the local coffee stand shop cafe aoyama shibuya tokyo japan sprudge

However much we might travel on the hunt for a good cup of coffee, most of us have a local: a place where we meet friends, or pass through for a morning brew, or sit to read and indulge in quiet thought. The appeal is in the very definition of the wordโ€”the local is a living, breathing part of the community. It’s nearby, itโ€™s comforting, and you never need to plan a trip around it.

The Aoyama neighborhoodโ€™s newest coffee shop, The Local, looks to put a new spin on this idea by bringing a slice of the local experience to Tokyoย customers. Project director Takahiro Takeuchi says the aim is to connect people to coffee shops that roast their ownโ€”and, surprisingly, he doesn’t care soย much whether it’sย his Localย or another one.

the local coffee stand shop cafe aoyama shibuya tokyo japan sprudge

โ€œIf we look at our [current] bean lineup, we have Ritual Coffee Roasters, a San Francisco local; Trunk Coffee, a Nagoya [Japan] local; and Glitch Coffee, a Jinbocho [Tokyo] local. There are locals all over the place, right? So we want to showcase a variety of coffee, and by doing so, help people discover a different neighborhoodโ€™s local coffee shop.โ€

Takeuchi says everything began when he started getting into coffee culture. He bought coffee magazinesย but didn’t like lugging them around the city. A web designer by trade, he took what data he could find and made an online guidebookโ€”something thatย could be easily accessed onย aย phone. That pet project, Good Coffee, slowly grew into a go-to webย resourceย for Tokyoites looking for coffee in Japan.

the local coffee stand shop cafe aoyama shibuya tokyo japan sprudge

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the local coffee stand shop cafe aoyama shibuya tokyo japan sprudge

Good Coffeeย now boasts English and Japanese versions, with an interesting split between the two: while the Japanese side focuses on specialty coffee, the English side paints a broader picture of the whole Japanese coffee experience, with a mix of new shops, hidden gems, and old-school kissaten (tearooms that double as coffee shops).

The Localโ€™s goal, then, is to build a bridge linking online andย offline: From seeing a brew method to trying it. From reading about coffee shops to visiting them. Takeuchi says it’s hard to share specialty coffee byย web alone; itโ€™s an experience you need to see, smell, and taste.

the local coffee stand shop cafe aoyama shibuya tokyo japan sprudge

โ€œIf people have a chance to drink it, they have a chance to understand what makes it interesting,” he says. “We tried to create those moments by organizing events like the Tokyo Coffee Festival, but even that is only a coupleย times a year. The chances for that linking experience are really limited.โ€

So, uniquely, The Local isn’t looking to be anyone’s competition on the coffee scene. Takeuchi talks about his shop like it’s a medium for discovery, the first step a person might take down a roadย that continues on toย other shops and into further revelation. But encouraging people to take that step means making the process smooth and easyโ€”hence an online ordering system that allows a customer to order from their phone and pick up a coffee justย as itโ€™s ready to go.

the local coffee stand shop cafe aoyama shibuya tokyo japan sprudge

At The Local’s counter, the coffees of the month are front and center; they’re lined up in front ofย a series of V60 drippers, complete with inexpensiveย 50-gram bagsโ€”to encourage brewing at home without the worry of investing in bigger bags of beans.

It all boils down to a desire to see more local coffee shops in the Tokyo area. Takeuchi says good coffee isn’t something you should have to go out of your way to findโ€”you should be able to find it close toย home.

the local coffee stand shop cafe aoyama shibuya tokyo japan sprudge

So expect a taste of the neighborhood when you visit the little coffee shop in Aoyama; just donโ€™t expect it to be the neighborhoodย youโ€™re used to. Keep an open mind and, with some luck, you might even stumble across a brand new place to call your local coffee shop.

The Local is located atย 2-Chome 10-15, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Visit their official websiteย and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Hengtee Limย (@Hent03) is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in Tokyo. Read moreย Hengtee Lim on Sprudge.

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