Why is Kiyosumi-Shirakawa known for specialty coffee in Tokyo?

The district's Edo-period canals were lined with timber warehouses. After the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo opened in 1995, some were converted, and their height suited a roaster's exhaust ducts, which could point at the canal. The first café roasting its own beans there dates from 2012, and eight shops opened in 2015, the year Blue Bottle arrived. Allpress had opened in a timber warehouse in 2014.

How much does a specialty coffee cost in Tokyo?

At Onibus Coffee's Nakameguro shop, a hot hand-drip Peru cost ¥1,430 as of 2026, a double espresso ¥660 and a double iced latte ¥803. The shop keeps about five single origins at a time and rotates them every one to two months.

Which Tokyo neighborhoods have the most specialty coffee cafés?

Jiyūgaoka & Gakugei-daigaku leads, with Shibuya, Nihonbashi & Tokyo Station and Gōtokuji & Kyōdō level behind it; relative to their size, Gōtokuji & Kyōdō and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa have the highest shares. In Shibuya, Little Nap Coffee Roasters, Switch Coffee Tokyo and Coffee Supreme are all around Tomigaya. In Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Allpress and KOFFEE MAMEYA Kakeru are both in Hirano.

Specialty Coffee in Tokyo: Roasters and Pour-Over Bars

The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ) defines specialty coffee by what reaches the drinker: the liquid in the cup has to taste outstanding, with quality managed from seed to cup.¹ Tokyo is where the trade gathers. SCAJ 2026 filled four halls of Tokyo Big Sight from 14 to 17 October 2026 with about 560 exhibitors, its largest number yet, and hosted the Japan Barista Championship and the Japan Brewers Cup.² The association itself dates from 2003.²

In the cafés, the change shows in who roasts. Many specialty shops practice jika baisen (自家焙煎, roasting their own beans), often in light roasts called asairi (浅煎り). Glitch, for one, roasts light single origins in-house at its Jimbōchō shop.⁶ Jiyūgaoka & Gakugei-daigaku has the most specialty cafés, followed by Shibuya, Nihonbashi & Tokyo Station and Gōtokuji & Kyōdō, while in Gōtokuji & Kyōdō and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa they make up a larger share of the cafés than in any other area.

Local tip: KOFFEE MAMEYA Kakeru's tasting courses are by reservation, so book before you go; the shop is about ten minutes on foot from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station.⁴

Where these cafés are: Jiyūgaoka & Gakugei-daigaku (15), Nihonbashi & Tokyo Station (10), Gōtokuji & Kyōdō (10), Shibuya (10), Ginza & Yūrakuchō (9), Shinagawa & Gotanda (9), Asakusa & Kuramae (9), Kanda & Jimbōchō (8), Kōenji & Nakano (8), Sangenjaya (7), Kiyosumi-Shirakawa (7), Shimokitazawa (6), Oshiage & Ryōgoku (6), Ueno & Yanaka (6), Shinjuku (4), Nerima & Egota (4), Nakameguro & Daikanyama (4), Takadanobaba & Waseda (3), Shinbashi & Toranomon (3), Akasaka (3), Sugamo & Ōtsuka (3), Kita-Senju (3), Yotsuya & Kōjimachi (3), Harajuku & Omotesandō (2), Ikebukuro (2), Kagurazaka & Iidabashi (2), Itabashi (2), Roppongi & Azabu (1).

At a glance

159Cafés listed

28With opening hours

07:30Earliest opening

23:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: Chouette Torrefacteur Laboratoire, from 07:30 (Mon 07:30–17:00 · Wed–Sun 07:30–17:00).

Closes latest: Cherry Core Roaster+Bar, until 23:00 (Tue–Wed 11:00–23:00 · Thu 11:00–18:00 · Fri–Sun 11:00–23:00).

Most common features: wi-fi (6%), takeaway (6%), outdoor seating (5%).

How Kiyosumi-Shirakawa became a roasting district

Kiyosumi-Shirakawa grew up around timber. Canals dug in the Edo period carried wood into the district, warehouses for storing it lined the banks, and the canal network kept its shape into the early Shōwa era.³ After the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo opened there in 1995, some warehouses became storage or galleries, and later roasteries.³ Their height left room for the exhaust ducts a roaster needs, and the ducts could point at the water instead of the neighbors.³

A Nihon University study traced the district's first café roasting its own beans to 2012 and counted eight openings in 2015, the busiest year, when Blue Bottle arrived.³ Allpress, founded in Auckland in 1986, had already opened in a converted timber warehouse in 2014.⁴ Allpress is at 7-2 Hirano 3-chōme and KOFFEE MAMEYA Kakeru at 16-14 Hirano 2-chōme (daily 11:00–18:00), where tasting courses are by reservation.⁴

What a cup costs at a Tokyo roaster

At Onibus Coffee's Nakameguro shop, a hot hand-drip Peru cost ¥1,430 as of 2026, a double espresso ¥660 and a double iced latte ¥803.⁵ Its house espresso, Step Blend, mixes Guatemalan, Ethiopian and Kenyan beans, and about five single origins rotate every one to two months.⁵ Onibus started in Okusawa and buys directly from producers it visits.⁵

Sarutahiko Coffee opened in Ebisu in 2011 in a room of about 26 m², where founder Ōtsuka Tomoyuki painted the walls and made the chairs himself; by 2025 the company ran 24 shops across Japan.⁷

Where Tokyo's specialty cafés cluster

Part of Shibuya's group sits around Tomigaya: Little Nap Coffee Roasters at 43-15 Tomigaya 2-chōme, Switch Coffee Tokyo at 53-2 Tomigaya 1-chōme and Coffee Supreme at 42-3 Kamiyama-chō. WAVY COFFEE ROASTERS is at 14-7 Jinnan 1-chōme, Paddlers Coffee opens at 07:30 from Tuesday to Sunday, and Next Door, on the second floor of The OneFive Tokyo Shibuya, at 08:00 from Wednesday to Sunday.

Around Nihonbashi, Single O is at 16-7 Nihonbashi-Hamachō and opens at 07:30 on weekdays, Berth Coffee is at 15-2 Nihonbashi-Ōdenmachō (daily 08:00–18:00), and Passage Coffee runs 07:30–17:00. SR Coffee Roasters is at 6-5 Nihonbashi-Kabutochō. In Asakusa & Kuramae, the specialty shops include nano coffee roaster, February Coffee Roastery and two Leaves Coffee branches. Near Shinjuku, Dimlight Espresso in Yoyogi 1-chōme pulls its first shots at 09:00.

Light roasts and tasting flights

Glitch offers single origins from about 15 varieties, roasted at its Jimbōchō shop, and at its Ginza branch you can order a flight of two or three; the beans are grouped as Innovation, Hard to Find and Competition.⁶ The Jimbōchō shop opens weekdays 08:00–19:00 and weekends from 09:00.

Nearby in Kanda, Rec Coffee opens at 07:30 on weekdays and 09:00 at weekends, closing at 20:00 Monday to Friday and 19:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Social Good Roasters Chiyoda runs Monday to Saturday 10:00–18:00.

Specialty coffee cafés in Tokyo

At a glance

BARNEYS CAFE BY CROWD ROASTER

Berth Coffee

Brooklyn Roasting Company [Shimo-Kitazawa]

Cherry Core Roaster+Bar

Chouette Torrefacteur Laboratoire

coffee & roaster

Dimlight Espresso

Glitch

Grass

KOFFEE MAMEYA Kakeru

Mitsumata Coffee Roaster

Next Door

Paddlers Coffee

PEAK Swell Coffee Roasters

PostCoffee

Rec Coffee

Single O

Single O

The Roastery by Nozy Coffee

アカアマコーヒー

ディゾン人形町店

マキネスティコーヒー

神田伯剌西爾

莫珈琲焙煎所

67焙煎所

Allpress Espresso Cafe

Allpress Espresso Cafe

Amameria Coffee Roaster

Amameria Espresso

And Coffee Roasters Hibiya

b.s.b Coffee Roasters

Be a Good Neighbor Coffee Kiosk Roaster

Bean Hut. OKUSAWA

Berth Coffee Roastery Haru

Bongen

Brooklyn Roasting Company Tokyo International Forum

How Kiyosumi-Shirakawa became a roasting district

What a cup costs at a Tokyo roaster

Where Tokyo's specialty cafés cluster

Light roasts and tasting flights

Sources

Other ways to browse Tokyo

Open late

Wi-Fi

Outdoor seating

Bakery cafés

Specialty coffee in Tokyo: questions

Why is Kiyosumi-Shirakawa known for specialty coffee in Tokyo?

How much does a specialty coffee cost in Tokyo?

Which Tokyo neighborhoods have the most specialty coffee cafés?

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