Tokyo has its share of coffee shops, and to find the very best is quite a difficult task. But it has never stopped Tokyo Journal from trying. The "Canaan" coffee shop in lively Shimokitazawa is an obvious candidate for the title "Best coffee shop in Tokyo." This tiny, but stylish shop seats only about 14 people, as well as the owner and sole staff member Sasaki-san, working hard to provide his many regular customers with a delightful mix of coffee and classical music.
Sasaki-san started Canaan 15 years ago in the building which used to house his father’s shoe making and repair shop for many years. Today his 80-year-old mother is still living above the shop. Before starting his own coffee shop, Sasaki-san learnt the ropes working for a coffee roaster for a number of years, learning everything there is to know about making a "damn good cup of coffee."
It has to be said that Canaan is not the place to go to if you are in a hurry and looking for a quick dose of caffeine. Sasaki-san puts lots of dedication into his various concoctions, and regular customers don’t mind waiting. The tranquility of the place soon gets to you, and you may even for a while forget the intensity of the bustling Shimokitazawa streets nearby.
The menu card — also available in English — comprises many well-known and unknown coffee variants. The common ingredient is that Sasaki-san has painstakingly taken great efforts to refine and perfect everything he does. If you are a sucker for details, you’ll love to sit at the counter and watch him prepare your choice of drink. Grinding the coffee, boiling it at just the right temperature, and heating up the cups with warm water before finally pouring great tasting coffee. And if you become one of his regular customers, you’ll maybe end up having your own personal cup from his wide selection of world-famous mugs.
Also worth a shot is the unique royal milk tea, which comes with whipped cream mixed with a little sugar and brandy on top. Or how about the best hot chocolate in all Japan, spiced up with a dash of coffee, and topped off with whipped cream and chocolate sauce?
Although a very limited selection, the choice of cakes also deserves mention. Mr. Sasaki bakes all cakes himself, and, depending on his bakery schedule, will have 1 or 2 delicious cakes to choose from. The apple pie — among many — is scrumptious.
Well, enough said.
Wake up and smell the coffee!
Kitazawa 2-7-5, Setagaya-ku
- Open: 10am to 10pm, closed on Wednesday
Tel: 3467-9052
