Third-wave coffee boom made its debut 10 years ago. And now, it’s trending all over in Japan. From the north, Hokkaido to south, Okinawa. Cafés are all over the places.
Therefore, Japan creates a word called “Kafe Meguri” (カフェ巡り), which means café-search. People will go for famous café for a try and even willing to line up. There are thousands of café in Tokyo. But if you got outside Tokyo, those cafés outside Tokyo actually has its own uniqueness, than Tokyo itself. They sell Japanese sweets more. Whereas cafés in Tokyo usually sells food outside Japan. So if you’re coming to Japan for more decent Japanese desserts or tea, go out of Tokyo and you’ll find more.
I was staying in West Tokyo for the first two year. I didn’t go out much during the first year in Japan as I was still new and exploring places near me. As soon as I made new friends, we tend to hang out more. So I spent more time with friends, I always urge to find a good quiet place for us to chat.
After getting into university, I started to search numbers of café that I could hang out. Soon going to cafés in Tokyo became a common practice. I also took lots of photos while venturing around. I thought it would be a pity that I just keep the photos to myself. Hence, I shared them on Google Maps.
Not long after, I realised that going around and visiting café has become a trend in Japan. Most of the photo I took, I’ll just upload to show everyone. Things change fast, especially in Tokyo, so it’s necessary to keep things updated. And that’s how I continue to be a Local Guide until today.
