Cafeography
Tokyo · Asakusa & Kuramae

Cafés in Asakusa & Kuramae

Sensō-ji's lanes, Café Bach to the north, and Kuramae's warehouse cafés by the Sumida River.

Photo: Andrey Grushnikov, Pexels License

Sensō-ji is Tokyo's oldest-established temple if its legend holds: two brothers are said to have found a statue of Kannon in the Sumida River in 628.1 The firebombing of 10 March 1945 destroyed its main hall and five-story pagoda; the hall was rebuilt in 1951–58 and the Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gate with its giant red lantern, in 1960.1 Nakamise-dōri, about 250 m long, leads to the temple past some 72 shops.1

Kuramae, south along the river, takes its name from the Asakusa Okura, the shogunate's largest rice storehouse, built in 1620 with a boat landing on the Sumida.2 Wholesalers of dolls, toys and stationery moved in after the Meiji era, and by 2018 several of the district's old warehouses had become a chocolate factory, a tea shop and cafés.23

Local tip: Start at Cafe Tomorrow, open from 06:30, then walk the 250 m of Nakamise-dōri to Sensō-ji.1

At a glance

280Cafés listed
20With opening hours
06:30Earliest opening
22:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: 友路有, from 06:30 (Daily 06:30–20:00).
  • Closes latest: 友安製作所Cafe 浅草橋, until 22:00 (Daily 11:00–22:00).
  • Most common features: specialty (3%), wi-fi (3%), bakery café (2%).

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Coffee chains in Asakusa & Kuramae

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Doutor Coffee

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Coffee around Sensō-ji

The temple district starts early. Cafe Tomorrow (友路有) at 1-29-3 Asakusa opens daily at 06:30, and Cafe Umenoki serves from 07:00 on weekdays and Saturdays. Funawa Cafe at 2-19-10 Kaminarimon keeps daytime hours, and the 純喫茶 (jun-kissa, "pure kissa") Mountain at 1-8-2 Asakusa stays open until 22:00.

Fuglen Asakusa, at 2-6-15 Asakusa, is the Norwegian company's second Tokyo café after Tomigaya, with coffee and waffles by day and cocktails at night.5 It opens at 08:00 and closes at 21:00 Monday to Thursday and 23:00 from Friday to Sunday.

Café Bach in Nihonzutsumi

Café Bach opened in 1968 in San'ya, now Nihonzutsumi in Taitō ward, a district north of Asakusa where some 15,000 day laborers gathered before the 1964 Olympics.4 Mamoru Taguchi and his wife, Fumiko, run it, and he is credited with reworking small-shop roasting in the 1980s and training roasters who share the method.4

It roasts its beans on site and drips each cup by hand, and it supplied coffee for the 2000 G8 summit in Okinawa.6 It opens 10:30–18:15 on Mondays and from Thursday to Sunday.

Kuramae's warehouses and the river

Kuramae sits between Asakusa to the north, Asakusabashi to the south, Okachimachi to the west and the Sumida River to the east, and its stations are on the Ōedo and Asakusa subway lines.3 In the Edo period the fudasashi (札差), brokers who turned samurai rice stipends into cash and lent money, made it a financial center.2 From 1954 until 1985, sumo was held at the Kuramae Kokugikan near Kuramae Bridge.2

In 2018 Metropolis listed Leaves Coffee Apartment, pouring pour-over from Fuglen beans, among the district's cafés, with Dandelion Chocolate's bean-to-bar café nearby.3 Today Leaves Coffee, nano coffee roaster and February Coffee Roastery serve specialty coffee in the area; nano opens 10:00–18:00 and closes on Wednesdays and Sundays. feb's coffee & scone opens daily 09:30–17:00.

Asakusabashi, animal cafés and festival weekends

Tomoyasu Seisakusho Cafe at 1-7-2 Asakusabashi opens daily 11:00–22:00 and has Wi-Fi, and the Hedgehog Cafe also stays open until 22:00. Near the temple are Owl no Mori at 1-39-11 Asakusa, open 10:00–20:00, and an otter café, HARRY, at 1-1-17 Asakusa.

Plan around the Sanja Matsuri, Tokyo's largest festival, which runs for three to four days in late spring and closes the streets around the temple to traffic from dawn until late evening.1

Sources

  1. Sensō-ji, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. 蔵前, Kotobank (日本大百科全書, 世界大百科事典), accessed October 2026
  3. Tokyo Neighborhood Guides: Kuramae, Metropolis Japan (March 22, 2018), accessed October 2026
  4. 『カフェ・バッハ』田口護・文子夫妻, Shukan Josei PRIME (May 25, 2019), accessed October 2026
  5. Fuglen Asakusa, Time Out Tokyo (April 8, 2023), accessed October 2026
  6. 13 best retro Japanese coffee shops in Tokyo, Time Out Tokyo (June 13, 2024), accessed October 2026
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In Asakusa & Kuramae, also browse: Specialty coffee Open late Wi-Fi Outdoor seating Bakery cafés

FAQ

Asakusa & Kuramae cafés: questions

Where does the name Kuramae in Tokyo come from?

Kuramae means "in front of the storehouse". In 1620 the shogunate built the Asakusa Okura, its largest rice storehouse, with a boat landing on the Sumida River, and the area in front of it was called Okuramae. Rice brokers made it a financial center, and toy and stationery wholesalers moved in after the Meiji era.

What is Café Bach near Asakusa, Tokyo?

Café Bach is a coffee house opened in 1968 in San'ya, now Nihonzutsumi in Taitō ward, north of Asakusa. Mamoru Taguchi and his wife Fumiko run it, roasting on site and dripping each cup by hand, and its coffee was served at the 2000 G8 summit in Okinawa. It opens 10:30–18:15 on Mondays and Thursday to Sunday.

Which cafés near Sensō-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo, open early?

Cafe Tomorrow at 1-29-3 Asakusa opens daily at 06:30, and Cafe Umenoki at 07:00 on weekdays and Saturdays. Fuglen Asakusa, at 2-6-15 Asakusa, opens at 08:00 every day and serves coffee and waffles by day and cocktails at night. Nakamise-dōri, the 250 m street of shops leading to the temple, is a short walk from all three.

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