Kamaishi City is a city of 35,000 located on the coast of Iwate Prefecture. In the city that once flourished in the iron and steel industry, the remnants of iron ore mining and blast furnaces remaining in the city were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2015 as a component of the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining.

In addition, it was one of the venues for the Rugby World Cup 2019 Japan Competition.

The Miffy Cafe is about a 15-minute walk from Kamaishi Station. Along the way you are bound to see several Miffy. I first stopped by the tourist information center in front of Kamaishi Station to get information and a map about Miffy Street before heading to the cafe.

There are 18 such plaques showing the distance to the Miffy Cafe along the 1.5 km Miffy Street. I was told that all of them have different images. And that made me want to look for all of them!

While admiring the manhole with the Miffy design I noticed a building with colorful windows to the right. I had arrived at the Miffy Cafe Kamaishi!

Let's explore the origins of the Miffy Cafe in Kamaishi. Its inception was influenced by the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. A Japanese journalist, closely connected to Miffy's creator Dick Bruna, prompted a response. Mercis bv, which holds the copyright for Mr. Bruna's work, contributed a unique monochrome Miffy illustration featuring two tears, accompanied by a handwritten note from Mr. Bruna, to the earthquake-affected children.

Subsequently, there emerged a desire among the people in the disaster-stricken areas for something to bring back color into their lives, symbolized by the wish for Miffy to regain her vibrant colors. This sentiment led to the idea of establishing a Miffy cafe in Kamaishi City, one of the impacted locations. With the approval of Dick Bruna, residing in the Netherlands, the Miffy Cafe was established in 2015, aiming to restore some brightness in the area.

Let’s go in and look around!

Stepping into the shop I saw shelves lined with picture books. I was overly joyed to find books that I read when I was little. The room was filled with stuffed animals on the shelves, illustrations on the walls, and Miffy of all sizes.

The interior is done in orange, yellow, green and blue Miffy colors, giving it the look of a picture book world in which Miffy would appear.

It is easy to become distracted by all the cute objects here, so I decided to first sit down and enjoy something to eat.

The menu offers about 40 items ranging from drinks, meals, and desserts, and many of these are cute visual representations of Miffy! Let’s begin by introducing the most popular item on the menu, the Netherlands Plate (1,380 yen including tax; comes with corn soup).

This plate is what a home-cooked meal in Dick Bruna’s Netherlands might look like. The centerpiece is a large, meatball often eaten in the Netherlands called Gehaktballen. The white rice is in the shape of a rabbit and looks just like Miffy! Just seeing the flower-shaped egg and flag of the Netherlands heightened my anticipation! It looked too cute to eat!

The chef here is Mr. Nobuyuki Owada who operates a Western-style restaurant in Kamaishi City which is noted for its hamburg steak. The Gehaktballen is similar to a hamburg steak and very tender. Cutting into it the juices ooze out. And the portion is quite large, too, so most satisfying.

The corn soup that comes with it is deliciously creamy. And while you are eating the soup an image of Miffy appears at the bottom of the cup! It was fun seeing the picture emerge as I ate the soup.

Initially I wondered if the portion was a bit small, but with the Neapolitan spaghetti it turned out to be just right. I enjoyed eating this dish which rather reminded me of being a “children’s plate” for adults.

Of course there is also a menu for children. Slowly opening the Miffy-shaped lunch box reveals a hamburger steak, Neapolitan spaghetti, and rice in the shape of Miffy that is almost too cute to eat. This lunch plate is certain leave children with wonderful memories.

After the meal, I ordered a cafe latte with lots of foam milk (regular size 450 yen, tax included). Cocoa powder is used to draw Miffy. This is a dessert you really should try.

This popular parfait uses seasonal fruit, so it varies according to the season. For a limited period until March it is a strawberry parfait (930 yen including tax; prices vary according to the season) Granita, which is similar to red shaved ice, is hidden beneath the fresh strawberries, a truly authentic patissier idea. Further down in the glass the refreshing orange-flavored jelly and a slightly sweet whipped cream add to the exquisite taste. Miffy-shaped white chocolate and strawberry ice cream further add to the various enjoyable flavors.

The dessert plate is a luxurious dish of three different sweets which vary from time to time. It depicts Miffy on a cloud ship in a dream world. This is a sweet that lets you enjoy the picture book world of Miffy.

All of the items on the menu are carefully created by Chef Owada who operates a Western-style restaurant and have authentic tastes. "Miffy is the central character in the cafe, but because there are many customers coming from afar, I want to offer dishes that will be satisfying," said Mr. Owada.

Each of the delicious items on the menu with their cute Miffy motifs satisfy both the stomach and the heart! There are many dishes on the menu that both adults and children alike will enjoy.

Lots of Miffy merchandise are offered for sale in the shop. Many are goods that can only be bought here, so be sure to check them out.

These two Miffy toys holding rugby balls, both of which I decided to buy, are shop original items that were made to commemorate the World Rugby Cup. This is a souvenir from the rugby town of Kamaishi that is certain to please

The same symbol as the “x” used for Miffy’s mouth is also on the bottom of the mug cup. This is a humorous item that makes it appear that you have Miffy’s mouth when you drink from the cup. It’s an item that both children and adults would enjoy.

After you have had a meal and shopped, try to find the hidden Miffy. There are silhouettes of Miffy throughout the store.

Also in the store precious items are displayed. This frisky Miffy with the sun visor is a work by Makoto Ozu, a cross-stitch designer.

In fact, this is one of 60 works exhibited in the "Miffy Art Parade", a charity project where creators active around the world used paint and decoration to create one-of-a-kind Miffys. It is part of the collection of Chef Owada who also owns the building and is a globally important work of art.

Miffy in a bright, yellow dress. When the store opened, by chance a large Miffy in a yellow dress greeted customers entering the store, so he felt it his destiny to buy it.

On a wall in the cafe is a letter that led to the creation of the Miffy Cafe Kamaishi.

According to Mr. Owada, many of the visitors are women in their late twenties to forties and families; visitors come not only from within the prefecture, but from all over Japan and from foreign countries as well. Many of the guests who grew up reading Miffy picture books and now show the same Miffy books to their own children. No doubt someday these children when they have grown up and have families of their own will want to again visit here.

Wouldn’t you like to visit Miffy Cafe Kamaishi and spend some time in this place that is like a dream?

This article was originally published in 2019 and updated in January 2024. Prices and menu items may have changed since then.