Coffee and Chill at Cisco Cafe, Kawaguchiko

Lake Kawaguchi is known for many things - Mount Fuji, Fuji Q Highlands and the iconic Chureito Pagoda. Beautiful in the spring for its cherry blossoms, summer for its colourful flowers, autumn for the fiery leaves and winter for the powder-like snow, Kawaguchiko is a popular tourist destination as it is only a two hours bus ride or a hour's train ride from Tokyo.

Given its popularity, cafes and restaurants along the lake tend to fill up fast and the atmosphere can be quite a turn off. However, if you're willing to stretch your legs a little and cycle or drive out on your own, there is a little gem of a cafe nearby Yagizaki Park. Cisco Cafe serves up a simple menu of Shibuya toast, sandwiches, cakes, muffins and pastries. Such as its namesake, the coffee beans are from San Francisco,

As I was there on a cold day in autumn, the cafe was near empty around lunch time which made for the ideal place for me to take a break from cycling around the town. I parked my rented bike and headed in and was immediately greeted by the warmth of high ceilings and frame windows, an inviting display of cakes and pastries and the scent of freshly brewed coffee in the air.

After a hearty meal at my hostel, I was looking for something light to munch on as I did some work at the cafe. So I opted for a honey butter toast and a cup of latte. The toast was rich with warm butter soaked to the core with a generous drizzle of honey oozing down the sides. The coffee was delicious, pleasant on all senses and hot enough to warm me down to the core.

As I sat there for two hours, simply listening to the voice of Michael Buble serenading the cafe's occupants from the speaks, it was absolute bliss. Only a couple of other foreigners strolled in when I was there and they had driven themselves. This told me that this cafe was indeed off the beaten path and one I wouldn't mind sharing.