café gakeno-ue (café on the cliff)

A hideaway café jutting out from the cliff, looking down on the Shirai River that flows through Jozankei

Overlooking the babbling Shirai River, café gakeno-ue, as the name suggests, is a café on the cliff. This little ten-seater café, consisting of a marine shipping container fastened to the bedrock, is a space that is not so much “on” the cliff, but rather “coming out” from the cliff. What you can enjoy at the shop is the taste of siphon coffee and homemade cakes, and the beautiful view of the Jozankei valley from the window, likened to a picture frame. There is a glass table between the special seats by the fully-glazed back wall, and when you sit down it feels like a café in the sky! Wild animals may also make an appearance on the other side of the valley that continues to the deep mountain. There are seasons of greenery and red autumn leaves, but the time right after it opens in winter, when the snow is piled up, is also truly special.