Cafe Denmark

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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Andersen

Name: Andersen
Type: Eat In / Take Out French / Japanese Bakery
Customer Service: 0120-348817



In Brief: With average coffees and the usual "French style" Japanese pastries, Andersen isn't exactly fine dining but it's very easy to find location in Ueno Station JR Exit makes it a great place to wait for friends who are new to Japan and don't know their way around before starting your day.

Review: I must have passed Andersen hundreds of times during my time in Japan and not once has it occured to me to give it a try. It looks rather cheap from the outside and the food, not that special. It wasn't until I was scouting for locations for SmokeFreeJapan that I decided to take a closer look and would you know it? There was a No Smoking sticker on the door!

The selection of pastries was actually more varied than I thought it would be, but unfortunately mostly in the sticky, sugary variety, so those on a diet looking for something healthy, might want to look elsewhere which really shouldn't be that much of a problem as it's obvious that while Andersen has seats and tables, it's main focus is takeaway and offering a quiet place to sit down for tour groups or, as previously mentioned, meeting a friend. It's wall size window offers a perfect view of the main JR Exit and ticket machines, so if you're waiting for a friend, they should be easy enough to see and visa versa. All you need to tell your friend is to meet you at the bakery opposite the ticket machines. Great for Ueno first timers.



Something worth noting is that, as with most bakeries in Japan, the pastries are uncovered. i.e. well within sneezing and coughing range of the public. However while I was there, they did seem to go through their pastries and bread quite quickly. I'm guessing the average exposure time would be about 20-40mins per batch. Not so bad. And it is 100% Smoke Free.