Since November 2023, I’ve been living in Karuizawa, a small resort town that’s 70 minutes away from Tokyo by Shinkansen. The elevation is approximately 1000 meters above sea level, making the summers relatively mild. Unlike other colder places in Japan, it doesn’t get much snow, and has the same sunny winters I came to love in Tokyo.
With COVID and the remote work boom, it’s also become popular among professionals such as myself who want to live somewhere with an abundance of nature, but who still need to commute into Tokyo on a semi-regular basis.
While I have a home office, I sometimes like to work outside. So I thought I’d share my impressions of the coworking spaces in town that I’ve personally visited, and a few other places where you can get some work done when you’re in town.
Sawamura Roastery
Sawamura Roastery is technically a cafe, but it’s my personal favourite coworking space. It has free wifi, outlets, and comfortable chairs. While their coffees are on the expensive side, at about 750 yen for a cafe latte, they are also some of Karuizawa’s best. It’s empty enough on weekday mornings that I feel fine about staying there for hours, making it a deal compared to official drop-in coworking spaces.
Another bonus is that it opens early: 7 a.m. (or 8 a.m. during the winter months). This allows me to start working right after I drop off my kids at daycare, rather than having 20 odd minutes to kill before heading to the other places that open at 9 a.m.
If you’re having an online meeting, you can make use of the outdoor seating. It’s perfect when the weather is nice, but they also have heating for when it isn’t.
The downsides are that their playlist is rather short, so I’m constantly hearing the same songs, and their roasting machine sometimes gets quite noisy.
Gokalab
Gokalab is my favourite dedicated coworking space in Karuizawa. Technically it is in Miyota, the next town over, which is sometimes called “Nishikaruizawa”. But it’s the only coworking space in the area I’ve been to that feels like it has a real community.
When you want to work here, you have three options: buy a drink (600 yen for a cafe au lait—no cafe lattes, unfortunately, but if you prefer black coffee they have a good selection) and work out of the cafe area on the first floor; pay their daily drop-in fee of 1,000 yen; or become a “researcher” (研究員, kenkyuin) for 3,000 yen per month and enjoy unlimited usage.
Now you may be thinking that the last option is a steal. That’s because it is. However, to become a researcher you need to go through a workshop that involves making something out of LEGO, and submit an essay about why you want to use the space. The thinking behind this is that they want to support people who actually share their vision, and aren’t just after a cheap space to work or study. Kind of zany, but that sort of out-of-the-box thinking is exactly what I want in a coworking space.
When I first moved to Karuizawa, my youngest child couldn’t get into the local daycare. However, we found out that in Miyota, Suginoko Kindergarten had part-time spots available for two year olds. My wife and I ended up taking turns driving my kid there, and then spending the morning working out of Gokalab.
Since my youngest is now in a local daycare, I haven’t made it out to Gokalab much. It’s just a bit too far for me (about a 15-minute drive from my house, while other options on this list are at most a 15-minute bicycle ride). But if I was living closer, I’d be a regular there.
232 Coworking Space & Hotel
If you’re looking for a coworking space near Karuizawa station, 232 Coworking Space & Hotel is the best option I’ve come across. The “hotel” part of the name made me think they were focused on “workcations,” but the space seems like it caters to locals as well.
The space offers free coffee via an automatic espresso machine, along with other drinks, and a decent number of desks. When I used it on a Monday morning in the off-season, it was moderately occupied at perhaps a quarter capacity.
Everyone spoke in whispers, so it felt a bit like a library. There were two booths for calls, but unfortunately they were both occupied when I wanted to have mine, so I had to sit in the hall instead. If the weather was a bit warmer I would have taken it outside, as there was some nice covered seating available.
The decor was nice, though the chairs weren’t that comfortable. After a couple of hours I was getting sore. It was also too dimly lit for me, without much natural light.
The price for drop-ins is reasonable, starting at 1,500 yen for four hours. They also have monthly plans starting from 10,000 yen for five days per month.
What I found missing was a feeling of community. I didn’t see any small talk between the people working there, though I was only there for a couple hours, and maybe this occurs at other times. Their webpage also mentioned that they host events, but apparently they don’t have any upcoming ones planned and haven’t had any in a while.
Shozo Coffee Karuizawa
Shozo Coffee Karuizawa is a cafe on the first floor of the bookstore in Karuizawa Commongrounds. The second floor has a dedicated coworking space, but for me personally, the cafe is a better deal. Their cafe latte is mid-tier and 700 yen. In the afternoons I’ll go for their chai to avoid over-caffeination. They offer free wifi and have signs posted asking you not to hold online meetings, implicitly making it clear that otherwise they don’t mind you working there.
Location-wise, this place is very convenient for me, but it suffers from a fatal flaw that prevents me from working there for an extended amount of time: the tables are way too low for me to type comfortably. I’m tall though (190 cm), so they aren’t designed with me in mind.
Roundabout Cafe
After first publishing this article, I had several people recommend I check out Roundabout Cafe. It’s located within WORK × ation Site, which is a coworking space that seems to be aimed at companies having corporate off-sites. I don’t exactly get if the Cafe is an independent business, but on the day I visited, there wasn’t anyone using the coworking space area, and the proprietor said I could use it while having my coffee.
I really wanted to like this space. The proprietor was quite friendly, and the space had good lighting and a nice view. But unfortunately the cafe latte wasn’t to my taste, and the seating was a bit hard, so an hour or two was the max I’d use it for. If I was ever looking to rent a place to host twenty plus people though, I’d definitely consider using it.
Sheridan
Sheridan is a western breakfast and brunch restaurant. They aren’t that busy on weekdays and have free wifi, plus the owner was happy to let me work there. The coffee comes in a pot with enough for at least one refill. There’s also some covered outdoor seating.
I used this spot to get some work done when my child was sick and being looked after at the wonderful Hochi Lodge (ほっちのロージ). It’s a clinic and sick childcare facility that does its best to not let on that it’s a medical facility. The doctors and nurses don’t wear uniforms, and appointments there feel more like you’re visiting someone’s home. Sheridan is within walking distance of it.
Natural Cafeina
If you’d like to get a bit of work done over an excellent cappuccino, Natural Cafeina is a good option. This cafe feels a bit cramped, and as there isn’t much seating, I wouldn’t want to use it for an extended period of time. Also, the music was also a bit loud. But they do have free wifi, and when I visited, there were a couple of other customers besides myself working there.
Nakakaruizawa Library
The Nakakaruizawa Library is a beautiful space with plenty of desks facing the windows and free wifi. Anyone can use it for free, making it the most economical coworking space in town. I’ve tried working out of it, but found that, for me personally, it wasn’t conducive to work. It is still a library, and there’s something about the vibes that just doesn’t inspire me.
Karuizawa Commongrounds Bookstore Coworking Space
The renowned bookstore Tsutaya operates Karuizawa Books in the Karuizawa Commongrounds development. The second floor has a coworking space that features the “cheap chic” look common among hip coworking spaces. Unfinished plywood is everywhere, as are books.
I’d never actually worked at this space until writing this article. The price is just too high for me to justify it, as it starts at 1,100 yen for a mere hour, to a max of 4,000 yen per day. At 22,000 yen per month, it’s a more reasonable price for someone using it as an office full time. But I already have a home office and just want somewhere I can drop in at occasionally.
There are a couple options, seating-wise. Most of the seats are in booths, which I found rather dark but with comfortable chairs. Then there’s a row of stools next to the window, which offer a good view, but are too uncomfortable for me. Depending on your height, the bar there may work as a standing desk. Lastly, there are two coveted seats with office chairs by a window, but they were both occupied when I visited.
The emphasis here seems to be on individual deep work, and though there were a number of other people working, I’d have felt uncomfortable striking up a conversation with one of them. That’s enough to make me give it a pass.
Coworking Space Ikoi Villa
Coworking Space Ikoi Villa is located in Naka-Karuizawa, relatively close to my home. I’ve only used it once though.
It’s part of a hotel, and they converted the lobby to a coworking space by putting a bunch of desks and chairs in it. If all you need is wifi and space to work, it gets the job done. But it’s a shame they didn’t invest a bit more in making it feel like a nice place to work.
I went during the summer on one of the hottest days. My house only had one AC unit and couldn’t keep up, so I was hoping to find somewhere cooler to work. But they just had the windows open with some fans going, which left me disappointed.
This was ostensibly the peak season for Karuizawa, but only a couple of others were working there that day. Maybe the regulars knew it’d be too hot, but it felt kind of lonely for a coworking space.
The drop-in fee starts at 1,000 yen for four hours. It comes with free drinks from a machine: green tea, coffee, and water, if I recall correctly.
Karuizawa Prince The Workation Core
Karuizawa Prince The Workation Core is a coworking space located in my least favourite part of the town—the outlet mall. The throngs of shoppers and rampant commercialism are in stark contrast to the serenity found farther away from the station. This is another coworking space I visited expressly for this article.
The fee is 660 yen per 30 minutes, to a maximum of 6,336 yen per day. Even now, just reading that maximum, my heart skipped a beat. This is certainly the most expensive coworking space I’ve ever worked from—I better get this article done fast.
The facilities include a large open space with reasonably comfortable seating. There are a number of booths with monitors. As they are 23.8 inch monitors with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, they’re a step down from the resolution of modern laptops, and so not of much use.
Though there was room for 40 plus people, I was the only person working. Granted this was on a Sunday morning, so not when most people would typically attend.
I don’t think I’ll be back here again. The price and sterile corporate vibe just aren’t for me. If you’re staying at The Prince Hotel, I think you get a discount. In that case, maybe it’s worth it, but otherwise I think there are better options.
Sawamura Bakery & Restaurant Kyukaruizawa
Sawamura Bakery & Restaurant is across the street from the Roastery. It offers slightly cheaper prices, with about 100 yen off the cafe latte, though the quality is worse, as is the vibe of the place as a whole. They do have a bigger selection of baked goods, though.
As a cafe for doing some work, there’s nothing wrong with it per se. The upstairs cafe area has ample seating outside of peak hours. But I just don’t have a good reason to work here over the Roastery.
The Pie Hole Los Angeles Karuizawa
The name of this place is a mouthful. Technically, it shouldn’t be on this list because I’ve never worked out of it. But they have wonderful pie, free wifi, and not many customers, so I could see working here. The chairs are a bit uncomfortable though, so I wouldn’t want to stop by for more than an hour or two.
While this place had been on my radar for a while, I’d avoided it because there’s no good bicycle parking nearby—or so I thought. I just found that the relatively close Church Street shopping street has a bit of bicycle parking off to the side.
If you come to Karuizawa…
When I was living in Tokyo, there were just too many opportunities to meet people, and so I found myself having to frequently turn down offers to go out for coffee. Since moving here, I’ve made some local connections, but the pace has been a lot slower. If you’re ever passing through Karuizawa, do get in touch, and I’d be happy to meet up for a cafe latte and possibly some pie.
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