Friday, September 7, 2007

Yanaka Coffee



A recent excursion into the Yanesen* area (a triangular section of northeastern Tokyo, the three points being Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi) found me a damn good coffee shop. I define damn good coffee shop as a) delicious b) reasonably priced, and c) good vibes. And if they roast your beans for ya too, well, you just earned yourself some extra credit, mister!



The iced cafe au lait at the top of this post (I think they called it iced milk coffee here) was about ¥250, if I remember correctly, and was very good. While I sipped on it I browsed the 30+ coffee beans from around the world on display, chose 200g of a Columbia extra dark blend (¥1,080), and watched them roast the beans in their roaster. It takes 20 minutes, the lady told me, so I left to take a walk aroound the neighborhood.







When I returned, a warm bag of aromatic, almost chocolatey beans were waiting for me, which perfumed my handbag quite nicely for the remainder of the evening, thank you very much.

Look for this kind of entrance with dark wooden planks, spot lights and large script characters that spell out the cafe's name, やなか.



* Yanesen is perfect for a day-off or afternoon adventure. For a better explanation of the area and some very sound recommendations for spots to visit, refer to this Metropolis article.

谷根千 yanesen

Yanaka(やなか)
Sendagi Shop
2-31-3 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku
T 0120-(877)-281 F 03-5815-8982
www.yanaka-coffeeten.com

3 comments:

Maria said...

I'm SO glad I found your blog! I'm going to Japan at the end of this year so will be browsing your blog for possible places to eat and drink. Thank you! xx Maria

Miss Ai said...

Thanks Maria! I'll try to post more in coming weeks... have been too lazy!! Hope you have fun in Japan.

Anonymous said...

I love yanaka coffee. its just next to my uni.