Cafeography
Tokyo · Ikebukuro

Cafés in Ikebukuro

Department-store cafés, a 1983 charcoal-roast kissaten, cat cafés off Sunshine 60 Street and quiet Zōshigaya and Mejiro.

Photo: Lorenzo Castellino, Pexels License

Ikebukuro is a railway junction first, and its cafés split along the same lines as its crowds. Near the station they serve shoppers and commuters, along Sunshine 60 Street they serve people out for the evening, and further out in Zōshigaya and Mejiro they serve the neighbors.

Several universities nearby help keep food and drink prices down.2 If you want a proper kissaten (喫茶店, an old-style coffee house) or a quiet coffee in a Frank Lloyd Wright dining room, both are within ten minutes of the tracks.

Local tip: Check which side you need before you leave the platform, because the east exit leads to Seibu and the west exit to Tōbu, even though 西武 (Seibu) means "west" and 東武 (Tōbu) "east".2

At a glance

191Cafés listed
14With opening hours
08:00Earliest opening
23:30Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Antico Café al Avis, from 08:00 (Mon–Fri 08:00–21:30 · Sat–Sun 09:00–21:30).
  • Closes latest: Sherlock House, until 23:30 (Daily 17:00–23:30).
  • Most common features: open late (2%), bakery café (2%), brunch (2%).

ボードゲームカフェラウンジROSA

Board Game Cafe Lounge ROSA

  • 西池袋1-37-12
  • Mon Closed · Tue–Wed 13:00–23:00 · Thu Closed · Fri–Sun 13:00–23:00
  • +81-80-4833-3636
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Coffee chains in Ikebukuro

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Doutor Coffee

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Starbucks

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Tully's Coffee

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Caffè Veloce

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Finding your way around Ikebukuro Station

Ikebukuro Station is the third-busiest in the world, after Shinjuku and Shibuya, averaging about 2.3 million passengers a day in 2023. JR, Tokyo Metro, Seibu and Tōbu all meet here, and it is the Tokyo terminus of both the Seibu Ikebukuro and Tōbu Tōjō lines.1 Tokyo's tourism site calls it one of the easiest stations in the city to get lost in. Remember that the east exit leads to Seibu and the west exit to Tōbu; the いけふくろう owl statue near the north gate is the usual meeting point.2

The department stores are the quick answer. Tōbu, at 1-1-25 Nishi-Ikebukuro, has 但馬珈琲店 and 京都茶寮翠泉, and Seibu, at 1-28-1 Minami-Ikebukuro, has 西武百貨店珈琲貴族 and 京はやしや. Antico Café al Avis, at 1-1-6 Nishi-Ikebukuro, opens at 08:00 on weekdays and 09:00 on weekends.

The east side: Sunshine 60 Street and Kōhītei

皇琲亭 (Kōhītei), at 1-7-2 Higashi-Ikebukuro, has been open since 1983. TV Tokyo's Adomachi reported in 2023 that it uses about twice the usual amount of beans and pours all the water at once.3 Its coffee is charcoal-roasted, and it also brews by siphon and flannel drip.4

Sunshine 60 Street leads east to Sunshine City, past cinemas, karaoke, late bars, and cat and owl cafés.2 The tower itself opened in March 1978 on the site of the former Sugamo Prison, and at 239.7 m it was Asia's tallest until 1985.5 みけねこカフェ is at 1-40-11 Higashi-Ikebukuro, and Sherlock House at 1-13-4 opens 17:00–23:30 daily. Otome Road, known for anime and manga goods, is in the same part of town.2

The west side and Myōnichikan

A five-minute walk from the station, at 2-31-3 Nishi-Ikebukuro, is Jiyū Gakuen Myōnichikan, a girls' school built in 1921 and now a national Important Cultural Property.6 Frank Lloyd Wright designed it with his protégé Endō Arata while in Japan for the Imperial Hotel. The room where students ate is now a café: in 2022, a tour with coffee or tea and a baked sweet cost ¥800, and a tour alone ¥500.7

For later hours, the board game café ボードゲームカフェラウンジROSA, at 1-37-12 Nishi-Ikebukuro, opens 13:00–23:00 except Mondays and Thursdays. Nekorobi, a cat café, opens daily 11:00–22:00. カフェテルヴェ! at 3-33-24 opens only 11:00–17:00, Friday to Sunday.

Zōshigaya, Mejiro and the quieter edges

South of the station, Minami-Ikebukuro Park is a large green space with plenty of seating and a popular café, a useful break from the crowds.2 In Zōshigaya, UPSTAND coffee and people is at 3-3-14 Zōshigaya, and Reels, a siphon coffee and Western sweets shop, is at 2-8-6.

Mejiro is one stop south on the Yamanote line. Café de Daphné at 3-1-24 Mejiro opens 10:00–20:00 Monday to Saturday, and CAFE HAGI and 珈琲伴茶夢 on the same block serve brunch. Back in Ikebukuro, 自家焙煎珈琲工房 冨久豆, at 5-44-21 Higashi-Ikebukuro, and Wavy Coffee Roasters, at 4-2-4 Ikebukurohonchō, roast their own beans.

Sources

  1. Ikebukuro Station, Wikipedia, accessed November 2026
  2. 池袋, GO TOKYO, Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, accessed November 2026
  3. 出没！アド街ック天国: 美味しい池袋, TV Tokyo (August 26, 2023), accessed November 2026
  4. 【2026年】池袋のおすすめ喫茶店12選！レトロ純喫茶や穴場を厳選, コーヒー豆研究所 (October 31, 2026), accessed November 2026
  5. Sunshine 60, Wikipedia, accessed November 2026
  6. 自由学園明日館, GO TOKYO, Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, accessed November 2026
  7. 自由学園明日館, Time Out Tokyo (September 30, 2022), accessed November 2026
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In Ikebukuro, also browse: Specialty coffee Open late Wi-Fi Bakery cafés

FAQ

Ikebukuro cafés: questions

What is Kōhītei, the kissaten near Ikebukuro Station's east exit in Tokyo?

皇琲亭 (Kōhītei) at 1-7-2 Higashi-Ikebukuro has been open since 1983 near the east exit. It uses about twice the usual amount of beans, pours all the water at once, and also brews by siphon and flannel drip. TV Tokyo featured it in 2023.

Can you have coffee in a Frank Lloyd Wright building in Ikebukuro, Tokyo?

Yes. Jiyū Gakuen Myōnichikan, built in 1921 and a national Important Cultural Property, is a five-minute walk from Ikebukuro Station. The students' former dining room is now a café. In 2022 a tour with coffee or tea and a baked sweet cost ¥800.

Where are the cat cafés in Ikebukuro, Tokyo?

Sunshine 60 Street, on the east side of Ikebukuro Station on the way to Sunshine City, has cat and owl cafés among its cinemas and karaoke. みけねこカフェ is at 1-40-11 Higashi-Ikebukuro. Nekorobi, another cat café, opens daily 11:00–22:00, and 猫カフェ MoCHA has a branch at 1-15-6 Nishi-Ikebukuro.

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