Sarutahiko Coffee

Tomoyuki Otsuka left a career as an actor to open this shop just off Ebisu Station in June 2011, naming the brand after Sarutahiko Okami, a Shinto deity said to guide travelers toward the right path. He set out with one simple goal, to make someone smile with a single cup, at a point when Tokyo's coffee options were still mostly traditional kissaten or a vending machine can.

The Ebisu shop is the flagship and original roastery for what has since grown into a chain of more than a dozen locations across Japan. The board runs six blends alongside six single origin coffees at any time, spanning dark to light roasts, with some lots carrying Cup of Excellence titles from beans Otsuka and his staff buy directly from producers. Doors stay open late into the evening most nights, drawing a crowd that stops in after work and keeps the small outdoor tables busy well past dinner.