Dec 24

"BlueBottle Coffee" in Shinagawa, Tokyo

 

If you work or travel around Shinagawa station in Tokyo, I recommend you try visiting “Blue Bottle Coffee” shop.

 

It is a coffee shop chain based in Oakland, U.S. Its Shinagawa shop opened in November, 2016. It opens from 8:00 to 22:00 every day. It is located just outside Shinagawa station.

 

It offers only several types of coffee such as hot, cappuccino, and espresso. As for food, only sandwiches are served. There are some cakes, but they are small. The taste and lineup of its coffee are quite similar to those of Starbucks, and the price range is about 10 or 20% more expensive than Starbucks’.

 

Still, I recommend you visit there. I love Blue Bottle Coffee much much better than any other coffee shop chain in Japan. I cannot wait until it expands its stores all over Japan.

 

Blue Bottle Coffee creates a good atmosphere. Because of its price range, a little higher than Starbucks’, there are almost no students who study for a few hours with only a cup of coffee. I really feel annoyed at students occupying the seats.

 

Another good point is that you can look down on commuting people in weekday mornings. Look at this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbvLCZk1xZU (Be careful that you may see a commercial before the video.) This is so called “a commuting march” at Shinagawa station. You can look down on these people from the 2nd floor. It is spectacular even for me. Unfortunately, it is prohibited to take pictures from the shop.

 

The third thing that I like the shop is that they call customers by their surnames. “XX sama, coffee is ready.” (“Sama” is a very useful expression for Mr. and Ms.) It shows a great respect from the shop to the customer. I feel more relaxed with this attitude.

 

I tried one of the sweets there. It cost 270 yen despite the small size, but the taste really matched the coffee. The small cake is baked in Japan and is fresh. I admire how enthusiastically they seek for the best combination of coffee and sweets.

 

You will experience nice service and good taste with only several hundred yen.