Location: 4-15-3, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan; Sapporo, Kanazawa, Marunouchi, Ueno, Daikanyama, Asakusa, Kichioji, Ginza, Kamakura, Osaka, Kurashiki, Kyoto
Nearest Train Station: Meiji-Jingumae
Opening Hours: 10:00am – 7:00pm
Official Website: www.ooo-koffee.com
Contact: info@ooo-koffee.com
It’s no secret that Omotesando Koffee is perhaps the most popular and sought after coffee in Tokyo metro. But searching for Omotesando Koffee is incredibly difficult and one of the challenges coffee lovers will face in search for the best coffee experience there is in Tokyo. I myself had a mind-boggling search for this coffee shop but after finding it in the center of Omotesando, I then realized it was part of the uniqueness and individuality that sets Omotesando Koffee apart from the whole of Tokyo’s coffee culture.
You might be surprised, outside of Japan, Omotesando Koffee also has branches in Paris, Shanghai, New York and Milan, a feat that managed to remain in the shadows instead of appearing commercialized. Just brilliant.
Single-origin coffee beans at Omotesando Koffee range from Brazil, Ethiopia, El Salvador, and Indonesia, and the quality of its coffee makes it brilliant. The hideaway adds to the ultimate charm of what seems like a dojo for coffee lovers ~ the fact that it remains obscure makes all people curious to find it.
I had a strange courage to look for Omotesando Koffee, as my previous navigations around Tokyo were successful. I didn’t get lost at all.
If you happen to search for Omotesando Koffee before it opens at 10:00am, beware, as you will face difficulty finding it, like I did. I managed to bumped into several groups of tourists and coffee connoisseurs likewise searching for this premium hole-in-a-wall coffee shop, with the smell of coffee beans roasting emanating from the bushes the only sign that I was in the right place.
“Excuse me? Would you know where Omotesando Koffee is?” I asked a pretty Asian girl who was similarly navigating in her mobile phone the place for the holy grail of coffee.
“Oh, it’s this house.”
What a relief, of what seemed like forever circling the residential neighbourhood of Omotesando, chome after chome. I passed by this house three times, noting several people who informed me that it was very near the commissary of Maisen Tonkatsu. I had some gut feel that this was the location for Omotesando Koffee.
A couple of minutes later, a group of caucasians who I’ve also bumped into early in the morning arrived at the same spot, admiring the smell of Omotesando Koffee’s lure.
Moments later, Eiichi Kunimoto, the one-man-army owner, barista and cashier, started setting up his stand and allowed us to get inside first. Having honed his skills in Italy and Osaka as a barista and coffee connoisseur first before setting up Omotesando Koffee makes him quite a catch.
I had to just stop and admire the interiors of this zen coffee shop. This has got to be the nicest coffee shop ever. I feel like I was warped into Edo era and yet retained in the modern sanctuary to enjoy a simple cup of coffee.
OMOTESANDO KOFFEE MENU
The two Asians who got first got Iced Coffee and Iced Cafe Lattes. A nice cube of baked custard kashi looked tempting indeed, priced at 130yen, resembling a French canelé.
Omotesando Koffee has a whole roster of iced coffee drinks like cappuccino and mocha, but you can also grab a hot cup during cooler days. I decided to grab an Iced Cafe Latte (530 yen), to beat the heat of Tokyo. I’ve been craving for this since day one.
There were only a couple of wooden benches you can sit, as Omotesando Koffee is primarily a take out place for coffee. I stopped to admire my simple drink and to absorb the serenity in this morning.
Omotesando Koffee also has a new coffee spot down at Toranomon Hills, aptly named Toranomon Koffee.
Any coffee lover out there must head first at Omotesando Koffee. Be armed with internet access and Google Maps too.
Omotesando Koffee Rating:
[usrlist “Taste and Originality: 3.5” “Customer Experience: 4.5” “Value for Money: 3” “Brick and Mortar: 3”]