Gakunan Tetsudo wine train

Like its cousin beer train, the wine train (or wine densha) event put on yearly by the small private Gakunan Tetsudo train line is pretty special. Buy a ticket for about 2500 yen and ride the train to the end of the line and back (a total of about one hour) and drink all the wine you can. There are various kinds of wines on board, including a selection of nearby Yamanashi wines. And you shouldn't feel ashamed of keeping your glass full either. Everyone will be trying to get as much value for their money as possible and swaying by the end of the ride.


Like beer train, wine train is a good chance to talk with drunk locals and get your picture taken a lot and have an all round good time. It starts off and returns to JR Yoshiwara Station. Make sure to walk over to the Gakunan Tetsudo side of the station. Making a reservation for your party is very much recommended as tickets tend to sell out very quickly. While beer train takes place in summer, wine train is a winter event (February). Contact the Gakunan Tetsudo company for more information and walk with your own snacks.

Hina Cafe

Chances are you wouldn't stumble across this gem of a cafe on your own. Not only is it located in a fairly out of the way location, but it's also hidden from view from the street. I'm happy that my colleague took me to lunch here once so now I can share it with others.

One of the nicest things about Hina Cafe is the interior. It's really unique--there are random antiques strewn all over the place and cool raw wooden furniture. When the weather is nice you can eat on the patio.


The place is run entirely by a couple. Service can therefore be a bit slow at peak hours but it's worth it for the delicious food and attention to detail. It's open for lunch and dinner and there are a range of beers and cocktails as well. It's located here, close to Hina Station on the Gakunan Tetsudo line.

Tsuke Napori

This is the signature dish of the Yoshiwara section of Fuji City. It's basically a Japanese take on Neapolitan pasta. You use chopsticks to dip your pasta in the tomato sauce. It's very yummy. Many different cafes and restaurants in Yoshiwara offer their own versions of the dish. The one above has sakura ebi (tiny shrimp) in the pasta. My favorite is from Sofarii Cafe. Here, you can order onigiri (rice balls) to mix into the sauce you have left over at the end. So good!

You can find tsuke napori anywhere you see the red, green and white tomato sign in Yoshiwara.