Toraya Kobo, Gotemba: Wagashi and Tea in a Forest at the Foot of Mt. Fuji

Shizuoka · Gotemba · Wagashi

By Nobu · Updated July 2026 · From a July 2026 visit and the official Toraya Kobo information

Tucked into a bamboo grove at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Gotemba, Toraya Kobo is the countryside workshop-café of Toraya — the centuries-old wagashi house that has supplied the Japanese imperial court. You walk in through an old thatched gate, past a stream and a lawn scattered with plum trees, to a low wood-and-glass pavilion where the sweets are made fresh on site and eaten looking out at the woods.

I’m Nobu, and of all the places I send people near Mt. Fuji, this is the one that surprises them most — because it asks you to slow right down. Toraya Kobo opened here in 2007 on the grounds of a former villa, and the whole point is the approach: the thatched gate, the bamboo, the water, and then a building by the architect Hiroshi Naito that curves gently to follow the forest. Then you sit, and eat a single beautiful sweet with a cup of tea. Here’s what it is, what I had on a July visit, and how to make the trip.

The walk in is half the point

Toraya Kobo stands on about 5,600 tsubo of grounds that were once a private villa, next door to the Higashiyama Former Kishi Residence (the house of former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, designed in 1969 by the architect Isoya Yoshida). When Toraya took the land, they kept the bamboo and the trees, and left the old thatched gate at the entrance as it was. So you don’t arrive at a shop — you arrive at a garden, and walk through it.

The path takes you past a small stream — there’s a little waterfall fringed with broad green leaves — and out to the lawn, where the café building comes into view. Naito’s design is a single low sweep of roof and glass that follows the curve of the land; from the covered walkway you look straight out into the trees.

What I had — the July sweets

The menu changes with the season, and the sweets are made in the workshop you can see through the glass. When I visited at the start of July, four things stood out — and yes, I worked my way through them. Every sweet can be ordered on its own to take away, or as a set with a cup of sencha green tea to eat in.

The warabi mochi is the one to plan around: it’s a new item, made only with pure warabi starch (most warabi mochi you’ll eat elsewhere is cut with other starches), so it comes out almost grey-brown and properly chewy. It’s served from around 11:00 and made in limited numbers, though you can order it from opening. The green-plum mizu-yōkan has a real plum inside — mind the stone. The ume mochi and kuzu manju were both ¥410 and, honestly, the easiest introduction if you’re new to wagashi.

The café, and the garden through the glass

Inside, it’s all warm cedar, low shelves of wagashi books, and glass on the garden side. It’s the kind of room that makes you put your phone down. In summer the plum trees on the lawn drop their fruit into the grass; in June the hydrangeas come out along the paths; and the light through the trees changes the whole room hour by hour.

How to get to Toraya Kobo

Where to stay near Gotemba

It works well as a day trip from Tokyo, Hakone or the Fuji Five Lakes, and Gotemba can also be a base for the whole east side of Mt. Fuji.

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What is Toraya Kobo, and how is it different from Toraya?

It’s the Gotemba countryside workshop-café of Toraya, the long-established wagashi house. It opened in 2007 on former villa grounds and focuses on freshly made, seasonal sweets eaten in a garden setting, rather than the formal boxed sweets of Toraya’s city shops.

What are the opening hours and closed days?

April–September 10:00–18:00, October–March 10:00–17:00, and it closes early once the day’s sweets sell out. It’s closed on Tuesdays (the next day if Tuesday is a public holiday) and over the New Year period. Check the official site before a special trip.

Do I need a reservation?

No — seating is first-come. Larger groups (around 20+) are asked to contact the shop ahead. Because the seasonal sweets are limited, popular items can sell out, so arrive earlier if there’s something you want.

How do I get there without a car?

Take the JR Gotemba Line to Gotemba Station, then a roughly 15-minute taxi, or a Hakone Tozan / Fujikyu bus to the Higashiyama Kyu-Kishi-tei stop by the entrance. Check bus times both ways before you set out.

Can I just walk the garden without eating?

The grounds — the thatched gate, bamboo, stream and lawn — are lovely to take in on the way to the café, and you can visit the neighbouring Higashiyama Former Kishi Residence separately (it has its own admission). But the sweets and tea are the reason to come.

Is there anything for a summer visit specifically?

Yes — when I visited in early July the seasonal line-up included ume mochi, kuzu manju, a green-plum mizu-yōkan and a new warabi mochi made from pure warabi starch. Menus rotate with the season, so summer leans cool and plum-forward.