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Name: Cafe AKIRA
Type: Organic Cafe
Station: Roppongi Icchome

Location: About a 3 minute walk from Roppongi Icchome Station or a 10 minute walk from the larger and more famous Roppongi Hibiya and Oedo Line Stations. Check out their site for a map.

Info: Web Site, Ph: 03-6229-2828, Fax: 03-6229-2829

This wonderful little cafe was introduced to me by a good friend who’s involved in the NPO which runs the cafe. They organise several projects around the world, one of which is producing real Free Trade coffee beans in Ethiopia which are used in Cafe AKIRA and taste simply amazing.

As expected there’s a wide variety of coffee (and none coffee) drinks available from about 315 Yen for an espresso shot to 630 Yen for a Vienna Coffee.

What I recommend though is getting one of the many lunch sets, particularly the sandwich ones which will get you a coffee of your choice, a rather decent salad and an amazing sandwich all from 1050 Yen depending on the set.

Something else worth considering is the art gallery in the basement which costs 1000 Yen for entrance but gets you a free drip coffee (again, this coffee tastes incredible!) and two cookies.

It is worth noting though that the artwork in the gallery is on the surreal side so if that genre of art isn’t your thing you might want to give it a miss. Personally I found it really interesting and worth my time.

The cafe itself has a very relaxing and modern atmosphere with a very clean yet warm (very rare in Tokyo) interior design with wooden walls and Ethiopian themed photography decorating the walls. There’s also a large flatscreen monitor on one wall with footage of Ethiopia accompanied by some of Idaki Shin’s music performances.

A big bonus worth mentioning is that all the menus and boards are in Japanese and English and the staff is very non-Japanese friendly!

Cafe AKIRA is definitely not your average Starbucks and I mean that in a good way (as much as I do like Starbucks). If you want a genuinely nice, warm and relaxing Tokyo cafe without the smoking that seems to accompany 99% of the cafes here, Cafe AKIRA is well worth a look.

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Name: Cafe Denmark
Type: Cafe / Bakery
Station: Shibuya

Location: You couldn’t ask for an easier to find place, especially in Shibuya. Just get out at the Hachiko Exit from Shibuya Station, cross the famous crossing, walk to the left of Starbucks and head towards HMV. It’s about two blocks after Starbucks and almost opposite HMV. Entrance is on the street level as is the bakery and the register but table and chairs are upstairs.

Info: Ph: 03-3462-5880

Being in such a public location I’ve walked past this Denmark Cafe on almost a weekly basis but had never really bothered to give it ago, mostly out of my paranoia over the unhygienic displaying of uncovered pastries in Japan. But today I felt like some coffee and pastry and being on a super tight budget for the Christmas holidays I decided to give Denmark a go.

Much to my surprise, they serve more than just pastries and coffee, they have a rather substantial drink menu as well as several soups, sandwiches, and other solid foods in addition to the sweats pastries on show in the window.

I ordered a “Vegetable Hotdog”, a special Christmas themed pastry and a mug of hot cocoa.

Service was really fast, especially on a weekend though there was some unnecessary confusion when I ordered my cocoa. The girl behind the register kept thinking I was saying “Coca Cola” for some reason and after a few minutes of even pointing at the Japanese writing for “Cocoa” I was given hot cocoa and a Coca Cola. I managed to explain to her that I just wanted the cocoa but a little common sense on her part would have saved us a lot of trouble.

Upstairs there was a huge selection of seats to choose from. Again not very busy at all. I decided to sit by the window as I was by myself and thought people watching would be some fun. This is what I saw.

The cocoa and pastry were rather good. The “Vegetable Hotdog” turned out to be just a regular hotdog but with lettuce but it too was rather good. All three set me back around Y840 which wasn’t too bad at all.

I recommend Cafe Denmark, especially if you’re on a budget or if your favourite cafe is packed on your day off. I wouldn’t take a date here though it would be ideal to meet friends of students for private lessons due to it being almost impossible not to find and the number of seats available.

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Name: Bagel & Bagel
Type: Cafe Chain

Info: Web Site

I had seen several of these Bagel & Bagel cafes around Tokyo and in a few areas just outside the city centre (I tried the one in Tama Plaza) but I had never been a bagel fan (not as big in Australia as it is in the States I guess) so therefore didn’t really see a point in giving them a go until I was starving and unable to find a real smoke free establishment to unwind in.

I was pleasantly surprised!

While I’m pretty sure Bagel & Bagel is Japanese owned, the feel and look of their cafes have a very strong western feel to them. They even claim to make their bagels “American style”.

The insides were very well designed with kudos to the manager for having real plants in the pots (way too many plastic plants in Japan for my liking) and English names for all the items on the menu. Though be careful as using the English names on the menu might not get you what you want. For example I ordered the Gourmet Drink Set and the woman had no idea what I was going on about. However when I read the Katakana title, “Dorinku Seto” she knew exactly where I was coming from and hilariously asked some of the other girls working why the English subtitles say different things than the Japanese.

All the menus do have pictures of each item though (even of the different kinds of bagels you can choose from, over 20!) so if your Japanese ability fails you, just point and say “Kore wo kudasai”.

I grabbed a latte as my drink and the Vegetarian Bagel for my bagel of choice as well as a chocolate cookie (very similar to those great Subway cookies! Yum.) and found it a bit of a mixed bag. The bagel was great. Fresh ingredients and made in front of me behind a glass screen so I could see what was being put into it. Unlike Subway though, they don’t ask you what you’d like at every stage so make sure you tell the waitress what you want before heading to the pick-up point.

The latte on the other hand was just… flat. It’s like they had bought 100 yen milk and fried it in a saucepan. It just tasted wrong and, well… don’t go there for the coffee!

Great bagels though and they do have other drink alternatives. Well worth a look.

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Name: Proud Cafe
Type: Cafe
Station: Futako Tamagawa

Location: Turn left as you exit the ticket gates and turn left again as you walk out of the station. Head towards the river, along the main road and then cross to the other side. You should see a very tall, new apartment building called “Proud Towers”. On the ground floor is the Proud Cafe.

Info: Currently no contact resources available.

Just an eight minute train ride from Shibuya on the Tokyu Denentoshi Line is the area known as Futako Tamagawa, a rather expensive river side shopping area with some very pretentious shops and restaurants for those looking to treat themselves or simply window shop.

Unfortunately, with the exception of the rather nice Starbucks in Takeshimaya next to a beautiful rooftop garden in the same building, every eatery in the area seems to be very much pro smoking.

Luckily, one day on a walk down to the river I noticed this nice cafe on the ground floor of Proud Towers and gave it a go. Not only was it 100% smoke free, but it offered several organic coffee options as well as some lunch alternatives such as hot dogs and croissants.

The two guys running the place are friendly and more importantly, not too friendly like most Japanese businesses. The menus are in English (sometimes humorously so) and the surroundings quiet. Almost every time I’ve been here, I’ve been the only customer which is quite strange considering how busy the area is, but hey, I’m not going to complain.

Proud Cafe also has a take out option which is something to think about when reminded that the cafe is literally across the road from a rather tranquil river. The only bad point I could think of is that the cafe allows pets inside with the customers. If you’ve got an allergy to dogs or cats this may be a problem, but as I mentioned before the business is almost always empty so it shouldn’t be an issue 90% of the time.

Proud Cafe is a surprising find. Check it out.

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Name: Bio Cafe
Type: Organic Cafe and Restaurant
Station: Shibuya

Location: Take Hachiko Exit and cross the main crossing. Keep walking with the Starbucks on your right. Keep walking away from the station. When you see HMV, walk through it to get to the block to the right of you, cross the road and keep walking down that street away from the station. Two blocks down the street you’ll see an Italian themed alley going up a hill on your right, leading off of the main road. Head up it and you’ll find Bio Cafe on your right halfway up the hill. For a map, visit here on their site.

Info: Web Site, Ph: 03-5428-3322, E: webmaster@biocafe.jp

I’ve been to the Bio cafe twice now and love it. There’s very metropolitan feel to the place yet it’s so quiet that you forget that you’re in the heart of one of Tokyo’s busiest areas.

Both time’s I’ve been here I’ve had to wait (the cost of visiting a popular cafe I guess) but the wait has never been more than 10 minutes. I asked the waitress about throwing a party here on the following weekend but she said that they’re booked solid so if you’re planning to use them for an event, make sure to book several weeks in advance.

The Bio Cafe offers a wide range of superbly made dishes, all of them being organic. From pasta dishes to salads, cheesecakes and quiches I loved almost everything me and my friends tasted. The drinks are also worth trying with a huge variety in organic fruit blends, coffees, teas and alcohol this establishment is prepared for any kind of social meal you and your friends are up for.

It’s also a nice place to relax by yourself with the place being staffed with the ever rare Japanese waitress, the kind that doesn’t yell, scream and screech when all you want is peace and quiet and a chance to unwind.

Menus are in Japanese and English (though I found when we had a Japanese friend with us they didn’t give us the English menu and when it was just me and my Aussie pal they gave us the English option by default). In short you may have to ask for it. The English isn’t perfect (actually quite funny in places) but it’s completely functional and at least they tried.

The prices are on par with Starbucks but with a better environment and selection making this little secret well worth checking out at least once and maybe again, and again and again.

Can’t recommend this place enough.

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Name: Chez Tomo
Type: French Italian Cafe / Restaurant.
Contact: Tel: 03-5789-7731, Fax: 03-5789-7732.
Station: Shirogane
Location: 1F 5-15-5 Shirogane, Minato-ku.

Name: Think Zone
Type: Organic cafe/ bar combined with an event space and book store.

Info: www.zoneroppongi.com, Tel: 5770-8777, Fax: 5770-8779, e-mail info@zoneroppongi.com
Station: Roppongi
Location: Zone Roppongi Building 1F, 6-2-31 Roppongi, Minato-ku Tokyo.

Name: Demel
Type: Cafe
Station: Harajuku
Location: About 60 metres down Omotesando Dori from Harajuku JR station on the left.

Name: Cafe Mongrove
Type: Thai Food/Bar/Cafe
Contact: Tel: 03-5475-3239.
In Brief: MSG Free Chicken. Chinese tea and cocktails.
Station: Ebisu
Location: Across from the Ebisu Garden Palace. Near the Westin Hotel.

Name: Ony

Type: Cafe

Contact: Tel/Fax: 03-5772-0922

In Brief: O = Original, N = Nature and Y = Yard.

Station: Aoyama
Location: 2-22-19 Sanwa Aoyama Bld, Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku. Everyday 8am - 9pm.