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.

Land of Oz bar

In every Japanese city, there's at least one gaijin-friendly joint where foreigners go to sip familiar beer and speak English to each other. Land of Oz is Fuji City's. It's made up like a kitschy Australian bar and serves a pretty good selection of international beer and liquor, including Guinness on tap. Plus you can get food like tacos, nachos and chicken wings and meet cool people from all over Shizuoka.

It's just about a five minute walk from Fuji Station's North exit. See here for a map or here for their Facebook page with upcoming events.

Gakunan Tetsudo beer train

The Gakunan Tetsudo is a small, private train line that runs from Yoshiwara Station to Gakunan-Enoo Station in Fuji City. The area served by this train line is fairly isolated and industrial so chances are you'll never have to take it. But there's no better reason to check it out than the annual beer train!

Such a brilliant concept really - you buy a ticket (about 2200 yen) and drink all the beer you can while the train goes to the end of the line and back (one hour). Depending on how many beers you drink, it can be a pretty good deal. Snacks are provided but most Japanese people bring food with them. Chances are you'll be the only foreigner on board so be prepared to make friends! This was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in Japan.

The beer train departs from Yoshiwara Station on Friday evenings in July and August at around 7:00 p.m. Please check at the station for more information and tickets. The Gakunan Tetsudo also has a jazz train sometimes (live jazz band on board) but I don't think it will happen again this year.



*Pics by Em

Acoustic bar

Check out this little bar if you're interested in meeting locals and if you think watching middle aged salarymen jamming classic rock and blues sounds like fun. Beers are 500 yen and there's usually a free live show on the second Tuesday of every month. Because it's so small, you'll end up talking to people. The bar mastaa is one of the sweetest guys you'll ever meet.

Acoustic is just around the corner from Fuji City Hall. Click here for a map.

Cafe Sofarii

Located on Yoshiwarahoncho, very close to Yoshiwara Chuo bus station. The cafe owner lived in Hawaii for a while so there's usually a lot of relaxing island music in the background as well as unique world music tracks. They have live music shows sometimes, as well as hula dancing.

An entire wall of books includes a fair amount of English reading material. Overall, great worn, cosy cafe feel. Fantastic deserts and coffee. There's also a selection of wines. Food is mostly pasta, soups and sandwiches. Prices are about mid range - lunch will cost around 1500 yen and dinner 2000 yen.

Here is the exact location and here is their website (in Japanese).

Koln Jazz Club

Some of the best Japanese and international jazz and blues artists stop by this place from time to time. It was a nice surprise to find it really. There's always a show on Saturday night. It will cost you 1500 yen plus a drink for a local act or more if it's something special. There are live shows during the week sometimes too.
There is a decent drink list and food menu. The mastaa of the joint is friendly and a baddass on bass. It's become my regular Saturday night spot for these reasons and because the music is always soulful. More than that, you can't beat the vibe. You can't help but feel relaxed in a room full of jazz lovers. No snootiness.

Koln is about a 15 minute walk from Yoshiwarahoncho Station on the Gakunan Line (transfer at Yoshiwara Station on the JR). Alternatively, you can get off at the Yoshiwarahoncho bus stop. Here is a map.

And here is the house band doing a cover of Jimmy Reed's Big Boss Man at last week's blues night. The poor audio does no justice to how they actually sound.