A foot bath cafe featuring Kaga bocha (加賀棒茶), a roasted tea long enjoyed in Kanazawa and Kaga, will open on Friday, November 13, 2026, in the area leading to the Higashi Chaya District, one of Kanazawa's leading sightseeing spots. The cafe is attached to Wamonoya Kaya Kanazawa Higashi Chaya District Store (倭物やカヤ 金沢ひがし茶屋街店), a shop of the Japanese goods brand Wamonoya Kaya (倭物やカヤ).
Housed in a renovated traditional house (kominka) about 200 years old, the cafe offers a foot bath that uses Kaga bocha tea leaves. The menu includes "Kenjo Kaga Bocha" (献上加賀棒茶) from 丸八製茶場, as well as sweets made with Kaga bocha and matcha.
A Foot Bath Wrapped in the Aroma of Kaga Bocha
Kanazawa has a history of tea ceremony culture valued by the Maeda family of the Kaga Domain, and tea ceremony culture remains part of daily life in the city. One of the teas long enjoyed in Kanazawa and Kaga is Kaga bocha, a hojicha (roasted green tea) made by lightly roasting tea stems until they puff up. It is known for its clear amber color and toasty aroma.
At this cafe, Kaga bocha is something to smell and soak in, as well as to drink.
Tea leaves are also used in the foot bath, and the aroma of Kaga bocha spreads through the shop, so the whole space lets visitors experience the tea. The experience centers on enjoying Kaga bocha with all five senses.
"Dandan Foot Bath": Relaxing in the Atmosphere of a Traditional House
The "Dandan Foot Bath" (だんだん足湯) is built on stepped levels, so visitors can sit comfortably while enjoying the foot bath. Surrounded by the character of the old house, visitors can take a break during a walk around Kanazawa and spend the time as they like.
Visitors can enjoy cafe menu items along with the foot bath, surrounded by the aroma of Kaga bocha. The interior makes use of the traditional house, with a timber-framed ceiling and beams and boldly placed Japanese chests of drawers (wa-tansu), details that suggest the lives of the people who once lived here. The foot bath offers a moment to feel Kanazawa's history and culture.
Kanazawa-Style Cafe Menu to Enjoy with the Foot Bath
The cafe serves drinks including "Kenjo Kaga Bocha," hojicha, matcha, bamboo charcoal coffee (竹炭珈琲), and Okunoto Shio Cider (奥能登しおサイダー), along with sweets such as dorayaki and baked doughnuts made with Kaga bocha and matcha.
Set menu examples
Rice Flour Dorayaki with Kaga Bocha × Bamboo Charcoal Coffee
A set that pairs the "Rice Flour Dorayaki with Kaga Bocha" (米粉のどら焼き 加賀棒茶), which combines Kaga bocha cream and sweet bean paste, with bamboo charcoal coffee. It brings together a Japanese sweet and fragrant coffee.
All of the sweets are made only with plant-based ingredients, using Japanese ingredients characteristic of Kanazawa.
Baked Rice Flour Doughnut with Matcha × Kenjo Kaga Bocha
A set that pairs a baked doughnut with matcha flavor and "Kenjo Kaga Bocha," to be enjoyed slowly with the aroma of Kaga bocha.
The photos show examples of the menu.
The bamboo charcoal coffee is made by mixing fine bamboo charcoal particles into the coffee, giving it a distinctive look. Adding milk turns it gray, and the bamboo charcoal gives it a texture of its own.
A House of About 200 Years, Passed On to the Future
Wamonoya Kaya Kanazawa Higashi Chaya District Store is in a renovated building about 200 years old. The building had been in business as the bookstore 供田書店 since the late Edo period. By reusing it, the store aims to carry the historic scenery that remains in Kanazawa, where the history of Kaga Hyakumangoku lives on, into the future.
Kanazawa was spared from wartime destruction, and its historic streetscape, including machiya townhouses, remains today. Wamonoya Kaya has given one of the old houses in the area new life as a place of business.
The building has three floors and includes a space displaying photos that show Kanazawa's townscape in the past, aiming to be a place where visitors can learn about the history and culture of the area.
Passing On "Scenery Worth Keeping" to the Next Generation
Wamonoya Kaya wants to pass on old buildings and townscapes to the future. That thinking shaped Wamonoya Kaya Kanazawa Higashi Chaya District Store, which makes use of a traditional house and the character of the historic building.
Reflecting this thinking, hand-painted tiles discovered in the warehouse of a Kutani ware manufacturer were used on the wall beside the stairs leading to the foot bath cafe. The tiles give a traditional craft handed down in the region a new role, and pass it on to the next generation along with the character of the old house.
The store also carries Wamonoya Kaya's Japanese goods and Japanese- and Western-style clothing. After enjoying the foot bath and cafe, visitors can look for a souvenir to remember their trip.
A New Rest Stop for Strolling Kanazawa
The cafe aims to be a place for travelers from Japan and abroad, including those visiting the Higashi Chaya District, to stop by during a walk around Kanazawa and relax over the foot bath, tea, and sweets.
Visitors can soak their feet in the aroma of Kaga bocha while enjoying tea and sweets, and browse the Japanese goods and clothing in the store, adding a relaxing moment to a walk around Kanazawa.
Store Information
- Store name: KAYA Cafe Kaga Bocha Foot Bath (KAYA Cafe加賀棒茶足湯)
- Opening date: Friday, November 13, 2026
- Address: 2F, Wamonoya Kaya Kanazawa Store, 3-2-19 Higashiyama, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0831
- Access: About 10 minutes by bus from Kanazawa Station; get off at "Higashi Chaya-gai" (ひがし茶屋街)
- Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wamonoya_kaya_kanazawa
- Hours: Wamonoya Kaya Kanazawa Higashi Chaya District Store: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Foot bath: 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM (last order 5:00 PM)
- Price: ¥2,200 (tax included). Includes a cafe menu item, foot bath use, a tenugui hand towel, and a mizu-mikuji (water fortune slip).
Using the foot bath
- The foot bath can be used for 30 minutes after the cafe menu is served.
- Reservations are not accepted. Guests are seated in order of arrival and are guided through a waiting list system after arriving at the store.
