Kawaba Denen Plaza

**Come hungry and buy in this order.** Bakery first thing, because the popular loaves go early. Yoghurt and ice cream from the dairy at any point. Ham and sausage last so it is not sitting in a warm car. The queues at the bakery on a weekend morning are the longest on site. **Weekday mornings are a different place.** This is one of the busiest roadside stations in Japan and on a fine weekend the car parks fill. Arriving on a weekday, or before 10:00 AM at a weekend, turns a crowded site into a quiet one. **Shop hours are not uniform.** Each business inside sets its own opening times and rest days — several take Wednesdays. Assuming one site-wide schedule is the common mistake; check before travelling if a specific workshop is the reason you are going. **Use it as a base, not a destination.** Kawaba sits between Numata and the mountains, which puts it on the way to Oze, Minakami and the Tanigawa area. It works best as the food stop on a driving day rather than as the day itself. **Buy the produce.** The farm shop sells what local growers brought in that morning — at this altitude that means apples, mountain vegetables and rice. It is priced for residents, not visitors.