Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch

The other day I was wandering around Kobe Kokusai Kaikan when I spotted a café that was attracting quite a crowd. Mother Moon Cafe, located on the second basement floor of the Kobe Kokusai Kaikan building, is a popular cafe that was established in Sannomiya, Kobe in 1993, and by the end of 2024 had opened a total of 14 branches, including the main store. The Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch opened in 1997 as the fourth store of Mother Moon Cafe, and over the 35 years since then, it is no exaggeration to say that it has been a driving force in Kobe’s cafe culture.

What is there to see at the Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch? I was very curious, but the crowd was so huge that day that I revisited the restaurant at lunch time on another day. There were barely any empty seats on that return visit, so I was lucky enough to get in without a wait…

Although located in a quite secluded area, Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch is more crowded than Starbucks… This is the kind of place you can find at Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch.

Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch is located on the second basement floor of Kobe Kokusai Kaikan, on the south side of JR Sannomiya Station. It is connected to the station through the Sanchika underground shopping arcade, and you can find the entrance to the store by taking the escalator down from the first basement floor to the far end of the building. To be honest, the location is a bit inconspicuous, but even in such a place, the cafe is very popular. There is also a Starbucks at the more convenient connection to the underground shopping center, but I think it is more crowded than Starbucks.

However, the space inside the store is rather spacious, so even if the store is full of customers, you can still enjoy a relaxing café time. According to the Tabelog, Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch has a total of 62 customer seats. Of those, 8 seats are at the counter, so even a lone customer like me can use the cafe without hesitation. Well, I was a little surprised to see the percentage of girls among the customers is quite high. But it’s not a glittering, fairy tale-like place like the nearby Cafe de Agenda, and I don’t feel at all uncomfortable even if I’m alone with a guy playing with my phone, so don’t worry about that (note: there is a 90-minute usage limit when the place is crowded)…

Taller than a mug and full of volume… Angel Food Caramel Cake, the No. 1 popular cake menu item at Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch.

Let me introduce the Angel Food Caramel Cake (priced at 650 yen + tax), the No. 1 popular cake menu item I ordered at Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch on that day. After about 5 minutes of waiting, here is the cake that was brought in front of me…

Compare it with the mug beside it. This mug is also quite large, but the cake is even taller than that. It is a cake, but it is very voluminous. If you order this without knowing anything about it, it may not be enough for an after-dinner dessert.

When I took a bite of this cake with a fork, the cross-section looked like this. The outside of the chiffon cake is covered with a thick layer of whipped cream. And then, there is a lot of caramel sauce on top of it, which is very sweet! And if you let the chiffon cake absorb the melted ice cream and eat it, you will have a sweet triplet of whipped cream, caramel sauce, and vanilla ice cream.

This angel food caramel cake had quite a strong impact, as it was the most popular. If you eat this much sweetness in such a large quantity, your calorie intake is sure to go through the roof! It’s like, “Oh no, it’s too sweet!”. However, there may be some people who say it’s too sweet for them… It’s quite a large cake, so the best way to eat it may be to order it with other desserts for two and share it with others.

【Bonus】 This time, I ordered Mother Moon Blend Coffee (price: 580 yen + tax) along with the Angel Food Caramel Cake. It was a very acidic type of coffee, and as it passed down my throat, it left an astringent aftertaste like a pre-ripe fruit. It cancelled out the sweetness of the angel food caramel cake in a nice way, so the two were a good combination as a result. Since Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch has a one-drink policy, I recommend ordering this coffee as a set when you order the sweet cake.

Examples of other dessert menu items at Mother Moon Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch (Prices are exclusive of tax)

• Cookies and Cream Tart 750 yen
• Double Cheese Tart 710 yen
• Amish Country Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream 680 yen
• Chocolate Brownie Sundae 650 yen
• Banana Apricot Pound Cake ¥650
• Cookie Sundae 550 yen

Cafe Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Branch is a 2-minute walk from the nearest station, Sannomiya/Hanadokomae Station on the Kobe Municipal Subway Kaigan Line.

Mother Moon Cafe also has an online store, where cakes and cookies can be purchased by mail order. Unfortunately, it seems that the No. 1 popular cake introduced here, Angel Food Caramel Cake, cannot be ordered…but there are a variety of products including other cakes, so if you like sweets, you can enjoy just visiting the mail order site! If you are interested, please click the link above to see what kind of sweets are available for purchase.

Now, here are the details of the cafe…

From Sannomiya Station on the JR Kobe Line, it is a 6-minute walk.

P.S. If you are looking for a cozy cafe in Hyogo, please stop by this article below…