School Bus Coffee Stop Kitahama

An interior renovation company called School Bus opened this Kitahama coffee stand in 2017 as a side project, and it has since become the better known half of the business. The space sits in a striking concrete and glass building a minute from Kitahama Station, fitted out with wood shelving, bookshelves and communal tables that lean American coffee shop more than Japanese kissaten.

Beans come from Portland's Coava Coffee Roasters rather than an in house roast, brewed through espresso for the flat whites and lattes that anchor the menu, alongside piccolos and a rotating list of baked goods. Long hours, open until eleven most nights, make it as much a late afternoon work spot as a morning coffee stop.