Kagurazaka, Thursday to Sunday
Tokyo · Half day · morning
Three doors in Tokyo's chic French-inflected old town, closer together than any of their own addresses admit. Modest coffee to start, a steadier cup in the middle, and the city's best reason to skip a fourth coffee entirely: a two-day-marinated French toast worth sitting down for. Also works on a Tuesday, just not a Monday or a Wednesday.
The route
- 1. Arbor CoffeeKagurazaka, Shinjuku
Open from 09:00, closed Wednesdays — start here or not at all, since it closes at 17:00. The sandwiches are genuinely delicious; the coffee has lacked flavor and balance on two separate visits, so keep expectations modest on the drink.
3 min walk to the next stop
- 2. AKHA AMA COFFEE KAGURAZAKAKagurazaka, Shinjuku
Open daily, no closing day, the one stop here with no schedule to work around. Sits almost exactly between the other two.
6 min walk to the next stop
- 3. Shimada CaféKagurazaka, Shinjuku
Closed Mondays, open from 11:00 to 21:00 (L.O. 20:30) — the latest opener and the latest closer of the three, which is why it closes the route. Order the French toast, two days in the making. Skip the latte. A good place to sit with a book afterward.