5 Must-visit Cafes in Tokyo

Back when I was still living in the Philippines, I was like a cafe tenant lol haha! I'd really maximize my hours in a cafe especially if I went there to study. Boston Cafe, Coffee Blends, Cafe Antonio... ahhh those were like my second home when I was still in university. If ever I'm in the metro, Starbucks, Bo's Coffee, and UCC Park Cafe are household names. 

Since coming to Japan, I felt like my preferences have changed. I'd go for less crowded ones, hole-in-the-wall kinda stuff. I rarely go to Starbucks (only during Spring cos they have sakura-themed drinks and cakes). Right now, I am in a seemingly never-ending process of immersing myself with the city's myriad collection of cafes, well as long as I can... as long as my wallet can haha! Hay, you'll never run out of cafes to try in Tokyo! They're everywhere! And good ones at that!

Here are five cafes I've visited early this year. You might want to check them out, if ever you're in Tokyo as a tourist or as a fellow resident wanting to get some much-needed dose of caffeine. Enjoy!♡

1. Cafe Stay Happy, Shimokitazawa

Chill defined, omg! So much love!

A kotatsu table! Perfect company for the cold winter weather! 

Cute nooks are everywhere!

This place has a wide selection of beers! For this visit I tried the #1 beer stout from Minoh, Osaka, which really made my stay in this cafe a happy one! My friend Jaydine tried something from Belgium. One of the staff who took our orders was kind enough to recommend beers and even gave brief details about each... in English! Perf for visiting tourists! 

Access: 2 Chome-29-14 Daizawa, Setagaya, Tokyo 155-0032
Nearest station: Shimokitazawa Station, South Exit
Website: http://cafestayhappy.com/

2. Mahika Mano Hammock Cafe, Kichijoji

The beau surprised me with a visit to this cafe. He didn't say we're going to this place until we reached it haha! It is pretty popular, I think. We went on a Sunday afternoon and had to wait in line outside the cafe for about 25min to be seated. 

Well, I waited happily cos there was a hammock outside~




Foods and drinks were on the pricey side but were delish! Not complaining! 

Plus, you get to sit in hammocks inside yay!

Such a lazy but lovely way to spend an afternoon in the city!

Access: 2 Chome-8-1 Kichijoji Minamicho, Musashino, Tokyo 180-0003
Website: http://mahikamano.com/ 

3. Coffee L'ambre, Shinjuku

This cafe is the beau and I's latest discovery. We went in for the free wifi cos we're planning on staying long for studying and journaling. When we got there, it was a little crowded and yup, no wifi. But we stayed in for the ambiance and the details! Vintage! If you know me

well, you'd know this is my jammmm! 

Felt like I was transported back to the 1950s!


Their cake sets are ¥950 and so yummy at that!

Look at that pink beauty right there~

Access: 〒160-0022 Tokyo, Shinjuku, 3 Chome−31−3, 新宿マルイＬＭ別館
Nearest station/s: Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku Sanchome Station

4. Blue Bottle, Shinjuku

This cafe has lots of branches but I always pass by this whenever I go to Shinjuku for my Friday conversation lessons. So when I had the time to spare, I readily went! The place doesn't have much seats and it is inside a mall but whatever, their coffee is really good!

Drip drip drip

That blue bottle~

Access: 〒160-0022 Tokyo, Shinjuku, ４丁目１−６
Nearest station: Shinjuku Station, South East Exit

5. 815 Coffee Stand, Setagaya

Going to this cafe has some backstory. I was looking for the name of the park near the school where I'm working at, and I accidentally saw it there. I researched a little more and found out they have really good ice cream but when my former workmate and I went, it was already closed. It closes early on weekdays at 6PM. So even if it's near my workplace, there's no way I can visit it unless I go on a day off (but it's too far from where I live so no, thanks). Last Saturday, I have to "work" cos it's the school's VDay party and guess what? It finished at 5PM so I was able to go with the beau yayyyyy!

It is in a residential area but you cannot miss this beautiful facade for sure!




Nice interiors! And it's a very quiet place great for relaxing and just you know, taking a break from people haha~

The ice cream that I wanted to try was not on the menu when we went (cos rn it's winter here, that's why maybe haha) so we opted for some good 'ol latte and cafe mocha which were really good, too! And they have french fries with different flavors and the butter-shoyu (soy sauce) one was da bomb!!!

Access: 〒154-0016 Tokyo, Setagaya, 弦巻４丁目１１−１７
Nearest station: Sakurashinmachi Station, West Exit

 These are just a few ones I've been to. Hopefully, I can write about the others (a loooot actually haha), too! 

Any cafes you'd recommend for a fellow caffeinist? 
Comment down below! Thank you!♡

Life, Lately: Of Firsts and Little Victories

As promised, here's the second half of January's Life Lately! *hurrah*

What was I up to? Not much.  Butttttt... I can say that the last days of January unfolded in such an interesting fashion. I was expecting it to be a little dull, ma-ma, as how they say it in Japanese. But lo and behold, it was way better than what I had in mind. Firsts are almost always exciting (at least for me) and I had a lot of firsts as January's final curtain falls.

Couldn't think of a better way to start this update other than food so yeah...

Got to cross out Bills Futako-tamagawa and On the Corner/ No.8 Bear Pond in the long list of restaurants and cafes that I want to visit in Tokyo.

First dined at a Bills branch when my beau Kenji and I toured Enoshima-Kamakura last year. It's just through an Instagram post that I learned that it has a branch in Futako-tamagawa, a 10-minute train ride from my workplace! Thinking of their ricotta pancakes alone makes me drool that's why I'm thankful that my workmate Rie agreed to celebrate her birthday there with me~ A little pricey but the place makes up for it! Soooo classy and quiet! Go there if you wanna catch up with friends without shouting and if candle-lit dinners are your thing! *wink*

I've learned about On the Corner via Google. Yes, I am in a continuous search for good places to eat at so my list won't be exhausted that easily. Since my beau and I kinda missed burgers, we decided to go to OTC for some Friday night junk fix but ordered differently when we arrived haha! I opted for buffalo rice (which was a total treat for my taste buds) and Oreo shake (so-so). My beau ordered chili con carne rice (normal, nothing special) and choco mint shake (which he said was goooood). Ordered nachos, too. I loved the ambiance and the jam! Couldn't help but groove~

Also went to Cafe & Meal MUJI with the beau on a weekday and it was what I needed to recharge my worn-out self! This was actually my second time; the first was when I had my English conversation lesson here. On my first visit, I only tried their coffee and cakes, so this next visit, my beau and I made it a point to try their meal sets. I love their wide food selection and the design-your-own-meal part! I got two cold and two hot meal servings plus rice for 1000 JPY + tax! What a steal! And yeah, the place has nice chandeliers, too!

On the other side of the coin, sadly, I need to work so that I can continue on with my food journey~ Work is still work, always busy, same old. But I am just glad that on top of it, I got around to finishing my Jolly Phonics modules and assignments, which means...

*drumroll * completion certificate *confetti * 

A small thing for some but it's quite something for me... geez, the last days of January were spent cramming on papers and panicking real hard haha! Even then and until now, I've got  high respect and admiration for all working students out there! It isn't easypeasy and never was but please know that I'm rooting for you all! 

Ganbatte! ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶ 

And oh, special thanks to Continuing Professional Development College, Ireland and to my boss for granting me the certificate and the scholarship, respectively.

Random Shinjuku exploration on a Sunday~

Last but definitely not the least, Think Back Tokyo: Sunset Bay Night tour! My orgmate and friend Lance tapped me for this and since it's free in exchange of my whole afternoon and a simple evaluation of some sort, so I went and dragged my beau, too! It was one of the best decisions I've made in my life (at least from the ones I could still remember)! I experienced a lot of firsts in a span of seven hours~

✱ First food tour in Japan that I joined and first water bus ride~

✱First time at Hama Rikyu Gardens and first  Plum Blossom sighting for this year!

✱First bicycle trip 'round the metro and an e-bike at that! The e-bike from Docomo was really comfy and convenient that I wanted to have one if not only for its not-really-cheap-not-at-all cost. However, I'm glad I get to ride one and even chanced upon the sun as it sets in Toyosu while at it. Ahhhh sunsets, always and forever in Alyssa's (long list of) favorites~ ♡

I hope I can make a more detailed write-up on this tour some time soon.

So yeah, that pretty much sums up the last days of the first month of this year. I think it was a great month, experience-wise. I'm on the move on trying to appreciate bits and pieces of my daily existence more, no matter how minute those are. Here's to being more positive and appreciative in the days to come ~

How about you? How did your January go? Any plans? Resolutions?

I would love to hear from you! Comments are welcome! ♡