A long morning in Tomigaya

Tokyo · 3–4 hours · morning

Six stops between Yoyogi Park and Tomigaya, and about a quarter of an hour of walking spread across a whole morning. Start at the park edge at nine, work back into the residential streets, and finish on bean-to-bar chocolate rather than a sixth coffee.

The route

1. Little Nap COFFEE STAND
Yoyogi
Start here, and start at nine. A sliver of a building pressed between the park and the railway, roasting its own beans since 2011 and playing vinyl while it does it. Order a filter and drink it standing outside.
1 min walk to the next stop
2. VERVE COFFEE ROASTERS YOYOGI PARK
Yoyogi, Shibuya
A minute along the park edge. A Santa Cruz roastery that built its Tokyo outpost facing Yoyogi Park, and the one stop here open from seven if you started earlier. Take the coffee outside if the weather allows.
2 min walk to the next stop
3. Sanva
Tomigaya, Shibuya
A small, spare room with no wifi and not many seats, which is rather the point. The cold brew is Ethiopian and steeped fifteen hours, and in a Tokyo summer it is the only sensible order.
5 min walk to the next stop
4. CAFE ROSTRO
Tomigaya, Shibuya
The longest leg of the walk behind you. A pedestrian-only street, easy to miss, and baristas who would rather talk extraction than take your order. The affogato is the one to get, dark espresso over soft serve, dusted with coffee grounds.
1 min walk to the next stop
5. Fuglen Tokyo
Tomigaya, Shibuya
A minute further on. Oslo by way of Tomigaya, and a very Japanese way of being very Norwegian. The seasonal pour-overs are worth asking about, and the terrace is worth waiting for if it is taken.
6 min walk to the next stop
6. Minimal Tomigaya
Tomigaya, Shibuya
End here, and not before half past eleven, because that is when it opens. The flagship of one of Japan's serious bean-to-bar chocolate makers, where the room smells of chocolate before you have ordered. The hot chocolate is the finish this walk deserves, and the bars are worth taking home.