Bakery & Restaurant Sawamura Kyukaruizawa

In the Old Karuizawa area, Sawamura combines an in-house bakery with a restaurant serving several parts of the day. The business describes its concept as living alongside nature: a corridor between trees, a terrace touched by filtered sunlight and an open dining room connected to Karuizawa’s surroundings. Beside it is a bakery workshop with a wood-fired oven and stone mill, and the company says bread baked there is a feature of this branch.

The restaurant can turn a walk through Kyu-Karuizawa’s shops into breakfast, lunch, a café stop or dinner. The bakery opens before many neighbourhood shops, while the restaurant serves full meals from early morning as well as fresh bread, coffee and pastries. It offers a broader sit-down choice than Mikado Coffee: Sawamura works for a meal, while Mikado is known for its coffee-roasting history, coffee jelly and soft serve. On weekends, expect a possible wait for a table.

Visitors often praise the texture of the breads and croissants, breakfast, desserts, the bright dining room and its relaxed atmosphere; many also value the takeaway bakery counter. Other comments find some prices high or note that the restaurant fills up at popular times. The wide menu and setting are reasons to allow time, but not always to choose it for a very quick stop if a queue extends outside. Buying bread is a simpler alternative that does not require a table.

The official address is 12-18 Karuizawa, about a 20-minute walk from the station according to the business. The bakery lists 7 am–9 pm and the restaurant 7 am–10 pm, last order at 9 pm; the official site lists an 8 am opening in winter. Check the seasonal schedule if an early breakfast matters. For a full breakfast or meal in a tree-lined setting, Sawamura fits best; for coffee and a signature sweet while exploring Ginza, Mikado is the lighter pause.