Mochi stuffed with a sweet white bean paste and seasonal fruit. Café @Kazu_Nakashima in the Higashi Chaya district of Kanazawa specializes in fruits mochi. The building housing the cafe dates to the Edo period (1603-1867) and is as charming as the sweets. The shop serves teas, other sweets, and mattcha latte. Chef Nakashima is a…
Tag: cafe
Sadaharu Aoki
Sadaharu Aoki is a Japanese pastry chef who first made his name in Paris before moving back to Tokyo. His retail shop with a café near Yurakucho station is a nice spot to rest your feet and rejuvenate with French pastries, some with Japanese flavors like yuzu, mattcha, and wasabi. The mattcha served at his…
Nakameguro Onigily Cafe
The Nakameguro area is filled with many great restaurants, including my favorite pizzeria, Seirinkan. Just a short walk from Nakameguro station is Onigily Cafe. Onigiri is perhaps the quintessential comfort food in Japan. Rice stuffed with a savory filling that is often wrapped with nori. I almost didn’t go in as the spelling of onigiri…
Rose Bakery – Ginza and Marunouchi
I am a big fan of Rose Bakery. An English bakery that first opened in Paris and is now dotting Tokyo. This casual cafe has a large delicatessen-style refrigerator in each shop that showcases the colorful salads and baked goods. While the cakes and sweets are tempting, I am always come here for the salads….
Best Cafe for Train Fans – N3331
Did you know that in the heart of Tokyo there is a cafe that sits on the train tracks? It is actually located in between the inbound and outbound lines of the Chuo line. The station is just between Ochanomizu and Kanda. It is also a short walk from Akihabara station. Here is the view…
Aoyama Blue Bottle Coffee
Blue Bottle has arrived to Tokyo. The first shop, in Kiyosumi, is on the other side of the city for me. So, even though I live in Tokyo it is about an hour from where I live. Blue Bottle’s second shop has opened in Aoyama. It’s a busy shop and not the best place to…
Kichijoji Light Up Coffee
At my local coffee shop, Cribe, in Kokubunji, I often meet coffee shop owners. The other day I met a very young Aihara-san whose shop, Light Up Coffee, is in Kichijoji. Light Up was on my my radar thanks to recommendations from Twitter friends. Arigato, Twitter! Light Up Coffee is about a seven-minute walk from…
Takashimaya Patissieria Sweets Counter
If you have a sweet tooth be sure to visit Shinjuku Takashimaya’s Patissieria in the depachika. The concept is brilliant, over a hundred signature sweets from patisseries throughout Tokyo all displayed together. Carefully peruse the sweets and upon selecting one, or two if you like, take a seat at the counter and order a coffee…
Monzennakacho Monz Cafe
Monzennakacho is a very cool neighborhood that is close to the heart of Tokyo. Accessible via the Tozai or Oedo subway lines. Part of the area abuts the Sumidagawa River and there is a river that runs through it that offers boat rides under the cherry blossoms in spring. I lived here for a few…
Takano Fruit Shop – Melon Juice
The hundred dollar muskmelon. Yes, it exists. Most of the cost of the melon, I have been told by a fruit store executive, is for the air-conditioning of the greenhouses in summer or for the heaters in winter. The muskmelon juice at Takano fruit café in Shinjuku Takashimaya is a nice alternative. The shop also…
Le Pain Quotidien at nonowa Higashi-Koganei
I lived in Brussels for a year and one of the things I remember the most is the Le Pain Quotidien down the street from my apartment. The bakery opened up early in the morning so I could stop by and get a croissant or pain au chocolat to start the day. The large communal…
Rose Bakery
*** Note the Kichijoji Rose Bakery has closed. I am so heartbroken. Kichijoji is a great station to visit that is close to both Shinjuku and Shibuya. It can be reached by the Chuo line from Shinjuku or the Inokashira line from Shibuya. Inokashira Koen is a large park just minutes from the station. It…
Cafe Salvador in Marunouchi
I am very excited to hear about this new cafe that opened today in Marunouchi. Cafe Salvador will have magazines, both Japanese and foreign, for customers to peruse while drinking their java. Titles include Vanity Fair, GQ, The New Yorker, Conde Naste Traveller, and more. The cafe collaboration with Conde Naste and the Cafe…
Tsukushi in Ningyocho 人形町のつくし
Tsukushi つくし Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-1-12 中央区日本橋人形町2-1-12 03-3664-7357 8:00 – 20:00 http://www.ntv.co.jp/burari/030329/info02.html (Japanese) Tsukushi is a kanmidokoro (sweets café) that offers the classics of anmitsu and its many variations. There are sweets to go, but the real reason to come here is to sit and in the café to indulge in their signature purin, a…
Higashiya Ginza
For traditional Japanese confectionaries there is Toraya, which is one of Japan’s most famous shops with locations around Tokyo. A modern confectionary shop that I love is Higashiya in Ginza. I first met the folks from Higashiya at a food event where I was pouring dessert wine from Coco Farm and Winery. The Higashiya team…
Tokyo Sweet Trends
Sweets made from choux crème in many forms are popping up throughout the metropolis. Some of what you will find include the traditional Paris-Brest at Patisserie Aimee Vibert, a pistachio Saint-honore at D’eux Patisserie in Tokyo station, or an éclair topped with a brittle candy at Aux Delices de Kenji. Patisserie Aimee Vibert Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi…
Tokyo Sweet Trends 2011
Dessert specialty restaurants and several tea salons are leading the trends for sweets. Chef Kazuyori Morita trained in France and each afternoon between lunch and dinner, Libertable, becomes a ‘salon de the’ with desserts and tea or champagne. Classical French desserts with a twist, for example Mont Blanc with a meringue made of porcini mushrooms…
Bunmeido in Ginza for Castella and Coffee 文明堂
Bunmeido 文明堂 Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-7-10 中央区銀座5-7-10 03-3574-0002 11:00 – 21:00, no holidays http://www.bunmeido.com/ (Japanese) The original Bunmeido shop in Nagasaki and has been making castella cakes since 1900. On the main street, Ginza Dori, sits a large coffee shop with a two-story stained glass wall that look more appropriate for a church. Bunmeido is known…
Cha Ginza 茶銀座
Cha Ginza 茶銀座 Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-5-6 03-3571-1211 11:00 – 19:00 (closed most Mondays, check website) http://www.uogashi-meicha.co.jp/shop_01.html (Japanese) This cool, sleek modern building dedicated to tea in the heart of Ginza, this shop definitely draws the attention of passersby with its glass façade and long, narrow counter on the first floor. Uogashi Meicha has a shop…
Ginza Toraya 銀座とらや
Toraya is a purveyor to the Imperial Family and its rich history can be dated back to the 1600s. The signature item at Toraya is the yokan cakes wrapped in bamboo leaves. This is considered one of the top shops for wagashi, in particular, the yokan. The yokan comes in several flavors including azuki, mattcha,…
Food Sake Tokyo 