“This place that functions as a saloon represents the locals’ crossroads, is definitely nurturing the love for this community”

Along the Blue Bottle Coffee store at a crossing just ahead, there is a coffee roaster and stand just over 200 square feet, with the roaster and hemp coffee bean bags taking over one-third of the store and skateboards hung across the wall. There are a couple of people relaxing on the bench.

“Hello. We have 12 different coffee beans today for you to enjoy.”
Said the man with dreadlocks from the back of the stand; his name is Taiju HAYASHI, an official coffee roaster. It was 17 years ago when he made a career change from the fashion industry to become an official coffee roaster, as he wanted a job that involved deeper into people’s life style. Since then he gained his roaster experience at a major coffee roasting company. An opportunity arrived when he was participating in launching a roasting plant in Kiyosumi Shirakawa. Customers who purchase take-out coffees on their way from the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in Kiba Park always had questions about the city- “Are there any good restaurants around here?” or, “How do you get to this gallery?” As a person who works in the back of the stand, Hayashi would come out to the front and show people around the city. This is where he learned the joy of interacting directly with the customers. It was natural for him to take root at Kiyosumi Shirakawa as an independent business owner.

There are constantly 6 to 10 different coffee beans at the stand. From Central America to Africa, Indonesia and Thai, all coffee beans are harvested at their locations and shipped. Our recommendation is the Dominica Princesa Winy; it has the fragrance of a strawberry jam and sweetness.

A serene early afternoon; we engage in a lively conversation as Hayashi brews my coffee through a Mino-Yaki Donut Dripper. Without interruption, many regulars arrive as they greet and order their coffee of the day. Customers varies from the casually dressed, people with cameras, people in work outfits, even elderlies in their mourning attires after visiting the cemetery at the nearby temple. An American couple with a map in their hand who had come to order some coffee joyously cries at the SEPULTURA poster hung in the stand.

“Many people who is in the same business come visits this store from overseas,” one of the regulars told me with pride. This place that functions as a saloon represents the locals’ crossroads, is definitely nurturing the love for this community.