日本語はこちら
If you’re in the Saga area, the cafe Saganoyu is a pleasant spot for lunch or a cup of coffee. Originally built as a public bathhouse in 1923, the building has been thoroughly renovated and was reopened as a cafe in 2006. You can still see the original tiling on the floors and the faucets along the walls.
Here’s what we had. Miu chose a cheese curry…
…which she washed down with an iced “Island milk tea” – so-named because it contains coconut milk.
And I had a peperoncino with anchovy and nanohana (rapeseed flowers) …
…with a refreshing framboise squash.
Everything was tasty and the service was good too. Saganoyu is not so cheap, but the Saga/Arashiyama area is rather touristy so cheap places are hard to find…
Saganoyu is located a short walk south of the JR Saga/Arashiyama Station. Here is a most convenient map. Check out the Saganoyu website more details and for their online shop: http://www.sagano-yu.com/
Open: 11.00 – 18.00 (Last orders: 17.30)
Telephone: 075-882-8985
This article first posted in March, 2014. Updated and reposted in August, 2023.
All text and images by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.
One of the things we found most surprising during our two visits to Japan was the relatively high cost of drinks compared to the low cost of food. If you go back, I’d love to see images of the interior, especially the faucets and such details that remain from its bathhouse days.
Do you know I would, but right above those faucets are little signs asking people to refrain from taking photos – so as not to bother the other customers. Fortunately they were ok with pictures of the food.