I once wrote a Top 5 anime bars list. For an entire week, I was sad that I couldn’t go have an actual drink at those places (except for the Lupin). This said it was also really fun to put together. Anime vistas and places have long been a particular source of joy for me.
Apparently, you can’t just spend your entire life in bars though. Because sometimes they close and they won’t just let you set up a little tent under a table. Stingy! At those times, the best thing to do is to head off to a café!
To be honest, I love a good café. A place to just sit and relax. For me, taking a half hour to enjoy a coffee or tea by myself or with a friend is something of a luxury. A treat yoself moment. And finding a nice little café that can be your oasis from everyday life is something to be cherished. These 5 anime cafés have always seemed like tiny little paradises to me and I wish I could visit them in real life:
5) Stile – Blend S
There’s nothing all that striking about Stile all things considered. It looks like the sort of little coffee shop you could find anywhere. But it’s the staff that makes the difference.
Having a collection of lovely real-life walking talking archetypes serve you your coffee and treats means that you can live out your fantasy while enjoying your break. And the theatrical atmosphere makes it look like a fun place to work. It’s almost like enjoying dinner and a show but in a more interactive and just plain fun way. And having each waitress be their own unique personality means there’s something for everyone.
Now if they would just get a waiter or two.
4) Coffee Angel – Gabriel DropOut
What’s a coffee shop without the coffee? That’s a silly question. Let me rephrase it. What’s the most important part of a coffee shop? The coffee is, silly! And if you love coffee, then Coffee Angel has got you covered.
A comfortable and dignified shop, with lots of dark woods and black-tie wait staff for that old-world charm, Coffee Angel prides itself on serving the very best cup of coffee you have ever had! The Master of the shop has made it his lifelong quest to find and make the perfect cup. It’s an all-out obsession.
Despite what this post may have led you to believe, I’m actually not that big a fan of coffee. But even I get tempted when I hear the master talk about the art of coffee making.
3) Rokuhōdō – Yotsurio Biyori
This said you can still enjoy a café even if you don’t like coffee. And Rokuhōdō is the perfect place for that. A gorgeous and spacious café in classic Japanese architecture surrounded by a lush bamboo grove, just walking into the place is instant relaxation.
On top of that, the menu features tasty and sophisticated tea blends as well as mouth-watering home-made desserts and delicious main dishes should you find yourself peckish. The welcoming staff is also perfectly happy to let you loiter around the place all day if you feel like it and not try to rush you out the door the second your cup is empty. I would probably just move my home office there if I could. There’s even a cat to play with! A big plus in my book.
With all those wonderful features, it doesn’t even matter that the staff is entirely made up of handsome and kind young men. I didn’t even consider that at all.
2) the Time of Eve – Time of Eve
I adored this anime and made a point to mention the Time of Eve café in my review. The place itself, layout, decoration and furnishings are perfect. It’s exactly the sort of eccentric but functional café I tend to really enjoy.
There’s something a little mysterious about the mismatched pieces and dim corners that makes the place feel intimate. Almost like a secret little hideout just for you. A place where you can curl up with a hot drink and a good book when you need a bit of alone time. And I think the loyal patrons would agree with me.
It’s a best-kept secret, difficult to stumble upon by accident and as such tends to be frequented only by a few loyal patrons. And that makes it even more special. It also may be the birthplace of a quiet revolution which changes the course of history and you might want to be there for that.
1) Café Concrucio – The Flying Witch
The Flying Witch should be used by Japan’s tourism board. Few animes have made me want to book a ticket as much as this one. The art was a love letter to Hirosaki. And of all the inviting venues featured, none were more tempting to me than the beautiful Café Concrucio.
It was like having a lazy and happy sun-drenched Sunday afternoon with your best friend forever captured in one place. It was magical, even without the yokai staff. And it had yummy desserts. I was desperate to go there…
And then I found out I could!!! I have talked before about the wonderful anime journeys, well they have a post about this very café:
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In Flying Witch, Makoto, Chinatsu and Kei visits Café Concrucio where they eat cake. This place is based on Taisho Western House in the Fujita Memorial Garden in Hirosaki in real life.
mikehattsu.blogspot.com
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Isn’t it amazing how well the anime captured that place? Actually, forget that, isn’t it amazing that such a magical place really exists? So, who wants to go with me?
Great, now all I want to do is find a nice little café to hole up in, instead of the long afternoon of meetings I have lined up. Booh ☹ Instead, let’s daydream some more. Is there any anime café you’re just dying to visit? Why?
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I love this list as much as the bars list! But I’m gobsmacked that Polar Bear Cafe is not there. Because, totally my first stop. And then there’s Restaurant to another world. Got to get there. Talk about someplace to hang out all day and people watch… plus the food looks so delicious I have to make sure I have snacks on hand to watch it! I just started watching Yatsuro Biyori and I must say, Rokuhoton would make my list too.
I haven’t seen polar bear but don’t worry I will!!!
Such a great list! (Also loved your garden list. . .)
I believe thst one was Karandi and it was great!
Oops, sorry to both of you! I plead exhaustion and sleep deprivation. . .
No worries – I take it as a compliment… and Karandi probably hasn’t seen it so you’re safe
No worries, Karandi loves me! In her post “Top 300 Old Farts I’d Save from a Wildfire Instead of an Already-Dead Cane Toad,” I might not have made the top 300, but I did get an Honorable Mention. . .
Lucky!
You are missing the most important one, Steins;Gate cafe https://mipon.org/steins-gate-may-queen-cafe-tokyo/
Polar Bar Cafe – nuff said! 😉
I don’t like coffee, but I like the master at Coffee Angel. He’s a nice guy.
And a very patient guy! Seems like a great boss
Those look like great places especially if they were to exist in real life.
Agreed
Sure. I had trouble thinking of cafes in anime. I know I’ve seen some, but they either were nameless or didn’t stand out to me.
Cafe Concrucio from Flying Witch definitely belongs at number one – but my favourite cafe from all of anime has to be Cafe Alpha, from Yokohama Shopping Log. Remote, peaceful, and Alpha (the proprietor) will sit with you and chat while you drink your coffee.
Ooh, the Rokuhoudou is soooo my style. The simple wooden furniture, the nice self-made pottery, the bamboo, a lazy cat… It’s perhaps the most relaxing place of all for me. (The Flying Witch place is great, though, too, and I was glad to see the Shirokuma Café mentioned in the comments.)
I wish we had more traditional cafes around here. It’s all modern starbucks and the likr
We’ve got a few around here. In fact, Austria has cities near me who might be built around the theme (like Bad Ischl). Not many appeal to me quite like Rokuhoudou, though. I think it’s the simplicity of the designs.
Here in America, far too many places try too hard with their decorations and end up looking like a Victorian parlour. Or they swing too far the other way and their “simple” ends up sterile.
Definitely would like to go to Rokuhoudo. It seemed like such a calm and relaxing place.
Agreed. Watching it melted my worries away. I can just imagine what actually visiting it would be like.
The one from Flying Witch and Rokuhōdō are definitely my favourites.
Obviously I agree!
Don’t forget Anteiku! Humans and Ghouls alike agree that coffee hits the spot!
Deep down, we’re all the same
Your top two were the first two I thought of.
The other one high on my list would be the cafe that Mako’s family owns in Saki (don’t think it was ever given a name). Being able to come in, grab a drink, and then kick back and play mahjong for a while? If there was a place like that where I lived, I’d be in there almost every day.
We have a few Mahjong dives in Montréal. They’re a bit intimidating though. I’ve always wanted to go
When this popped up in my reader, I saw the thumbnail of the Rokuhōdō screenie and was much pleased… as it’s high on my “anime places I’d love to visit if they were real” list.
That being said, the other anime cafe I’d want to go to is the Dicey Cafe (SAO) because that would mean I was living in a world where you actually could Full Dive. I’d LOVE to be able to do that.
I never got too far into SAO. What is Full Dive?
Full Dive is the technology that lets them enter the various virtual worlds the story is set in.
Ohhh i want to go there too then
SAO is a weird show. Its basically a death match, but it gets interrupted by a rather nice romance around eps 9-15, then turns back into death match. If you didn’t watch it, ever, you aren’t missing much. The cute pink side story is still better than the main plot of all the other series.
Restaurant to another world would be great. I’m sure they serve coffee.
Miyako’s little coffee shop in “Bloom into You” could be fun too.
I should do restaurants at some point. I have a thing about anime food
Would definitely have Shirokuma Cafe at the top of my list. Come for the food, stay for the puns.
I’m actually really looking forward to watching Polar Bear Café – it might make it on my list as well
I really like the one in Flying Witch, too. The two cafes from Is The Order A Rabbit are cute and very traditional, especially since one turns into a Wine Bar in the evening. The cafe in the first few episodes of Bodacious Space Pirates is rather pretty, with all the different classic lamps on the ceiling and the traditional outfits and service.
Good choices
Agreed, interior decoration on point