The VMG Cafe: Local Tastes in a Riverside Merchant Home

The first-floor café space has high ceilings and an airy, open feel. (© Kawaguchi Yōko)

Pentagonal pillars still hold the building up. (© Kawaguchi Yōko)

Secure storage, Edo-style: Box staircase and sturdy safe. (© Kawaguchi Yōko)

The VMG Cafe’s deliciously fresh sweet potato Mont Blanc. (© Kawaguchi Yōko)

The spacious upstairs area. The doors and other fittings, though modern, evoke the Edo period. (© Kawaguchi Yōko)

Extra boards were added to fix the skewed sliding doors and keep them in use. (© Kawaguchi Yōko)

Historical buildings scattered across the town were renovated and reborn as hotel venues. (© Kawaguchi Yōko)

Girl’s Day and Children’s Day dolls handed down from generation to generation. (© Kawaguchi Yōko)

The Ono River at dusk. (© Kawaguchi Yōko)