Smoke Free Merchandise

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Bio Cafe

Name: Bio Cafe
Type: Organic Cafe and Restaurant
Station: Shibuya

Location: Take Hachiko Exit and cross the main crossing. Keep walking with the Starbucks on your right. Keep walking away from the station. When you see HMV, walk through it to get to the block to the right of you, cross the road and keep walking down that street away from the station. Two blocks down the street you'll see an Italian themed alley going up a hill on your right, leading off of the main road. Head up it and you'll find Bio Cafe on your right halfway up the hill. For a map, visit here on their site.

Info: Web Site, Ph: 03-5428-3322, E: webmaster@biocafe.jp

I've been to the Bio cafe twice now and love it. There's very metropolitan feel to the place yet it's so quiet that you forget that you're in the heart of one of Tokyo's busiest areas.

Both time's I've been here I've had to wait (the cost of visiting a popular cafe I guess) but the wait has never been more than 10 minutes. I asked the waitress about throwing a party here on the following weekend but she said that they're booked solid so if you're planning to use them for an event, make sure to book several weeks in advance.

The Bio Cafe offers a wide range of superbly made dishes, all of them being organic. From pasta dishes to salads, cheesecakes and quiches I loved almost everything me and my friends tasted. The drinks are also worth trying with a huge variety in organic fruit blends, coffees, teas and alcohol this establishment is prepared for any kind of social meal you and your friends are up for.

It's also a nice place to relax by yourself with the place being staffed with the ever rare Japanese waitress, the kind that doesn't yell, scream and screech when all you want is peace and quiet and a chance to unwind.

Menus are in Japanese and English (though I found when we had a Japanese friend with us they didn't give us the English menu and when it was just me and my Aussie pal they gave us the English option by default). In short you may have to ask for it. The English isn't perfect (actually quite funny in places) but it's completely functional and at least they tried.

The prices are on par with Starbucks but with a better environment and selection making this little secret well worth checking out at least once and maybe again, and again and again.

Can't recommend this place enough.

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We're Alive!

As you've probably noticed, I've finally begun that makeover of SmokeFreeJapan.com that I promised so long ago that will completely revitalise the site and your dining experiences.

Right now I'm in the middle of reorganising all of the listings and categorising them. Don't like the blue layout? Don't worry, it's only temporary. The real one will look a lot better and sport some really cool features such as our own online community page.

To stay in the know, subscribe to our site feed and stick with us. People like us living in Japan deserve a good quality website and I'll try my hardest to make that happen.

Happy Breathing!

Tea Room Ayamon

Name: Tea Room Ayamon - Since 1983
Type: Tea House
Station: Shuri Monorail Station
Location: Get off at Shuri Monorail Station in Naha City and walk down Ryutan Dori towards Shurijo Castle. It's opposite the Post Office on the way. About a 4 minute walk.

Nisa Bula

Name: Nisa Bula
Type: Mixed Restaurant
Station: Shuri Monorail Station
Location: Right on the corner of Ryutan Dori where you turn off for the Shurijo Castle, opposite the Family Mart. Walk from Shuri Monorail Station.

Sushi Kei

Name: Sushi Kei
Type: Sushi
Contact: PH: 03-5685-0933.
Station: Nezu
Location: Nezu 2-16-2, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0031. Hours: 11:30 -14:00 and 17:00 - 22:30.

Wine Cellar Davis

Name: Wine Cellar Davis
Type: Wine and Food Restaurant.
Contact: Ph: 3440-6007
Station: Takanawa
Location: Closed Sunday night and Mondays.

Chez Tomo

Name: Chez Tomo
Type: French Italian Cafe / Restaurant.
Contact: Tel: 03-5789-7731, Fax: 03-5789-7732.
Station: Shirogane
Location: 1F 5-15-5 Shirogane, Minato-ku.

Think Zone

Name: Think Zone
Type: Organic cafe/ bar combined with an event space and book store.

Info: www.zoneroppongi.com, Tel: 5770-8777, Fax: 5770-8779, e-mail info@zoneroppongi.com
Station: Roppongi
Location: Zone Roppongi Building 1F, 6-2-31 Roppongi, Minato-ku Tokyo.

Honmura-An

Name: Honmura-An
Type: Soba Restaurant
Contact: www.honmura-an.co.jp, Tel: 03-3401-0844.

In Brief: English Menu Available.
Station: Roppongi
Location: 2F Seven and Seven Blg, 7-14-18 Roppongi, Minato-ku.

La Jolla

Name: La Jolla
Type: American Style Restaurant.
Station: Hiro-o
Location: Hiro-o 5-16-3, Koyasu Bldg. 2F, Open 11:30am-2pm & 5pm-11pm.

Demel

Name: Demel
Type: Cafe
Station: Harajuku
Location: About 60 metres down Omotesando Dori from Harajuku JR station on the left.

Cafe Mongrove

Name: Cafe Mongrove
Type: Thai Food/Bar/Cafe
Contact: Tel: 03-5475-3239.
In Brief: MSG Free Chicken. Chinese tea and cocktails.
Station: Ebisu
Location: Across from the Ebisu Garden Palace. Near the Westin Hotel.

Don Carmine

Name: Don Carmine
Smoke Free? 2F is non smoking
Type: Italian Restaurant
Contact: Tel: 03-3403-5454, Fax: 03-5414-1806.
Station: Azabu
Location: 3-24-4 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku

Bindi

Name: Bindi
Type: Indian & Fusion Cuisine
Contact: www.bindi.org, Tel: 03-3409-8755
In Brief: They also have a delivery service.
Location: Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku.

Ony

Name: Ony

Type: Cafe

Contact: Tel/Fax: 03-5772-0922

In Brief: O = Original, N = Nature and Y = Yard.

Station: Aoyama
Location: 2-22-19 Sanwa Aoyama Bld, Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku. Everyday 8am - 9pm.

Royal Host Coffee Shop

Name: Royal Host Coffee Shop

Type: Family restaurant

Location: Excel Tokyu Plaza, Open until 3am.

Seattle's Best Coffee

Name: Seattle's Best Coffee

Type: American Style Cafe

Japan Website: http://www.seabest.co.jp/

US Website: http://www.seattlesbest.com/

In Brief: An amazingly quiet and secluded cafe in one of the busiest locations in Tokyo! And of course 100% Smoke Free and with Wireless Internet!

Review: I found this cafe by accident, trying to find my way out of the maze that is Sunshine City which just goes to show that the best places in Japan are the ones you find when you get lost.



There were several features that drew me to SBC. The first was the "No Smoking" sign, naturally. The second was the selection of vacant seats available. Something that I thought I would never find at 3:30pm on a Wednesday during the school holidays but here we were with over 10 seats completely vacant! SBC is also nicely removed from the noise of the main Sunshine shops while only being a ten second walk from them.

I treated myself to the 220 YEN banana walnut muffin and a Tall (same size names as Starbucks though slightly larger in size and thus better value for money) Mocha with no cream (with cream is the default) which was where SBC really lived up to it's slogan "Bold Flavour, Smooth Taste" with a first class coffee served within 30 seconds and two people being served before me! Great stuff! The milk, foam, espresso, were all spot on and the temperature was hot enough to mix the ingredients but not so hot as to force me to wait half an hour lest I get third degree burns trying to drink it.

I really enjoyed going through my shopping (The Body Shop is just under and several anime and manga stores are directly across the road) and writing this article in here. I didn't get the chance to try the much promoted "SBC Dog" (wasn't that hungry today) but I'll definitely try it on my next visit.

Note: Left of SBC is nice but medium sized park with nice seats and a water feature. On a nice day, try grabbing take out and enjoying some Tokyo city nature. If you've never seen a cicada before, you should definitely do this in Summer as the park is full of them! A great experience!

Orion Shokudou

Name: Orion Shokudou
Type: 100% Organic Japanese Food
On the Web: Their Blog (in Japanese, use Google to translate).

In Brief: A small, but 100% smoke free restaurant which serves 100% Organic food with no additives or artificial flavourings! And at a great price!

Review: Honestly a personal favourite of mine, I've eaten here several times and LOVE the chicken curry with ten different kinds of organic rice, though they do serve more than just that. It seems to be well-known for its ramen noodle with organic soup bouillon (though, I've honestly never tried it). The staff are very friendly though some Japanese language ability is required to order as ordering is done via a ticket vending machine with all the buttons in kanji and the staff don't appear to have a high level of English speaking ability. Not a bad thing. We are in Japan afterall.



Station: Higashi Nagasaki
Location: Just 2 stations (on the Local! Semi-Express, etc will go right through it) on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line from Ikebukuro and about a 2 minute walk from the Higashi Nagasaki station.

Starbucks

Name: Starbucks
Type: American Cafe Chain
Website: www.Starbucks.co.jp/en/home.htm

In Brief: Whether or not you like Starbucks in your home country (I personally prefer Gloria Jeans) if you're after a 100% smoke free cafe that is fast, easy to find (there's a Starbucks almost everywhere in Japan) and serves exactly what you order, Starbucks is the way to go. They accept all major credit cards, money orders and of course cash (only Yen of) as well as their own Starbucks card though be warned as Starbucks cards from other countries such as Australia and Canada and the States will not be accepted.

The quality of Starbucks in Japan vary greatly depending on region. For example, the Starbucks in Roppongi Hills always serves 1st class coffees but the Starbucks in Saitama (specifically Shin Koshigaya) will constantly serve you the wrong drink (despite numerous repetitions of your order) and the milk tastes burnt most of the time due to the lack of steam wand cleaning. Normally good in the CBD, don't have high expectations once you hit the suburbs.

Something positive worth mentioning is the beautiful designs on the Starbucks mugs in Japan. They make great presents for family and friends and also great moments for yourself. I personally love the Kyoto purple and orange design and the tropical Okinawan look. If, like me and you collect these but don't want to carry them around, you can buy all the major designs at Narita airport before your departure, however less famous ones such as Roppongi Hills (a very cool design) and Saitama (worth missing) are only available on location.

Warning: Each Starbucks in Japan seems to have a different policy on serving whipped cream on coffees and frappucinos. It's always best to clarify "No whipped cream" or "With whipped cream" even of you ordered a light/skim or soy coffee (no kidding). You will also have to specify hot (regular), cold (iced) or frappuchino for each drink. Simply saying "Tall Mocha" isn't understood as a regular Mocha here. Say that and you may end up with a Mocha Frappuchino or an Iced Mocha. You should also double check the size. The names are the same but they may hear Venti, even though you said "Short". Check to see what size cup they grab after you order and recheck the price with the menu, just in case.

Andersen

Name: Andersen
Type: Eat In / Take Out French / Japanese Bakery
Customer Service: 0120-348817



In Brief: With average coffees and the usual "French style" Japanese pastries, Andersen isn't exactly fine dining but it's very easy to find location in Ueno Station JR Exit makes it a great place to wait for friends who are new to Japan and don't know their way around before starting your day.

Review: I must have passed Andersen hundreds of times during my time in Japan and not once has it occured to me to give it a try. It looks rather cheap from the outside and the food, not that special. It wasn't until I was scouting for locations for SmokeFreeJapan that I decided to take a closer look and would you know it? There was a No Smoking sticker on the door!

The selection of pastries was actually more varied than I thought it would be, but unfortunately mostly in the sticky, sugary variety, so those on a diet looking for something healthy, might want to look elsewhere which really shouldn't be that much of a problem as it's obvious that while Andersen has seats and tables, it's main focus is takeaway and offering a quiet place to sit down for tour groups or, as previously mentioned, meeting a friend. It's wall size window offers a perfect view of the main JR Exit and ticket machines, so if you're waiting for a friend, they should be easy enough to see and visa versa. All you need to tell your friend is to meet you at the bakery opposite the ticket machines. Great for Ueno first timers.



Something worth noting is that, as with most bakeries in Japan, the pastries are uncovered. i.e. well within sneezing and coughing range of the public. However while I was there, they did seem to go through their pastries and bread quite quickly. I'm guessing the average exposure time would be about 20-40mins per batch. Not so bad. And it is 100% Smoke Free.