Café Shizen — Restaurant in Fujinomiya

There is a fabulous ad on social media that advertises a special day at Fujisan Winery/Cafe Shizen. While sometimes I’m skeptical of ads that appear “too good to be true,” Cafe Shizen was as amazing as professed! So this review is of the advertised package which I highly recommend!

Indeed, you are picked up at Shin-Fuji station by a guide holding a clear sign. We then took the comfortable 1+ hour drive to the vineyard to see the grapes. It being summer, Fuji was hiding behind the clouds, but the vines were still lovely. We next went to the shop and processing where Fujisan makes their wines. The tour was in Japanese as expected.

Then we went to the highlight of the special day: Cafe Shizen. Our group had a reserved table, and sommelier and owner, Amy - (I believe that is her name) explained the wines in both Japanese and English. Per our package, we tried five lovely wines to start (generous pours, I might add). The wines were exceptional! I have traveled to many countries for wine tastings, but I had yet to experience Japanese made wines having similar quality to what I’ve tasted in other wine regions. Fujisan shattered my previous notion and really showcased amazing wines - dry whites, crisp sparkling, and rich and tasty reds. All were exceptional.

Our group was served a few delicious plates - an appetizer medley, fresh salad, cool soup, red-wine stew and a crème brûlée. Food was delicious and beautifully plated. While the wine tasting pours were generous, we also opted to get a bottle of our favorite to drink while we dined (since clearly we like wine, a lot). When the meal was over, the group had time to browse the beautiful cafe and shop for some wines and gifts to take home.

Again, this package was truly special and worth the money because with full bellies and a happy wine buzz, the group was driven in the comfortable van back to the Shinkansen station.

It was an absolutely perfect way to spend a day and we will return in fall/winter when Fuji is less shy! However, even with the glorious mountain hiding from view, we found the establishment to be...

Small amazing cafe/restaurant in the middle of the mountain!

Owner gave us abit of introduction to the family business!

Serves amazing food, creative drinks and the freshly baked bread rolls are TO DIE FOR! Hands down the best bread rolls I had in my life! It was moist and dense but yet light at the same time! Paired so well with everything!

Definitely will return if I had the chance!

Just over anything and everything! Everything taste amazing!

Greetings from...

What is the point for weeks prior reservation when you gave the worst table in the house and let walk in customer gets the best one???

The owner or staff are really generous with service, food and drink recommendation but i doubt he really knows how to manage the reservation. Supposed to be a great...