Situated in front of the entrance to the Morito Daimyojin shrine in Hayama, SODA CAFE features great coffee and a unique bakery. Here, you’ll find gluten-free and vegan sweets to tickle your sweet tooth while you visit the beautiful local beaches or hike its hills.
If you go during lunch, the vegan taco rice (¥880) is offered until 2pm, but most of the options focus around their cafe/bakery. The dairy-free ice cream (¥400~) is great for warmer days. Otherwise, try the vegan pudding (¥530), a rotating menu of baked goods (¥380~) like the detox cookie, and banana cake (¥500). The highlight is the Baked Cheese Cake (¥600), which is sweet and savory with a dry graham cracker crust, soy milk cheese filling, and soy whip to top it off. It goes perfectly with a cup of coffee.
Speaking of coffee, a regular cup of delicious Joe is only ¥480, while various kinds of herbal teas are ¥550. Unsurprisingly, SODA CAFE also offers home-made craft soda (¥680) as well as vegan shakes (¥780) and smoothies (¥850~).
Its modern, cozy, beach-themed interior fits little more than ten people and plays mellow music to help set the mood. The owner, Mr. Soda, is talkative and has some good local information if you’re willing to strike up a conversation. Overall the cafe is a great choice if you’re making a day trip down to Hayama to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.