Shirofuji no Chamise (城藤茶店)

Shirofuji no Chamise

Shirofuji no Chamise (城藤茶店) is a cafe that opened in 2014 near Tsuchiura Castle in the Chuo area of Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture. The building, originally constructed as a residence in 1936 and used as a residence for an officer of the former Tsuchiura Naval Air Group, which was located nearby, and his family. The building remained in use as a residence until 2009. After becoming vacant, it was planned to be demolished, but, after a revitalization project, it was renovated into its present form.

View of Tsuchiura Castle from Shirofuji no Chamise

This cafe has been featured on several Japanese television programs. It first appeared on TV Tokyo's Adomachi Special in August 2015 as part of a feature on traditional house cafes in Tsuchiura. It was later featured on NHK E-Tele's Furu Cafe-kei Haru-san no Kyūjitsu in 2017 and TV Asahi's Junsanpo in 2018. More recently, the cafe appeared on Nippon TV's Meshidora in June 2024 and was featured again on TV Tokyo's Adomachi Special in March 2024.

Ordered:

Mochi Waffle with Honey Soy Sauce and Ice Cream (お餅のワッフル はちみつ醤油がけ アイス添え)

This is one of the cafe's popular menu items. The soy sauce used is from Shibanuma Soy Sauce, a local soy sauce brewery.

Another popular menu item is their original curry. The cafe's curry can be viewed in the broader context of Tsuchiura's local curry culture, where restaurants throughout the city develop original dishes as part of the "city of curry" initiative which is said to be associated with the tradition of the former Imperial Japanese Navy of eating curry every Saturday to prevent their sense of the date and day of the week from fading during long periods at sea, when the scenery remained unchanged. This tradition was inherited to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in the form of eating curry every Friday as Saturday is now a day off.

Coffee is another important part of the cafe menu. The cafe serves its own coffee blend, created in collaboration with a nearby coffee roaster Nico Nico Coffee.

Their menu also includes cheese risotto, waffles, and soft drinks.

Please note that visitors will need to take off their shoes at the entrance before entering the cafe.

Normal operating hours:
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Closed on Wednesdays

Acceptable payment methods:
Cash, PayPay, LINE Pay, Alipay