Funagoya 舟小屋 — Restaurant in Shinano

I'm here at the start of spring 2022. The melting snow still sits on the ground and the air is crisp with a little chill. I walked to Lake Nojiri from Kurohime Station, which took me about an hour. I would say a 5 km walk.

I was looking for a nice warm place to sit and enjoy the lake view. The walk and fresh air also made me hungry.

Lucky for me, I accidentally found this quaint restaurant right next to the water with an amazing view of the lake and the mountains in the distance.

I made it just in time, lunch ends at 1.30 pm. The menu is Italian and the set meal makes life easy for me. Unfortunately, I still can't read a menu in Japanese. I'm working on it.

I sat by the wood fire stove and looked out the huge window. There were kids running around outside enjoying the sunshine.

The atmosphere inside is really relaxed, from the warmth and cracle of the fire to the soft music in the background. The place was empty when I walked in, then a couple of Japanese guests sat at the other window table and chatted quietly to each other.

The staff (probably the owner) was very kind and welcoming. She made sure I understood the menu and spoke some English to help me.

The food was delicate and delicious. I loved the starters and my main dish was a tasty lasagne. I have a sweet tooth, so I was really looking forward to my chocolate mousse for dessert. It came with a little scoop of chery blossom icecream. 🌸 Don't ask me how they made it, I can tell you it tastes as beautiful as the flower.

Come and visit Funagoya when you can. I want to come back in different seasons. I'm sure the experience will be different but just as good as this one.

Oh and if it's important to you, they have free WiFi.

Thank you for a wonderful lunch. And for giving me a map of the...

Outstanding. If you do only one thing in Nagano, visit Funagoya for a truly special meal. Every morsel melts in your mouth. Menu changes daily. Best to make a reservation for dinner and choose main dish of fish, beef, or lamb. Dinner prices range 5,000 to 7,500 yen. The quality is so high that similar restaurants would easily charge 150,000 per person. Ambiance is lovely, directly faces Biwa island Lake Nojiri, Nagano. Lunch needs no reservation, about 2000-3000 yen. We loved it so much we went for dinner 2 nights during our 5-day stay...

This place was heaven! Our wonderful host Ted at Nojiri lake resort made us a booking the day before as we were unable to phone them ourselves. After our walk over in the snow, it felt so cosy with the wood fire on, and the background music was perfect. Our host was so sweet and kind, and we felt so blessed that her and the chef had opened just for us. We had the pork set menu, every mouthful of food was sublime, the depth of flavour was incredible. Each dish as perfect as the last. Don't miss this gem if you are...