cafe kaeru

About five minutes east of Wakaremichi along the Kanazawa Kaido, toward Sugimoto-dera, a frog-loving owner opened this café in 2010, in a house on a quiet residential street in Nikaido. The building was once a foreigner’s holiday home; frogs in paintings and figurines are everywhere, light falls through the skylight, and the garden outside the window changes with the seasons.

Our pick

For lunch, the seasonal vegetable rice bowl, piled with whatever vegetables are in season: the dish the café is known for. Afterwards, the Kaeru Blend, hand-dripped one cup at a time by the owner from beans roasted for the café by Ishikawa Coffee in Kita-Kamakura.

【A line about what I ate and how it was】

How to use it

• Lunch on the Temple Path: a break before or after Sugimoto-dera and Hokoku-ji.
• On a rainy day: under the skylight, looking out at the green.
• On your own: a small café, good for a quiet hour.

About the café

• Address: 936 Nikaido, Kamakura
• Hours: 11:00–17:00. Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays (and some other days)
• Crowds: there are only a few tables, so expect a wait at weekend lunchtime. Weekday afternoons are quieter.

From Wakaremichi

About five minutes’ walk east of Wakaremichi along the Kanazawa Kaido, on the way to Sugimoto-dera and Hokoku-ji.

Opening hours and closing days may change, and the café sometimes closes on other days. Please check Instagram (@cafekaeru_kamakura) before you go.