Cute logo mark expressing a bee (Photo: Kato Riho)

Miele: Seaside Cafe in Awaji

Sunset by the sea with healthy food and honey

Cute logo mark expressing a bee (Photo: Kato Riho)
Kato Riho   - 3 min read

This cozy café, 'miele', is right beside the main road in Awaji city. It is located right in front of the Seto Inland Sea (Setonaikai), and we could see the islands on the opposite shore clearly.

At Miele, you can enjoy healthy food made from Awaji-shima’s locally sourced vegetables and meat. I got an “Awaji-shima burger” with Awaji beef and onions.

I believe that you have heard of Kobe Beef, but have you heard of Awaji Beef?

Awaji burger with sea view
Awaji burger with sea view

It is said that calves from Awaji are sent to Kobe, where they are called Kobe Beef. This means that Awaji Beef is as high-quality as Kobe Beef. Indeed, the patty made from Awaji Beef was full of meat juice and very delicious.

While the hamburger doesn't look as “healthy” as mentioned earlier, the staff kindly told us that they bake the buns with rice flour every day at their bakery in Nojima Scuola, which is Miele’s sister shop/restaurant.

On a side note, you can walk to Nojima Scuola and they sell many kinds of souvenirs and vegetables from Awaji-shima. In addition, there were three alpacas and four goats in the corner of the parking lot staring at me when I was there.

The sunset from Miele
The sunset from Miele

Miele is on the west coast of Awaji-shima, therefore, you can see the extraordinary sunset view on the sea from every seat there. Luckily there is nothing around the café except the sea; a 180-degree view of the sunset is provided in front of you.

Please be noted that Miele is closed in January this year. They told us that they will reopen in February, and the late spring and early summer are the best times to just sit calmly and enjoy the view with their food and drinks. You’d better avoid visiting there in the mid-summer time (which I did last year), since there is a long waiting list under a muggy weather.

Lastly, if you were wondering, the name of café, “miele” means honey in Italian and so in the café, you can buy several kinds of honey.

Getting there

Total travel time from Kobe ranges from 40 to 60 minutes. Usually tourists use a rental car or bike for the transportation in Awaji-shima. If you are willing to save money, there are two options to take a bus from Sannomiya or a ferry from Akashi.

  • From Kobe, the best way of visiting miele is by a car and it takes about 40 minutes.
  • From Sannomiya, the bus takes about 40 minutes to get to Awaji IC, right after crossing the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and it costs 670 yen. From the bus stop, there is the bus provided by miele itself and it takes about 20 minutes to get to the café.
  • From Akashi, you can take the ferry called “Jenova Line” from the Akashi port. It takes about 15 minutes and costs 500 yen for one way. From the Iwaya port, the bus is also provided by miele and it takes about 15 minutes from Iwaya port.
Kato Riho

Kato Riho @kato.riho