6 Best Restaurants in The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast, Japan

A terrific brewery and log-cabin-style restaurant is five minutes by taxi from Matsunami Station (on the Noto Line). It's operated by two beer masters from Eastern Europe in conjunction with an association that helps people with disabilities.

Here you'll find all kinds of fresh fish, some of which are found only in the Sea of Japan. For easy ordering, opt for a set course and ask for a Niigata sake to go with it; nowhere in Japan does sake better. Marui closes during midafternoon. It's one block off the Furu-machi arcade.

Slip into this little shop, in business since 1859, for a scoop of delicious sofuto kurimu (soft-serve ice cream) or a cup of tea. You can relax in the small garden in the rear or on benches out front. At the far end of the Tate-machi shopping street, the heavenly scent of roasting green tea leaves wafts out the door. The café is open daily 9:30 to 6:30.

Two blocks before the Chitose-bashi Bridge, this Japanese version of a traditional British pub serves fish-and-chips and pizza along with local Matsumoto beer and rotating craft brews from elsewhere. It's close to Parco department store, between the station and castle.

Various sashimi and sushi combinations are reasonably priced at this small but beautiful sushi bar close to the post office in Wajima. With the post office on your right, walk two blocks down Route 249. It's on your right just after the road takes a slight diagonal turn.

With a retro vibe, Yume-ya specializes in old-style yakitori (skewered, grilled meat and vegetables). Cozy up to the narrow counter for food and drinks, or sit outside during the warmer months. Little English is spoken by the staff, but the cooks are happy to explain the menu with exaggerated gestures. If it's full, just down the street is a second branch that specializes in a different kind of skewer, kushiage, deep-fried skewers of meat, seafood, vegetables, and even cheese.