The Honmura district of Naoshima Island is bustling with tourists…

The Art House Project and Ando Museum are attracting lots of visitors, and a mere 2-minutes walk from the Noukyou-mae bus stop lies a popular cafe.

Enter the alley behind this sign…

The cafe entrance is midway along the alley, but don’t worry if you go miss it, the cafe’s terrace lies just at the end of the alley, and it’s pretty easy to spot with its tiny shack on top.

A Refurnished House Turned into a Popular Cafe

Created by Takuya Kamiike, the shack is an art project that goes by the name of Shiro no Hana (The White Flower). As it’s surrounded by chairs, you can sit and gaze at the sea at leisure.

The popular Naoshima Cafe Konichiwa first opened on the Marine Day public holiday in July 2010. As it’s in a refurnished house, the moment you step inside, it’s like entering a regular home. Right next to the entrance is a space filled with many different items like coffee, sweets, variety goods, local flyers, etc. It’s interesting scouring around to see what you can find.

The main cafe room is right where you enter, and the harbor is visible from the window. However, if you go past the kitchen into the room behind, you’ll find that it looks just like a friend’s room! It’s also packed with lots of stuff to look at, perfect for relaxing and enjoying yourself.

Recommended Homemade Sweets

I chose a seat by the window and ordered Today’s Sweets, which had caught my attention.

The chocolate cake serving is large, but not too sweet, so even someone like me who doesn’t usually eat cake made short work of it.

For lunch, curry is the recommended dish.

A lot of locals come for lunch. Fishermen come to chat, and of course many tourists visit as well. The atmosphere inside the cafe is cozy and intimate, so it’s a great place to catch up on recent news and to exchange information with friends and acquaintances.

The owner of Naoshima Cafe Konichiwa used to run a cafe in Ehime, but after meeting someone at the Setouchi Triennale, they moved here. Currently they manage three cafes and one guest house in Uno, Naoshima and Toyoshima – four places for people to come together and enjoy each other’s company.
The cafe is great for both small groups and guests that want to come and relax by themselves, and also for those that want to meet and make new friends.

Naoshima Cafe Konichiwa

Address: 845-7 Naoshima, Kagawa, Kagawa Prefecture
Tel: 087-892-3308
Email: info@konichiwa.jp
Closed: No scheduled holidays
Open: Usually 10:00 – 20:00 (summer), 10:00 – 18:00 (winter)
Access: 2-minutes walk from Noukyou-mae bus stop (Naoshima City Bus). Walk towards Honmura Harbor

http://konichiwa.jp/

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Anna Yabe