20 best things to do in Koenji: restaurants, cafés, coffee, shops and more

This tiny café near the train tracks west of Koenji Station is known for its artistic fruit sandwiches, in-house roasted coffee and kakigori shaved ice (served in the warmer months). Interestingly, the café's name comes from French novelist, poet and playwright Jules Gabriel Verne and is inspired by the analog ways of the eighteenth century. 

Keeping with the theme, you can find books by Verne scattered around the café from which you can freely pick up to read as you wait for your order. On the menu are sweet crepes, savoury galettes and, of course, the beautiful fruit sandwiches that are filled with seasonal offerings like Tochiotome strawberries. Lattes come with adorable latte art, and you can also purchase bags of freshly roasted beans to take home with you.

This rustic bakery is so discreet, you might miss it if you’re not looking hard enough. However, it’s been in business for about 24 years and has amassed a loyal following, especially in the surrounding ‘hood. To give it more credit, the bakery was even listed as one of the 100 best bakeries in Tokyo by restaurant guide Tabelog in 2022.

Shigekuniya functions as a takeaway bakery with fresh bread displayed out front. Popular items include its shokupan milk bread made with different flours, banana bread and a wide variety of bagels – a true rarity in Tokyo. If you’re on the hunt for something more hearty, check out the tiny refrigerator stocked with a rotating selection of sandwiches. To accompany your bread, you can also pick up jars of seasonal fruit preserves.

Ramen Kenta serves up authentic bowls of Hakata-style ramen, otherwise known as tonkotsu pork bone broth ramen, which originated in Fukuoka. You’ll often find a long queue outside the shop, but it’s well worth the wait for one of these coveted bowls of noodles. The owner trained at the famous ramen shop Komaya in Fukuoka and has crafted the perfect umami-rich broth made from shaba-kei pork bones.

The restaurant only accepts ¥1,000 notes with no change given.

The cosy R-za Dokushokan café near Koenji Station is the perfect place to unwind and catch up on your reading as it has a no-talking policy. The entrance may seem unassuming, but head up to the second floor and you’ll find yourself in a place that looks like it came straight out of a Ghibli movie.

The quiet, soothing café offers a much needed respite from Tokyo’s hustle and bustle. It’s stocked with over 1,500 books, in a lush interior filled with potted plants and small decorative items from the owner’s personal collection. On the menu are coffee and tea options starting from ¥680. You can pair your drink with a chocolate brownie, a caramel waffle or a selection of cookies. 

Tucked down a cosy shopping street in Koenji, Amp is run by a husband-wife duo who have been turning out carefully roasted beans and quality cups of coffee since 2010. The roaster is the first thing you'll notice on entering – space is at a premium in this narrow shop, with weathered floorboards and seats for just over a dozen people, none of them especially comfortable.

There's not much opportunity for dawdling at the bar: drinkers are given a simple choice of latte, mocha, espresso or regular coffee, the latter served in a cafetiere and with a choice of different beans. Whether single-origin or one of their house blends, you know you’re always getting a quality cup as the shop has been sourcing beans from the same importers since its inception. 

Located near the intersection of Mabashi street and Waseda street in Koenji is craft beer shop Drink Up, stocked with a good range of local and Western beers. However, don't expect any of these beers to be available on tap here. All of them come in cans, which you can pick out from the refrigerator.

The selection changes roughly every two weeks, but you'll always find a good mix of about a dozen beers including classic IPAs, blonde ales and pilsners as well as more unusual flavoured brews like apple pie, guava and lime, and white chocolate.

Tucked away in the hodgepodge of shops and galleries in Koenji’s chaotic Kita-Kore Building is this quaint chai stand. Unlike most cafés in the city, Julay is open until 1am, catering to the late night crowds looking for something to nurse other than alcohol.

The shop's classic masala chai is made with an original blend of five spices including cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Each cup is made-to-order with spices freshly crushed every time. Aside from the classic masala chai, you can get variations like ginger chai, vanilla chai and even a spiked rum chai. A selection of refreshing lassi drinks are also on the menu including fruity concoctions like lemon and mango lassi.

Love secondhand books? Love drinking? Love snacking? Do all three at this quiet ‘book bar’ whose characterful owner creates dishes often inspired by fiction – for example, the Taisho Croquette, made from tofu pulp and fish paste, is based on a recipe in a novel.

You wouldn’t think a tempura soft-boiled egg served over rice could be so delicious, but the Tamago Lunch dish at this counter seat-only speciality tempura spot is simply irresistible. The chefs’ unique frying ‘performance’ is pretty cool, and the owner speaks good English. The restaurant was even awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction for 2024.

This no-frills coffee shop and roaster specialises in light and medium roast single-origin coffee beans selected according to the season. The beans are roasted in a heavy duty American Diedrich roaster that sits right in the café. You can even purchase bags of beans to take home with you. If you order only one thing, go for the hand-dripped coffee – it pairs well with the shop's fluffy toast served with butter. It's worth a frequent visit as the café also has a rotating lineup of artwork on its walls that changes every month.

With vegetables delivered directly from organic farmers, a daily changing menu, and coffee brewed with organic coffee beans, this is a natural-food gem. They also sell the delicious spices used in their dishes.