Up in the hills north of Mishima is the Clematis Garden, an attractive cluster of museums, shops and restaurants, which makes for a very pleasant day out. Of the places to eat there, the most casual is Treehouse Cafe, serving a range of drinks, cakes, snacks and sandwiches.
There's a very Scandinavian feel to the cafe: despite being a touch small it still feels spacious and airy, with a high ceiling, lots of light woodtones, simple, stylish tableware (including some Moomin-themed plates and glasses), and lots of natural light from the floor-to-ceiling window doors on one side. These open up to allow a refreshing breeze from the patio, where there are a number of outdoor tables watched over by a sculpture by French artist Bernard Buffet, whose museum is next door.
The atmosphere is relaxed and family-friendly, with mellow background music with soft female vocals; I enjoyed the cover versions of "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley, and the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On". And tucked in one corner there's a fun wooden toy tree hung with chunky, clonky objects for the kids (and big kids like me) to play around with.
For my lunch I had the pate sandwich, which came with some plain crisps and a little plate of pickles and olives (well, one olive). I was a bit surprised by quite how small it was, but I did enjoy it; the bread was warm and crispy but not too dry, and the good-sized slabs of pate were smooth, slightly salty and full of flavour, offset nicely by the pickles, and with just the right amount of mustard.
The menu is only in Japanese, but is limited enough to reproduce here more or less in its entirety. Sandwiches are ¥850 for ham or ¥900 for the pate; pastries and cakes from ¥250 to around ¥900, including a fruit 'crafty' for ¥600, or ice cream for ¥450; beverages and soft drinks are between ¥500 and ¥600, wine ¥700 a glass, Hoegaarden beer ¥800.
From the cafe you can walk straight into the Bernard Buffet Museum shop, selling a whole range of goods including cards, stationery, toys and ornaments.
