Along the road that runs beneath the expressway by Sakurajลsui Station, there sits an eclectic mix of neighborhood shopsโthereโs the antique shop for ikebana and tea ceremony enthusiasts, the old barber shop in an aging wooden house, the traditional okashiya sweets shop, and an eccentric collection of Americana diner goods. Nobody stops to look at these on their walks along the streetโperhaps theyโre simply part of the scenery nowโand yet everyone takes a moment to regard the little wooden storefront that just opened; the one that goes by the name Megane Coffee.
Inside, Megane Coffee is a long counter and an open kitchen against walls of blue and white. A few tables and chairs fill the open spacesโthe types of tables and chairs that fill public schools countrywide. Thereโs something familiar about themโthey give the place a touch of cute nostalgia.
I take a seat at the counter, and look at the small clipboard menu. Itโs only two pagesโthereโs French press coffee, espresso drinks, a ham sandwich, and chocolate mousse. I order a hot coffee and a ham sandwich, and ask how owner-barista Wataru Takehi got himself mixed up in all of this coffee business.
He tells me heโs been in coffee some fifteen years, but didnโt discover specialty coffee until around 2006. He got lost in the variations and complexities of it all, then spent a year studying confectionary in Osaka, and somewhere along the way connected with Masahiro Onishi. The two eventually opened Switch Coffee, which supplies the coffee Takehi serves at Megane Coffee now.
โCoffee is changing with the generations,โ he says, โthe quality is rising, flavor profiles are expanding, thereโs growing variety in brew methods; I find that interesting. I like working with coffee because thereโs always something to discover. Sharing that with customers, little by little, is fun.โ
The ham sandwich arrives neatly cut in half, on a white plate with a small slice of cucumber on the side. Itโs a cute piece of workโsimple, soft, and subtle. Takehi bakes the bread each morning, and ages the ham himself. Itโs the kind of approach that brings to mind the kissaten, with a modern twistโitโs the comfort and simplicity of the old world, mixed with contemporary design and a fresh approach to coffee.
When I mention it, Takehi says, โIโm not a coffee stand, and Iโm not a beans shop either. So a cafe felt like the right conceptโlight food complimenting good coffee. But the image of the kissaten is still associated with dark roast. In that sense, my shop is about taking the comfort of the kissaten and adding specialty coffee.โ
A young woman enters and takes a seat by the window. She orders a cafe latte, and quickly settles into a novel she takes from her bag. When Takehi comes back to the counter, he adds thoughtfully, โThe old coffee stores are starting to dwindle in number, but Japanese people like cafes. They like the space and the experience. I think itโs a tradition worth keeping.โ
I think about the young girl by the window, lost in the pages of her book, quietly sipping at her latte. I think about the empty plate that held my ham sandwich, and the glass cup of Guatemala El Socorro coffee, and the carefree mix of pop and jazz filling the cafe. For one of us, quiet; for the other, conversation. Itโs nice to know there is space here for both.
Takehi says opening his own cafe wasn’t something he’d been planning since the beginning. He thinks about it, mulls it over, and says, โIt just kind of happened.โ
But given a little more time to think, he says, โI think it was the right time for it. Coffee people, I think, when they get older, they want to share coffee. Iโm no different. I opened up here because specialty coffee isnโt very well known. I want to do my part to help spread it.โ
Thereโs a kind of whimsy to the way he talks about it, a nonchalance mixed with enthusiasm and passion. I wonder if it had any influence on the name and logoโ”megane” in Japanese means “glasses”โor whether itโs simply a play on the fact that he wears glasses himself. Takehi says he came up with the logo last year, just playing around, and didnโt think heโd use it. But with preparations in full swing and the opening on the horizon, the old design was there, and somehow it felt right.
He laughs about it, and adds, โBut also itโs simple, catchy, and cute. I donโt intend to use the name as a brand, and I donโt expect to grow into a chain or anything. The name fitsโwhether itโs for locals that want a coffee, or cafe-hoppers, or coffee lovers; itโs surprisingly easy to remember.โ
And somehow this feels tellingโthe idea that Takehi just wants to run a simple cafe to share good coffee with the local community. Itโs charming, somehowโlike the school desks, the lineup of coffee cups at the end of the counter, the metal ice cream cone holders, and the slightly awkward hang of the last “e” of the “coffee” sign that decorates the back wall.
โThe menu here will change with the way I feel,โ says Takehi. โIn winter, you get cravings for hot soup, things like that. Iโm not tied to anything or anybody here, so I can change the menu when I want to. By blending my hobbies with my work, itโs something I can picture myself doing until I get oldโproviding light foods for people as an entry way to the coffee I enjoy.โ
And I find myself hoping that the new shop is the start of something exactly like that. Perhaps in the months, years, and decades to come, people might talk about that glasses cafe with the ham sandwich the owner has been making for years, where he bakes his own bread and ages his own ham. I hope that theyโll giggle at the school chairs and the school desks, and meet a friendly smile from the owner behind the counterโperhaps a little aged behind an iconic pair of glasses, but just as warm as the day he first opened the shop.
Hengtee Limย (@Hent03) is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in Tokyo. Read moreย Hengtee Lim on Sprudge.