko ware plate to create a dish of your own choice.

Local Guide Comment
The buffet appetizers for lunch are each very elaborate and delicious.

Enjoy the seasons on the terrace

The colorful meals filled with vegetables and the terrace seating where you can feel the natural breeze are recommended spots to enjoy the fresh greenery and autumn leaves. Pets are allowed on the terrace only.

Restaurant in Mashiko
  • address (e.g. of house)4037 Mashiko, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi MAP
  • Direction From Mashiko Station, take the Higashino Kotsu Utsunomiya bound for Utsunomiya and get off at "Dosodoshita" stop. 15 min. walk.
  • Business hours Mar-Nov 11:00-17:00 (L.O. 16:30)
    December - February: 11:00 - 16:30 (L.O. 16:00)
    Appetizers are available until 15:30.
  • Closed Closed on Fridays (or the day before if Friday is a national holiday), year-end and New Year holidays, and temporary closures
  • TEL 0285-70-2223
  • Parking Free of charge
  • Memo Reservations: Available if you enter before 11:30 AM

A log house-style hideaway café built in a mountain clearing.
Inside, there is a café space as well as terrace seating, where you can enjoy café time amidst a landscape that has been preserved in its natural state. It is also a great place to spend time with a Mashiko ware mug in one hand while taking a bath in the forest.

The coffee is served hot, iced, or café au lait, with a selection of original coffee beans blended to suit each way of drinking. It is a time when you can feel the attention to taste.
Closed during the pottery market. Coffee is served at "Naoi Cafe" adjacent to "Moegi Jonouchizaka Store.

Inside the store with a gallery attached

In addition to the Mashiko pottery lineup, the shop also offers a selection of miscellaneous goods and apparel with a good sense of style, based on the concept of "proposing a living space.
The gallery changes its merchandise every few weeks, so no matter how many times you visit, you will always find something new to see, and many fans come from far and wide.

Local Guide Comment
You can relax and forget about time with a good cup of coffee and a leisurely view of the lush nature.
Yama Moegi (Moegi Main Store)
  • Address 2356 Kamioba Dogairi, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi MAP
  • Direction 15 min. by car from Mashiko Station
  • Business hours Mar-Oct: 11:00-18:00 (L.O.17:30)
    November - February 11:00-17:00 (L.O.16:30)
  • Closed Wednesday
  • TEL 0285-70-8111
  • Parking Free of charge

The café-restaurant is located in a place overlooking Mashiko's rural landscape and the four seasons of the satoyama.
The name of the restaurant, "Mashiko-jin Mashikobito," comes from the desire to "offer a taste of life in Mashiko, where time passes slowly. The restaurant's message is the food and the building.

Among the plate lunches using rice grown by the owner's parents and locally grown vegetables, we recommend the "Hamburger Steak with Avocado Tartar Sauce". A salad, sweet potato salad, carrot latkes, and ancient rice are served on a colorful Mashiko ware plate.

Koshihikari rice is grown in the rice paddies spread out in front of the restaurant, and buckwheat noodles and vegetables are grown in the fields and used freshly picked. The salad dressings are designed to keep you cool, and they are willing to adjust the salt content of dishes if you tell them in advance.
The owner, a former sports instructor and a certified nutritionist, is the reason for this commitment to health.

Local Guide Comment
The hamburger steak and avocado sauce are a perfect match! Lunch is hearty and a great value.

Inside the store built with Mashiko trees

The interior of the restaurant, which was built using trees cut from the mountain behind the restaurant, is a comfortable and relaxing space with the warmth of wood.
Many mountain climbers visit the restaurant, as it is located near Mt. Takadate and Mt.

Cafe MASHIKO-BITO
  • Address 496-1 Kamioba, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi MAP
  • Direction 10 min. drive from Mashiko Station
  • Business hours 11:00-16:00 (L.O.15:30)
    Evening hours: limited to 1 couple per day by reservation only (17:00-21:00)
  • Closed Saturdays, 1st and 3rd Thursdays
  • TEL 0285-81-3081
  • Parking Free of charge
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.