5 New Cafes To Visit If You're Travelling To Kamakura, Japan

Surrounded by the sea and mountains, Kamakura is an ideal summer escape – where iconic vegan cafes and old folk house restaurants surrounded by gardens await. So, we picked up newly opened culinary spots in the Kamakura area all at once! From cafes with container shops to hideaways renovated from old houses and cafes popular for plant-based sweets, here are some places you should go to in 2025.

1) TEMPLE Cafe & Bakery

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If you want to take a break in the Hase area where shrines and temples gather, you must visit TEMPLE Cafe & Bakery, which opened in May 2024. With an eye-catching pink exterior, the interior is dotted with table seats, art, records, and unique flower vases. There is a space full of sense. 

The same store, which started with the desire to “create a place where all kinds of people can gather without hesitation,” sells plant-based baked goods, coffee, handmade sandwiches, etc. It is also a dock-friendly store, and a variety of guests, from couples with children to pets, and inbound tourists, gather.

The most popular menu item is a plant-based doughnut with about 5 flavours, such as Strawberry Glazed Doughnut (¥420) and Original Glazed Doughnut (¥400). Eggs are replaced with applesauce, milk with soy milk, and butter with coconut oil, and finished without using animal ingredients, are attractive for their chewy texture and highly satisfying taste, like American sweets. Spicy pulled pork with an irresistible chewy texture, and “pulled pork cheese” (¥800) made by wrapping melting cheese and sour pickles in homemade focaccia are voluminous and recommended for lunch. 

2) The HARVEST Store & Cafe

Located in an alley just one step away from Komachi-dori in Kamakura, which is lined with general stores and cafes, is a complex cafe developed based on the concept of “enjoy food and lifestyle,” which was born in 2024/5. In the area in the foreground, in addition to Japanese vessels showcasing craftsmanship, such as Shigaraki ware and Hizen Yoshida ware, there is also a shop selling containers and miscellaneous goods selected from overseas, such as “ANFORA (amphora)” from Mexico and “TUXTON (Tuxton)” from America. At the back of the store, across the arch wall, there is a cafe space with the image of a dining table in a house where cooking lovers live. In addition to attractive counter seats with an open kitchen where you can see your hands, there are table seats lined with carefully selected antique furniture, and even private rooms surrounding the dining table. Another notable point is that the vessels used in the cafe can be purchased directly at the attached shop.

The space and cuisine are produced by Maruyama Tomohiro, who works on Yoyogi-Uehara's popular bistro “MAISON CINQUANTECINQ (Maison Cinquantecinq)” and the izakaya “Lanterne (Lantern).” A team led by Reimi Uemura is responsible for cooking. The “Harvest Lunch Set” (¥2,000) is a popular must-eat menu that includes two main dishes, such as fish and meat, three deli dishes using local vegetables from Kamakura, millet rice, and miso soup, which changes according to the season. Of course, there are main dishes such as “stir-fried pork with salt and lemon,” which has a refreshing lemon flavour, and “salmon tartare,” which has a sour sauce that matches the crispy tatsutaage, but also del with a twist, without getting tired of it until the last bite. There are many repeat customers, so be sure to visit this house loved by the locals.

3) plough

On days when you want to enjoy a relaxing meal while being surrounded by nature, go to the old folk house restaurant plough, which opened in 2024/5. Inside the modern Japanese restaurant overlooking the garden, you can enjoy special cuisine using carefully selected ingredients made by Kamakura producers. Of course, you can spend a pleasant time during the day when soft sunlight shines in, and at night, the white single-plate counter reflects off the window, and you can enjoy the fantastic atmosphere where the counter continues until dark.

What is noteworthy is the “dashi bowl,” where you can thoroughly enjoy rice sent directly from contract farmers and beautiful, clear soup stock without bitterness. The kombu and shiitake mushroom broth are drained overnight, extracted at a low temperature for at least 1 hour, then left to sit overnight and extracted one meal at a time with a siphon. The “10 kinds of appetiser platter plate” with “Shonan shirasu salad” and “aged meat charcuterie”, etc., and the “recommended 3-dish short course” (¥4,400), which is a set of “rice terraced ice cream” and a “dashi bowl,” is also popular.

4) KOME TO COFFEE

For Japanese food lovers, we recommend KOME TO COFFEE (Comet Coffee), where you can enjoy Shonan-like seafood toppings and teishoku that are particular about rice. Inside the renovated Japanese house next to Kencho-ji Temple in Kitakamakura, there are large windows, so you can enjoy a moment of relaxation while looking out at the greenery. 

What I want to order here is an eye-catching teishoku, starting with the Silver Salmon Salted Kojizuke Teishoku and Refreshing Grated Daikon Ikurage (¥2,400). Both come with three types of small bowls that change with the season and kenchin soup that originated at Kenchoji Temple, and the taste is relaxing and heartwarming. What is noteworthy is the homemade rice cooked with natural water from the Yamagata Dewa Sanzan Mountains, suitable for cooking rice and a Banko-yaki earthenware pot, which has excellent heat retention and far-infrared effects, making the meal plump and rich in flavour. There is a wide variety of seafood toppings (¥700 and up) that can be added together, such as tuna, negitoro, salmon roe, raw shirasu, deep-fried shirasu, sea urchin, and salmon roe. You can enjoy the blessings of the Shonan Sea with your eyes and tongue. 

5) BRISKSTAND KAMAKURA

If you want to eat a healthy yet satisfying lunch, go to BRISKSTAND KAMAKURA, where you can enjoy a sumptuous hamburger made with 100% Japanese beef patties or whole wheat buns. Opened in 2024/7, a 5-minute walk from Kamakura Station, you can enjoy creative and exquisite burgers in a warm, woody space.

If you're unsure about ordering, opt for the signature menu “Cut Yo Double Patty” (2,350 yen), where the patty is cut while letting the gravy soak up on a hot iron plate and then bake the cross section. The patty, seasoned with 100% domestic beef, no binding, and only domestic natural salt, is juicy, and you can enjoy the rich umami of meat. The buns contain whole wheat flour, and I'm also happy that shortening or margarine is not used. The crispy cross-section and the chewy texture on the inside are addictive. Furthermore, onions with a thick texture, simmered without using refined oil, enhance the flavour of the meat. Be sure to try the menu that will please your body and can only be enjoyed here.

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Read the original article in ELLE JAPAN.