Café Amazon Kawauchi is a modern cafe and restaurant located only 350 meters away from the Tenzan Bunko Museum.
Café Amazon has over 1500 restaurants abroad, and serves Asian food and coffee.
This was the first Café Amazon restaurant in Japan, opened to help reinvigorate Kawauchi, attract visitors and, of course, serve delicious Thai dishes!
In 2016, following extensive revitalization efforts, all restrictions were lifted in Kawauchi village, which had had to be evacuated in 2011 following the nuclear accident. Kawauchi is now is a quiet, green village surrounded by mountains and streams, home to a few thousand people.
But because the village had remained uninhabited for some time, the only coffee shop there had closed, and, left without a local hub, it seemed difficult for the community to rekindle—that’s when Thai restaurant chain Café Amazon stepped in.
Café Amazon Kawauchi has a warm and light wooden interior (built using wood from Fukushima!), as well as a piano and guitar you can play freely. You can sit indoors or outdoors on a wooden deck.
Café Amazon Kawauchi isn’t only a coffee shop, it’s a fundamental part of the reconstruction of Kawauchi village, a meeting place for both locals and visitors.
| Website | amazon-cafe.jp |
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| Contact | 0240-23-5665 0240-23-5665 |
| Best Season | All Year |
| Opening Hours | 11:00-17:00 End-of-year holidays |
| Parking | Free |
| Access | 102 Aza Machiwake Oaza Kamikawauchi, Kawauchi Village, Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture 979-1201 View directions |
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| Getting there | Café Amazon Kawauchi is located in the center of Kawauchi village, along Japan National Route 399, in front of the JA Fukushima Sakura Kawauchi Branch, 350 meters from the Tenzan Bunko Museum. |
The Minamisoma City Museum is located on the eastern side of the Soma Nomaoi festival grounds within the spacious Higashigaoka Park.Its exhibitions center around the Soma Nomaoi festival, a traditional festival of the Soma region that is a nationally-designated important intangible cultural property, and the nature, history, and culture of the local region.
Shiramizu Amidado Temple (Amitabha Hall) was constructed in 1160 by Princess Tokuhime of the Oushu Fujiwara clan, which built the "golden culture" in Oushu (the present Tohoku Region). It is the only building in Fukushima Prefecture that has been designated as a national treasure. Inside the hall stands a wooden statue of Amida Nyorai as well as a number of other Buddhist statues such as Kannon Bosatsu, Seishi Bosatsu, Jikoku Tenno, and Tamon Tenno.The garden, called Jodo Teien (Jodo, or "the pure land", is the Buddhist paradise) is a realm of natural beauty in every season. The scenery is especially breathtaking in summer when the lotus flowers are in bloom, prompting one famous writer to liken the garden to a mythical paradise.
Soma Nakamura Shrine, long revered for enshrining the patron deity of the Soma clan, is built on a small hill in the western area of the Nakamura Castle grounds by Baryo Park.The shrine was erected in 1643 by Soma Yoshitsune, the 18th head of the Soma family.The main shrine is a an example of Gongen Shinto architecture, in which the main hall and worship hall are connected by a passageway, and the lacquer, painting, and metal fixtures are authentic representations of its Kan'ei era construction.The shrine was designated as a national important cultural property in 1984.
Nomaoi Street Meijo Hall has been established in the building of the former Matsumoto Brewery, which was a well-known brewery started in the late Edo Period. The hall now primarily functions as exhibition space, lending its unique kura (Japanese warehouse) rooms to host art and photo exhibitions as well as musical events. There are also a couple of small permanent exhibitions about life in the Meiji Period. The relaxed atmosphere of the restaurant Shokusaian is also popular with visitors.
At Iwaki's Tourism and Products Center, visitors can purchase products and specialties from Iwaki as well as enjoy eating local produce. The Tourism and Products Center also introduces visitors to Iwaki City's local history and culture.The Lalamew complex includes 7 fish shops, 15 gift shops, and 12 eating and drinking establishments. The fish shops have the feel of an open-air market, and visitors can bargain for seafood direct from the port.Please enjoy dining in the establishments that present to you an abundance of seasonal seafood.
Full House is a stylish bookstore and cafe run by the critically-acclaimed novelist Yu Miri. It is located near the JR Odaka Station in Minamisoma City, in the coastal area of Fukushima prefecture.Full House is located on the ground floor of a refurbished house. The interior is wooden and elegant, and there is a selection of books in Japanese chosen by the author. The cafe serves meals like pasta and doria, as well as desserts and drinks with seasonal options.Yu Miri is famously known for her novel Tokyo Ueno Station (translated into English by Morgan Giles), which won the U.S. National Book Award in the Translated Literature category in 2019.Following 3.11, Ms. Miri has worked extensively to communicate the stories of residents of evacuated towns and villages in Fukushima’s coastal area, and has been living in Minamisoma City since 2015.When Ms. Miri moved to Minamisoma, there were no other bookstores open in the area —the few bookstores that had been there before 3.11 had closed following the evacuation—, so she decided to open her own in 2018, and named it ‘Full House’ after one of her novels.But something was missing. She quickly realized that people who traveled all the way to visit the store wanted to sit down with a warm drink, and there weren’t many restaurants or cafes nearby yet, so she decided to turn Full House into a book cafe the following year.Today, Full House is a lively and cozy hub where locals and visitors can bond over their love of coffee and literature.
Odaka Micro Stand Bar (OMSB, “omusubi”) is a cafe located near the JR Odaka Station (小高駅) in Minamisoma City, in the coastal area of Fukushima prefecture.This narrow but charming coffee house is popular among visitors and residents, who gather to indulge in its pastries and freshly brewed coffee. Odaka is an area that saw its population decrease to zero for several years while the evacuation order was in place following the nuclear accident.Mr. Takashi Moriyama, a young IT specialist and entrepreneur, decided to open a kitchen car cafe in front of the JR Odaka Station in 2016, after the evacuation order was lifted in the area, to serve returning residents.Mr. Moriyama knew he wanted to play a part in revitalizing Odaka. At the time, there weren’t many other stores or businesses open in the area. He decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign to open a cafe, bakery and coworking space.The campaign raised the necessary funds, and Odaka Micro Stand Bar, the cafe that he envisioned, finally opened to the public. The coworking space and offices on the first and second floor have also opened. OMSB also hosts programming lessons and IT literacy seminars for senior residents in the area.So, more than only a cafe, OMSB is a place where the community comes together, bridging the old and the new.Odaka Micro Stand Bar serves coffee, sandwiches, pastries, matcha and more. We recommend enjoying their rich hot chocolate on a winter afternoon.
Namie Town was once a bustling seaside town that was famous for their unique style of pottery and the large number of artisans in town. Along the coast the Suzuki Brewery created delicious local sake.After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 and the following accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the residents of Namie Town were forced to evacuate their town. Nearly all of the buildings close to the coastline were destroyed by the enormous tsunami wave, many lives were lost. When it became clear that evacuees would not be able to return to their homes, people were deeply saddened at the devastating loss of many of the neighbors, their homes and their hometown culture. As residents settled in other areas of Fukushima and continued their lives, many believed that the rich culture of the town that had been created for generation would be lost.However, people of Namie Town chose to fight to preserve the rich culture and traditions of their hometown. So, the Namie Roadside Station was created to do just that. Here visitors can learn about the unique style of pottery that originated in Namie Town, shop the collections of several Namie Town artisans, and even try a pottery class!The Namie Roadside Station is also the new home of the Suzuki Brewery that was formerly located at the Namie Town seaside before it was destroyed by the tsunami wave. The head brewer was able to evacuate, and has been continued the same brewing methods that were developed in Namie TownBy visiting the Namie Roadside Station you can support the preservation of the culture of this unique seaside town! You can also shop the wares of many locals who were affected by the disaster but nevertheless work hard to preserve their hometown culture.