Yanaka to Nezu
Tokyo · 3–4 hours · morning
Five cafes through the preserved backstreets of old Tokyo. Work through the Nezu cluster first, then walk north through Yanaka Cemetery to a roastery run by a solo owner with a direct-fire technique, and finish in Sendagi.
The route
- 1. MATCHA&ESPRESSO MIYANO-YUNezu, Bunkyo
The sento-turned-specialty-cafe that put Nezu on the map. Order the matcha espresso — clean and grassy, handled better than most. The retiled bathhouse aesthetic is genuinely strange and worth sitting in before you go anywhere.
5 min walk to the next stop
- 2. COFFEE STAIN 根津Nezu, Bunkyo
A small, well-considered specialty cafe a short walk from Miyano-yu. Quiet, unhurried, sits comfortably in the neighbourhood without trying to stand out from it.
5 min walk to the next stop
- 3. HANARE COFFEE STUDIONezu
The sister shop to Miyano-yu, a few streets away. Matcha alongside espresso, custard pudding worth ordering, and a room that is slightly more spacious than the original. From here the walk north takes you through Yanaka Cemetery — take it slowly.
15 min walk to the next stop
- 4. AOYAMA COFFEE ROASTERYanaka, Taito
Solo owner Kuniko roasts over direct fire using a Kono dripper method she has been refining for years. A 4.9 on Google that earns it. This is the furthest north the route goes — worth arriving for.
10 min walk to the next stop
- 5. CIBI TokyoSendagi, Bunkyo
An Australian-Japanese all-day cafe on a quiet Sendagi side street, on the walk back south. The food is the draw — ricotta toast, grain bowls, things made carefully. A good place to sit down properly and let the morning settle.