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Where and What to Eat in Mt. Fuji’s Lake Kawaguchi Restaurant and Cafe Guide
Due to the bad weather, my trips action packed activities were all canceled! Luckily, Lake Kawaguchi had more than enough places to go eat! I was very surprised at the number of yummy, beautiful cafes with great views they had! Make sure you stop at a few.
First off, this area is famous for Its “Hoto noodles.” These are super delicious, thick noodles. They’re cooked in a miso based broth with lots of veggies, pumpkin, meat and served in a cast iron pot. This dish comes in so many flavors and can be found all around Lake Kawaguchi.
Shosaku Kawaguchiko store
However, I Highly recommend you go to Shosaku Kawaguchiko store, a super famous Hoto noodle shop with an amazing menu, beautiful traditional atmosphere and a great gift shop!
The really cool thing about this place is their menu variety. You can get any Hoto dish possible, from beef to turtle, bear or duck! They even serve horse sashimi (basashi)
I got the spicy beef hoto pot ( which tasted a lot like kimchi jjigae), some hot sake and the horse sashimi. I actually couldn’t finish it all I think one appetizer and one hoto noodle pot for two people is enough. The dish gets 5 stars from me it was seriously one of the best soup dishes I’ve ever had.
Raw Horse Meat
Don’t forget to check out their gift shop on your way out. I got a few souvenirs which everyone seemed to love. The Mt. Fuji shaped cookies are a popular item to bring back from the area. This shop also sells the rare hoto noodles as a gift!
Konohana Museum’s “Olson-san no ichigo Cafe & Restaurant”
The adorable Konohana museum has an amazing restaurant/ Cafe attached where they serve a few dishes including their homegrown strawberries. You don’t have to go into the museum to enjoy the cafe.
I highly recommend the beautiful outdoor seating with a lovely view of Mt. Fuji. I sat inside due to the rain. The recommended dish was some chicken and curry. I also got a dessert set that came with coffee and a piece of cake.
Cafe Mimi
Located just around the corner from Konohana Museum is Cafe Mimi. This cafe has an amazing location with a lake front spot and view of Mt. Fuji this place is a must.
The breakfast menu was nice and I enjoyed all the beautiful flowers inside. Once again they have nice outdoor seating right next to the lake, However, It was raining so I stayed inside. One bad point is that they only accept cash. This place can be a little pricey for a tiny coffee but they view makes it all worth it.
トロワズィエム マルシェ
This next one I have no idea how to say. This is a super cozy, charming cafe with beautiful looking cakes and pies. The ratings were great and the food looked amazing however, for some reason when I came there, they were closed. I didn’t get to try out this spot but I imagine they are good.
Another spot I didn’t get to check out due to time was the Cisco Cafe. It’s run by someone from California so I really wanted to go show some love. Plus the food looked delicious.
Dango
This is a very traditional Japanese treat served year around all over japan. It’s a sweet dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour). It’s very chewy and somewhat flavorless which is why the sauce is needed.
Usually, I don’t care for Dango but this was the first time I thought it was so delicious. This Dango was from a food vendor at Oshino Hakkai.
I tried two; the green one was mixed with spinach and stuffed with sweet beans. I prefer the other lol.
Fish Cake
Another traditional Japanese food. This is a fish cake. The ones I got from Oshino Hakkai where beyond delicious! I’ve actually never seen so many flavors or variations in my life. They had cheese, octopus, shrimp and mayo and so on! I got the shrimp and mayo.
Takkoyaki
After hiking up and down the stairs to reach the Chureito Pagoda I rewarded myself with some takkoyaki from one of the food vendors around the entrance.
Takkoyaki is a savory battered ball, with a piece of octopus inside, topped with a takkoyaki sauce, fish flakes and mayo. It’s one of my favorite Japanese dishes. Although not famous in this region, the ones I got were piping hot and delicious! For the recipe on how to make these at home CLICK HERE!
I hope this was helpful. Happy eating!
What to do at Lake kawaguchi: The ultimate guide| CLICK HERE
How to get to Lake kawaguchi from Tokyo| CLICK HERE
ENJOY
