Bon On Shya International Cafe

We arrived in Koyasan after 3pm. As we anticipated, lunch had finished for the day. However, the warm and friendly owners offered to make us a vegan meal if we came back in 30-40 minutes. This was very kind of them as they were busy preparing for a private dinner party at the time. We had a main, a coffee and a slice of tofu cheesecake (1,200 yen for each set) which were all delicious. We plan to come back again tomorrow for lunch but earlier this time! The owners suggested arriving at about 11.30am/12ish.

Excellent small cafe near heart of Koya-San town!
Great veggie options, Bialetti espresso and nice deserts!

vegetarian by default, so mention it if you're vegan.

May of the restaurants in Koya-san offer some sort of vegetarian option but not with very interesting or differentiated menus. This restaurant was a nice find on the main street. The set lunch was varied and contained a range of flavors and spices. Ingredients were fresh and the preparation took place as we waited. The espresso and tofu cheese cake were both unexpected treats in a small village in Japan.

We stopped by for lunch and had the daily lunch set which consists of a plate of food (based on the day), a drink, and dessert. It was all lovely and we really enjoyed it. Bon An Sha is run by a married couple--a Japanese man and his French (I think?) wife. Between them they speak English, Japanese, French, and Italian.

The daily lunch set is always vegetarian but isn't always vegan. But the couple was really nice and accommodating so I'm sure they could do a modified plate if some of it wasn't vegan.

Location: on Koyasan's Main Street in a renovated wooden house with a sign and menu board outside.

Food and ambience: the cafe has a daily vegetarian lunch set (soup, main course, sides, drink) for about 1200 yen and a cake set (coffee or tea, cake) for about 800 and various coffee or tea drinks. The staff-owners are incredibly friendly, and made us a vegan lunch when their daily special (quiche) was not. The cafe shows and sells the work of local ceramic artists also , and the cafe owner volunteered to direct us to the workshop,of one of the artists because we were so interested in his work. In fact, he took us there in his car!

I stayed in one of the shukubo (Eko-in) in Koya, and wanted to get some lunch before heading back to Kyoto the following lunchtime. I discovered this restaurant whilst walking into the town area when I arrived in Koya, and enquired about lunch, which they would start serving at 11:30 and it ends when they run out. I came back the next day and was quickly served a wonderful selection of food. They had 2 offers - one was a lunch plate, and one was a lunch plate with dessert and hot drink. We went for the one with the dessert! The owners asked if we were vegan before we ordered.

The cafe is owned by a French lady and her Japanese husband. We communicated in English fluently and the owner told us they had been living in Koya for several years, and their children were playing in the Cafe. It had a lovely warm homely feeling.

Lunch this day was a lentil stew, with carrots and onions in a gravy sauce, with brown rice, salad and a piece of toast with pate. This was accompanied by a broccoli soup. We got the chocolate cake to go and it was all delicious! Very Western and reminded me of comfort food I'd eat at home.

The cafe is really lovely - big wooden tables, and a selection of pottery for sale (which was all beautifully handmade), along with the female owner's illustrations on the walls. She was even drawing whilst we tucked into lunch!

This is ideal for the time between having your early breakfast in the shukubo and getting dinner, or travelling away from Koya. I would highly recommend it!

To get here, if you are heading away from the Okunoin towards the Tourist Information Centre along the main street, it is on your right hand side, maybe halfway between the two. It has really clear signage and big open windows.