A canal district of warehouse coffee roasters
Kiyosumi-Shirakawa is an old neighborhood of canals and warehouses in eastern Tokyo, a few subway stops from Otemachi near Tokyo Station. After Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first shop in Japan here, more roasters moved into the high-ceilinged warehouses, and they are close enough to walk between and compare cups. Kiyosumi Garden, a traditional Japanese garden, is next to the station, so a stroll fits in easily.
Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first shop in Japan here, in a windowless warehouse that was opened up with a large skylight. The beans are roasted in the same building, so the coffee you drink at the counter is as fresh as it gets.
One of the first coffee roasters in the area, in a converted warehouse beside the Oyokogawa canal. A huge roasting machine fills part of the room, and you sit close to it with a hand-dripped coffee or a cafe au lait.
A small coffee shop under the ARiSE name, one of the roasters that helped turn the neighborhood into a coffee town. ARiSE is known for light roasts that bring out the fruity side of the beans. It is about five minutes on foot from exit B2 of Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station.
The new cafe of Yonemoto Coffee, a roaster that has served coffee in the Tsukiji market district since 1960. Alongside espresso and freshly baked croissants, it pours the shop's City Blend, said to have been a favorite of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It is about three minutes on foot from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station and opens early.
