Better Know A Neighborhood: Kagurazaka

I hope everyone had a great Showa Day!  With the day off from classes I took the opportunity to visit some new places around my area of Tokyo.  The Kagurazaka area is well known for being the French quarter of Tokyo, full of French style buildings, bistros, and cafes.  If you’re looking for a high concentration of both Michelin star and regular casual restaurants, quaint streets, as well as modern Japanese architecture then this is the place!

Typically I stick to one or two places along the main road, but with the weather turning beautiful it seemed high time to expand my horizons a bit.  I visited La Kagu, Aoya Smoothie Stand, and La Bretagne.

La Kagu is a new addition to Kagurazaka designed around a Showa-era facility, and is minimalist modern heaven.  The upstairs includes an event hall area with seating, bookstore, furniture, and men’s clothing.  The downstairs has high end women’s street fashion alongside a cafe.

Grab a coffee or lemonade and sit on the front steps or take in the 100,000+円 clothing.  Needless to say, I only enjoyed a drip coffee (which was phenomenal).

Cafe Information:
Address: 67 Yaraicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Transport: Directly across from Kagurazaka Station (Tozai line), exit 2
Open: Shop 11am-8pm, café 8am-10pm (last orders at 9.30pm)

Next stop on my list was this brand new smoothie stand.  Opened on March 1st of this year, Aoya serves freshly blended smoothies with a variety of options.  I believe the one I chose included a large variety of vegetables along with pears and apples.  A word of caution, the green smoothie has a very strong ‘fresh cut grass’ taste.  If you’re into that then this will be right up your alley!!  Otherwise, pick a non-green option.  At only 600円 this seemed like a steal to me, especially considering the price of produce here in the city.

Shop Information:
Address: 3 Chome-1 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0825
Transport: Iidabashi station or Ushigomekagurazaka station
Open: Mon-Sun 11:00am-8:00pm

Ah, we meet again my friend.

La Bretagne is the single greatest place for you to visit if you come to the Kagurazaka area.  This little restaurant holds the prestigious title of being Japan’s first creperie, and the food is to die for.  The owner is a native Frenchman and is happy to converse with you in English, French, Japanese, or as usually happens with me, a blend of the three.

The little restaurant seats around 20 and includes outdoor dining.  And thanks to large heaters and fluffy blankets you can dine alfresco even in the winter time.  They also have a large number of branch stores and cafes, so be sure to check their website for one near you.

The lunch set is around 1600円 and includes a drink, a galette, and salad.  Of course, you can also order a la carte.  Dinner is a bit pricier, however it is always worth it.  And be sure to get a crepe for dessert, or split one with your dining partner!

Cafe Information:
Address: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Kagurazaka 4-2
Website: http://www.le-bretagne.com/e/top.html