Hello,
I’m here in Japan for a few months and am looking for cafés I can spend a few hours programming at. The cities I’d like to find a great cafe in include Tokyo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and Osaka.
My requirements are:
Other people working/studying
Lots of electrical outlets
Windows
Great coffee
Light music
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thank you
I only know about Tokyo but I am a big fan of The Terminal in Harajuku.
http://theterminal.jp/
Its more of a coworking space than a cafe I suppose, but its very nice and you can rent by the day.
Check the pricing, its about 1000￥ a day with unlimited access to the drink bar.
In Japan, working in Cafes isn’t so common. However, Coworking Spaces (コワーキングスペース in Japanese) have boomed recently, and meet your requirements (except for maybe great coffee…).
I’ve listed up some co-working spaces that I think match your requirements. I’ve only been to the ones in Tokyo myself though. I’ve included the price for a day of working there, though some have an hourly rate (though it tends to be around ¥500 per hour, so if you’re working more than a couple of hours, you’ll be paying the day rate anyways).
co-working space kayabacho, co-edo - ¥1,000/day
Shimo-kitazawa Open Source Cafe - ¥1,000 / day
CASE Shinjuku - ¥1,920/day
Co-labo - ¥1,000 / day
JUSO Coworking - ¥1,080/day
Moving On - ¥1,388 / day
Shake Hands - ¥1,800 / day
Yoka-lab - ¥1,000 / day
Bases Fukuoka - ¥1,000 /day (9am - 5pm)
A colleague from osaka built this: https://cafes.io/
Thanks for the replies everyone!
Cafes.io has been really cool. I tried it in Osaka. It worked pretty well there.
The co-working spaces that I’ve come across have been pretty nice but seemed to lack the vibe that many cafes have. With that, I think the most reliable option has been to find a Starbucks. I’m so amazed at how Starbucks here are so much better than any that I’ve been to in the US. Almost any Starbucks here will do.
I do like that Fukuoka has a “Startup cafe” initiative. It had a nice vibe with a good mix of Japanese and foreigners.
All of this is so interesting to me. I am planning on visiting Tokyo for about a week. I love to take my work with me on holiday and these co-working spaces are perfect to spend a whole day fiddling about on my visual studio while meeting some interesting new people to possibly share ideas with.
It’s all alot dreamier in my head though 