Located on Route 4, the building for the Sannohe Roadside Station was modeled after the Sannohe castle ruins. The station has public restrooms, a small cafe and a shop featuring local Sannhoe products such as Sannohe senbei, local apple juices, and other specialty goods.
Particularly popular are the 11 Hungry Cats stuffed animals, books, and other merchandise. The 11 Hungry Cats is a popular Japanese children’s storybook series that was written by Sannohe native author and manga writer Noboru Baba.
The small café in the station serves some local specialty dishes as well as light-fare meals and ice cream. The facility also has a road and sightseeing information corner where you can learn local sites of interest and other details about the area. The Sannohe Roadside Station is a great and convenient place to stop and refresh on any trip through the area.
The San Sun Plaza
The San Sun Plaza is located next to the Sannohe Roadside station. It has fresh locally grown produce, handcrafted goods, traditional foods, and more. The Plaza also carries a variety of Sannohe’s very own locally produced juices with flavors like apple, plum, grape, and shiso. Prepared food like handmade tofu, miso made with sake lees, pickles, and yakiniku sauces are highly recommended as well.
Inside the plaza, there is also a small restaurant that serves local favorites like hittsumi, kushi-mochi, etc. The food is made by local women who rotate shifts throughout the week. Because the dishes served at the cafe are home-style classics, whoever is cooking the food usually prepares the dishes according to their tastes and family traditions. Thus you will find that the flavors and styles of the dishes change depending on who is making it, adding a certain charm freshness to the cafe. But rest assured, no matter who is in the kitchen the food always tastes great and retains its home-cooked feel.
