8 Don’t-Miss Coffee Shops in Japan

Disclaimer: We were only in Japan for 2 weeks and didn’t make it to as many shops as I would have liked (there are sooo many!). That being said, here were my faves, by city:

TOKYO

Fuglen Coffee Roasters

We visited this Nordic style shop in Asakusa at least 3 times (it was close to our hotel). The daily drip was always dialed in to perfection (I think I tried a Kenya, a Colombia, and a Honduras — all freaking delicious!) On our last day, we bought 2 retail bags for home and honestly should’ve grabbed a few more! With the conversion being what it was, they were only like $14 a bag.

Woodberry Coffee

We showed up for breakfast on a Friday morning and — not sure if they were severely understaffed or what, but — we waited over an hour to get a table. It’s a beautiful shop in a great location with an impressive food program, but the wait was brutal. Definitely try to get a reservation or arrive right when they open!

About Life Coffee Brewers (ALCB)

This corner stand serves Onibus Coffee in Shibuya. Great quality in a convenient location!

Passage

This shop, near the Tokyo tower, is a chill place to take a load off in the middle of the day if you happen to be in the neighborhood. They’re also home to the World AeroPress champion of 2014, so maybe try an AeroPress brew?

Unlimited

They opened late (like 12), so it was hard to find a time to visit, but we decided it’d be our lunch destination on our last day. We hung out here for a few hours after we checked out of our hotel. The food was good, coffee was solid, and I really liked their ceramic-ware.

Osaka

SÖT Coffee Roasters

Another Nordic style shop (SÖT is Swedish for “sweet”) and a nice place to recharge near the Osaka Castle.

Glitch Coffee & Roasters

This place puts the specialty in specialty coffee.

Glitch was actually the first Japanese coffee brand I heard of and started following years ago. They have lots of shops now, especially in Tokyo.

Despite the pretentious appearance, the baristas were friendly.

I wouldn’t recommend a coffee tasting experience like this unless you’re some level of coffee snob (yes, I own it) who’ll appreciate the nuances of the flavor notes, body, etc. Mostly because: we spent a pretty penny trying a competition Colombian coffee and “hard to find” Costa Rican and Ethiopian coffees. It was worth it to us for the fun, fancy experience, but not something you’d do every day.

Kyoto

Weekenders Coffee

Best for last? Yes, actually. This coffee was LEGIT. The bar is hidden in a residential parking lot and they only do “for here” drinks, so plan to stand and hang out.

The iced latte was especially yum!

We bought a bag of beans for home here too. Don’t sleep on Weekenders!