Egaoya Cafe — Restaurant in Shirakawa

Having just had a coffee from another restaurant that was fairly bitter, I was a little worried I wouldn't find a place that made quality coffee in the village.

To my delight, I walked by this place, saw "specialty coffee" outside, and had to try it. The black iced coffee was fairly smooth, had a nice flavor, and was easy to drink without milk or sugar. I'm guessing this is one of the best coffee shops in Shirakawa.

While it's not the best coffee I've had in Japan, it's certainly above average.

Would recommend this as a stop for coffee lovers!

There was no line, the service was fast and friendly, and she even offered to take the empty cup from my previous bitter coffee experience...

A little modern coffee shop in Shirakawa Village run by local sisters (it’s called Egaoya or Smile). I was really impressed by the quality of the coffee (and trust me, finding good coffee in Japan is a full-time job). Most impressive, of course, was their interpretation of the German Baumkuchen (layered cake dessert). The sisters make it with rice flour produced locally in the village instead of wheat flour. It's a truly beautiful dessert—rich in flavor, with great color and texture. I’m especially passionate about this because, in Lithuania, we have a similar dessert called ‘Šakotis.’ Anyway, what I meant to say is: don’t...

✨ One of the best coffee spots we found in Japan! ✨Smooth foam, creamy texture, and the perfect temperature ☕️💖 We tried a hot vanilla latte and a cappuccino — both excellent.

The best part? 100% gluten-free menu, all made with rice flour 🌾. For sweets we had: • Baumkuchen (バウムクーヘン) → a German-style layered “tree cake,” super popular in Japan 🌳 (served here on a skewer). • Monaka (最中) → a crispy rice wafer shaped like a fish 🐟, filled with vanilla ice cream.

📍 Travel tip: this was one of the few places still open in Shirakawa-go after 5pm. Google Maps showed it as closed, but we walked by and it was full of happy customers....