“Sobokusha” & “3274” - deep in the mountains of Misugi-cho, where you can enjoy a special time away from your daily life

Misugi-cho is a mountain village surrounded by green trees and clear streams.

In Misugi-cho, there are two shops in the Shimonokawa area, where even many locals are unfamiliar with the area. Although it is a place where you can finally reach from the city through a mountain road, the unique shops opened by each couple are attracting attention on SNS and word of mouth.

It takes about 45 minutes from the Hisai Interchange on the Ise Expressway to arrive near the cafe. The mountains with their green leaves and the clear stream of the river. The scenery of Misugi-cho is truly breathtaking.

Park your car in the parking lot along the street and walk for a few minutes to the shop from there.

An old private house with a taste of 80 years has appeared. The shop on the right, covered by the white wall, is the sweets shop “Sobokusha,” and the restaurant on the left is “3274.” The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Higashitani, have completely renovated the untouched old house from scratch. Surprisingly, they repaired the leaning house by jacking it up themmself.

First of all, we visited the shop of "Sobokusha".

Sold out within 30 minutes of opening.
Sobokusha offers colorful muffins

The style is to take off your shoes before entering the simple, all-white shop. You will feel like you are visiting on someone's private room. The colorful muffins baked that morning by owner Mayu Higashitani are displayed on the product shelves.

A lot of cute muffins that make you excited just by looking at them. The contents change depending on the season, but it is said that about 100 muffins of 20 to 30 types will be lined up when the store opens.

The store is open 4 days a week from Friday to Monday. Although the store opens at 11:30, all 100 can be sold out by 12:00. If you are heading there in a laid-back manner, you will never make it in time.

The muffins are based on four types of dough (maple, green tea, chocolate, and berry) and are decorated with various garnishes such as grapes, brownie, blueberry coconut, cherry crumble, and strawberry daifuku.

We asked Mayu why she was so particular about muffins.

Mayu : "My mother used to make sweets for me when I was a child. I could never forget the taste of the muffins that I loved the most. I wanted to offer muffins at my store as well.

It is probably because of this thought that you can taste the handmade flavor in every single item.

“These ’kids’ are also popular,” said Mayu, who showed us a number of muffins decorated with edible flowers. (By the way, Mayu introduced Muffin as “this kid”.)

Edible flowers such as pansies, violas, julians, and begonias give gorgeous colors to the muffins, which are rustic and warm.

Mayu and her husband Fumiaki Higashitani opened Cafe Megane in the city of Suzuka before opening Sobokusha in December last year. We asked about the charms of Misugi-cho, the current location.

Mayu: "At any rate, it's a quiet place with a lot of nature. You can only hear the sound of the babbling of the river. I wanted to set up a shop here and make it a place where people can relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life."

There is a counter space for two inside the store, and there are also table seats outside, so you can spend a blissful time while watching the scenery through the window with seasonal enzyme drinks.

The meal menu is "Black Curry with Spice & Nuts of Delight". It's a dish with plenty of spices and a taste that makes your body happy.

Instagram has a lot of pictures full of atmosphere taken by Mayu like this black curry. It is said that more than 300 cuts are taken to post a single photo. Please check before visiting the shop.