Cafe Melia Nozawa Onsen
“Cake is most important”
A philosophy Masa and Akane famously live by. Akane makes her cupcakes in store, completely vegan and served cold. I have tried and love them all.
Masayuki and Akane opened their café and skate shop in 2017 in Nozawa Onsen, a small village situated in the Nagano Prefecture. Masa sells all things skateboarding while Akane makes all things delicious. Masa moved to Nozawa in either 2011 or 2012, he can’t quite remember, after living in Vancouver for three years. In the summer, he works on the mountain building terrain and tracks for mountain biking troops, a sport quite popular for those in the village amid the hotter months.
In the winter, Masa and Akane are busy riding the slopes, designing jewellery and skate wear, baking bagels, making the best chai latte in town and skateboarding with their too cute daughter Hana, meaning flower in Japanese. Pride washes over Masa’s face when he talks about Hana and skateboarding around Nozawa with her safely tucked between his legs.
Despite coming from the coastal town of Ibaraki, which he describes to me as being “a lot like the Gold Coast”, Masa has quite an affiliation to skateboarding. From displaying his own skate merch, Cake Skate, around the café and kid’s books about skating sat in the magazine stand, you can just tell he loves it from the second you walk in. The real give away is the skateboard hanging on the ceiling that reads “Skateboarding ruined my life”, wise words Masa. I question Masayuki about the tip jar on the counter that asks for donations to help build a skate park here in Nozawa. He tells me that in the summer they a build skate park, only for locals though. Exclusive.
The truly special thing about Café Melia is where all the products are from. Everything Masa and Akane sell is either made by them or by a friend. It’s like a game, you can point at any item or artwork and Masa can tell you who made it, who painted it, how it got there. Each one a little reflection of their life. The most special one being Masa and Akane’s wedding invitation. You can spot it in the corner of the café, by the window.