The warm Winterland cafe of the Shirashi Pass, Tokigawa

Winterland cafe is located in the hills of Tokigawa town along the Shirashi Pass. It is a cafe famous among cyclists, but little known otherwise. I found myself sitting in this homely cafe on a rainy day in July 2020. The cafe had just opened back up that day after a 5 month hiatus due to the pandemic. Ironically, they don’t normally open on a rainy day, but a dry day had been forecasted. Luck was on my side. This cafe came to mind as the next to get out of my 250+ (non event) draft posts, because of the name and a flashback to their stove!

Winterland Cafe

Winterland was one cafe that had been on my wish list for quite sometime after seeing a photo of their outdoor seating, what some might call a sky terrace. Furthermore, rave reviews from cyclists that frequent it, piqued my interest. I had a preconception of what it was like, but the reality was quite different. Not a bad thing, just different. But after visiting I know exactly why this cafe has a solid base of repeat customers. This is a home away from home.

I was living in the moment in this cafe, so I actually forgot to take photos to showcase what the cafe is like! Take a look at the location on Google Maps, linked below, to see the terrace. As you can see in the photo above, one of my daughters is laughing her head off. She, we all felt very comfortable there. Thanks to the shy but kind staff who know how to make the customer feel like king or queen. Or in the case of my little ones – princes and princesses! The je ne sais quoi of Winterland is the warmth, an oxymoron not lost on me.

Rarely open

The bad news is, that this cafe has no fixed opening hours. You will need to check their Facebook page each morning to see whether or not they will open that day. And they don’t open very often. Also, the cafe is quite small and there is limited seating indoors. Furthermore, depending on the day, the menu can be quite limited. But the coffee is widely regarded. However, the menu is as much of a lucky dip as the opening hours! A refreshingly laid back cafe, not for those on a tight schedule or with a growling tummy. It suited us as a place for a drink while touring the area on a nearby stay at the excellent Kinomura Camp.

The Last Waltz

Interestingly, the cafe name was inspired by the Scorcese documentary The Last Waltz. They named the cafe for the last location of 1960s rock band “The Band”‘s concert with a long list of VIP guests including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton and Joni Mitchell, to name but a few. On November 26th 1976 ‘The Band’ had their last gig in the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. If you one of the thousands of fans of the documentary, which is critically acclaimed as one of the greatest documentary concert films ever made, the cafe might be an interesting location to add to your itinerary!

Information

Access

This cafe is very hard to get to by public transport, unless you are used to hiking. Myokaku station is more than a 2 hour walk away! Also, by car, it is somewhat tricky as is the access to the parking lot! Hence, mostly cyclists frequent this cafe.