Tokyo Coffee Series: Our Quick Stop Coffee Stands
Curated by Hypemaps Team
When time is of the essence, quality and service becomes everything. For our next guide on our Tokyo Coffee Tour, we decided to highlight some of the local coffee stands and quick stop locations. Since our team is constantly on the go, we rated them more so for their convenience, their quality, and their customer service above all else. Some have decor and vibe as well, while others are your literal hole-in-the-wall joints with outstanding coffee.
Little Nap is pretty popular largely due to its location – a stone's throw away from Yoyogi Park. The coffee stand barely fits three people at a time, but somehow manages to make the atmosphere pretty inviting. If you need more than just stellar coffee, savory foods and treats – we love cafes that offer brownies – await you inside, but be warned that Little Nap does tend to get pretty busy. Each time we went there was at least 4-5 people already in line.
We quickly became regulars of Be a Good Neighbor through a few industry connects, but found ourselves going back on our own simply because of its consistency. There are a few locations, but this one in Sendagaya is a bit secluded and thus quicker to grab and go when we were in the area. 'Neighbor' also carries some supplies for those who want to dive deeper into the java hole, as well as baked goods like cookies and pound cakes. There's even fruit ice pops for those hot summer days; seemingly random, but highly unique for a coffee spot.
There's a reason % Arabica has become one of the most elevated go-to coffee "chains" out there – their quality is highly apparent. And while we would suggest visiting them all, chances are they've become too popular to really sit and soak it all in. So our best advice is to grab and go. For those in the area, this % Arabica location is nestled deep in the B1 level of Azabudai Hills, so it's a great way to break up the day of shopping and browsing. If you're lucky to snag one of the three seats inside then all you'll be doing is staring at people ordering, so we suggest this location for nothing more than a quick stop.
We highlighted the heavy hitters in the Okushibu ("Shibuya Backstreets") area in our local favorites guide, but CAMELBACK is for those who don't have the time to take it all in. CAMELBACK is situated on a triangular intersection, parallel to Yoyogi Park and a solid 10 minutes from the Shibuya shopping area. This location remains fairly quiet with its outside benches, so it's a solid choice if you have 10 mins to spare and need to take a breather.
We love Streamer Coffee Company – their quality is highly consistent and they've opened so many across Japan now that they're slowly and surely becoming a household name for casual coffee lovers and aficionados. But this Harajuku location stands out – literally – for how tiny it is. This Streamer in Harajuku – across from the fashion brand Challenger and down the block from BAPE Kids – is shaped as a slim triangle with multiple floors. The ground floor is where the barista is and the space can only really accommodate one guest at a time. The floors above can be accessed but again, seating is highly, highly limited. Yet despite this space constriction, it remains one of the more popular locations under the Streamer Coffee Company brand.
We were pleasantly surprised by Off Coffee Stand as we were walking further away from Aoyama, and even more delighted to meet the incredibly friendly staff in this modernized little shop. Off Coffee Stand has a limited menu, but is known mostly for its cafe au lait – specialty coffee with milk. There's also a few savory foods available should you not want to drink coffee on an empty stomach.
At the center of the highly popular Nakameguro boutiques-along-the-river is this hometown favorite coffee stand. Sidewalk Stand prides themselves with their personal roasting techniques and offers your standard fare of espressos and classics. For fashion shoppers, you'll be delighted to find great boutique brands as neighbors, such as visvim, Coverchord, nonnative and more.
This spot requires a double take, as it's not only on a side street within Oku-Shibu, but also hidden underground in a basement floor. Nevertheless, it has garnered some popularity in the years. Inside, a heavy emphasis on art is both playful and character-building for THE LATTE TOKYO, with collaborations between known Japanese artists like face, Kobayashi Ikki and others. For drinks, we recommend the ginger & chocolate latte for something unique.