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Cafe Kokon [Closed]

Jewel in Toyooka's crown

Archived content

The location on this page has been reported permanently closed.

Last updated: Nov 18, 2020

Toyooka, located in what’s known as the ‘navel of Japan’, is not beautiful, but it is a hub of sorts, connecting the JR San-in Line, which travels to the popular onsen town of Kinosaki Onsen and the Kyoto-Tango line, which stops at Yonaso and Amanohashidate, boasting some of the best views in the country, before heading to the Maizuru, home to a sea water port and the cruise ship terminal. You may therefore find yourself, between glistening ocean views, interminable rice paddies, and miles and miles of tiled roofs, in this town of about 80,000, awaiting your next train, and wondering whether it is worth leaving the station to see what Toyooka has to offer.

Do so, and walk straight towards the shotengai or shopping street, which is hard to miss because it’s covered arcade-style, grey, and industrial-looking. In the middle of a sticky weekday in August everything at least seems closed. But the Kokon Cafe isn’t— walk through its leafy, twinkle-lit entrance and you’ll forget that concrete can even exist in the quantities it does on the covered shopping street. As you push through the second of its two entrances , the one with the stain-glassed rose, that is, you’ll come into a room with white walls, a light-blue tile counter, and wood paneled floors. Dried flowers bedeck the walls here and there , shelves offer up trinkets and miniatures, and soft guitar music serenades. Small, clear glass jars of flowers sit under each variation of light that hangs above the wooden tables, both long and short. Sunlight pours in through windows etched with simple decorations and happily colored.

The menu is fairly standard— home made ginger ale, several curries, crepes for desert. Mainly in the 1000-1500 yen range. Come to remove yourself completely from the covered shopping street, and the emptiness of the Japanese countryside. Stay for the friendly staff and the ambiance of this bubble of color and light, equal parts hip and gracious, and calm and electric in just the right proportion. It might turn out to be the unexpected highlight of your trip to this quiet part of Hyogo in Western Japan.

The cafe is open from 11:00 to 20:30, and is closed on Tuesdays.

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Bonson Lam 8 years ago
Hi Sonia, this is a a great find. It is amazing to see such charming coffee houses in the middle of nowhere. You really have a knack for finding them!

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