Natural Station

Name: Natural Station
Type: Juice / Sandwich Bar
Station: Aobadai, Shibuya, Kita Senju, Nishi Shinjuku and more.

Info: Web Site, E: Online Email Form

If you're an Boost Juice fanatic like me and find yourself going through some serious withdrawal during your stay in Japan the small, yet growing juice / sandwich bar / cafe Natural Station is a good (though not as good) alternative.

As with most serving sizes in Japan the juices served here are smaller than those at Boost Juice though thankfully not as pathetically small as those served in the similar Japanese juice chain, Juicer Bar (does anyone know what's with all those people who spend all that money on a shot of fruit juice and then stand around train platforms posing while they sip at it's minuscule contents for the next half hour?).

Natural station has a wide variety of freshly squeezed juices and organic coffees as well as a large selection of rather tasty and fresh sandwiches though watch out for the Bacon & Tomato sandwich which has mayonnaise and tomato sauce on the bacon (only in Japan, right?).

Well worth a go especially if you want something a little different from Starbucks. I tried out the Aobadai branch which is right opposite the main ticket gates and found service very fast and friendly and the interior quiet, clean and relaxing. Brush up on your Hiragana and Katakana beforehand though as all menus are in Japanese and without pictures.

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Cafe AKIRA

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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Bio Cafe

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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Think Zone

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.

Orion Shokudou

Name: Orion Shokudou
Type: 100% Organic Japanese Food
On the Web: Their Blog (in Japanese, use Google to translate).

In Brief: A small, but 100% smoke free restaurant which serves 100% Organic food with no additives or artificial flavourings! And at a great price!

Review: Honestly a personal favourite of mine, I've eaten here several times and LOVE the chicken curry with ten different kinds of organic rice, though they do serve more than just that. It seems to be well-known for its ramen noodle with organic soup bouillon (though, I've honestly never tried it). The staff are very friendly though some Japanese language ability is required to order as ordering is done via a ticket vending machine with all the buttons in kanji and the staff don't appear to have a high level of English speaking ability. Not a bad thing. We are in Japan afterall.



Station: Higashi Nagasaki
Location: Just 2 stations (on the Local! Semi-Express, etc will go right through it) on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line from Ikebukuro and about a 2 minute walk from the Higashi Nagasaki station.