Bagel & Bagel

Name: Bagel & Bagel
Type: Cafe Chain

Info: Web Site

I had seen several of these Bagel & Bagel cafes around Tokyo and in a few areas just outside the city centre (I tried the one in Tama Plaza) but I had never been a bagel fan (not as big in Australia as it is in the States I guess) so therefore didn't really see a point in giving them a go until I was starving and unable to find a real smoke free establishment to unwind in.

I was pleasantly surprised!

While I'm pretty sure Bagel & Bagel is Japanese owned, the feel and look of their cafes have a very strong western feel to them. They even claim to make their bagels "American style".

The insides were very well designed with kudos to the manager for having real plants in the pots (way too many plastic plants in Japan for my liking) and English names for all the items on the menu. Though be careful as using the English names on the menu might not get you what you want. For example I ordered the Gourmet Drink Set and the woman had no idea what I was going on about. However when I read the Katakana title, "Dorinku Seto" she knew exactly where I was coming from and hilariously asked some of the other girls working why the English subtitles say different things than the Japanese.

All the menus do have pictures of each item though (even of the different kinds of bagels you can choose from, over 20!) so if your Japanese ability fails you, just point and say "Kore wo kudasai".

I grabbed a latte as my drink and the Vegetarian Bagel for my bagel of choice as well as a chocolate cookie (very similar to those great Subway cookies! Yum.) and found it a bit of a mixed bag. The bagel was great. Fresh ingredients and made in front of me behind a glass screen so I could see what was being put into it. Unlike Subway though, they don't ask you what you'd like at every stage so make sure you tell the waitress what you want before heading to the pick-up point.

The latte on the other hand was just... flat. It's like they had bought 100 yen milk and fried it in a saucepan. It just tasted wrong and, well... don't go there for the coffee!

Great bagels though and they do have other drink alternatives. Well worth a look.

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Yamanote Line Platforms to be Smoke Free... Kind of

I was riding the Yamanote line yesterday and saw a very nice ad on the train's video screen about how, starting next month all the trains platforms on the line will be smoke free... kind of.

Right now they have "Smoking Zones" on each platform with two times of the day marked as "No Smoking". These zones are ineffective as, as everyone knows, train platforms are outside and there's a little thing called wind outside.

I can't tell you my constant frustration every morning on my way to work at Takadanobaba station, standing 100 metres downwind from the "Smoking Zone" and still getting the full blast of the smokers. Shibuya station is more of a joke with the "Smoking Zone" being right behind the main stairs leading to the massive Hachiko exit.

Luckily, JR has decided, in 2007 to install large fish-tanks for smokers to stand in so their smoke won't annoy other passengers. The fish-tanks will have air vacuums to vent the smoke out of the fish-tanks. I swear to God though, if it's vented onto the platform I think my head will implode.

According to this report the largest named group of complaints given to the JR company from passengers concerns smokers. Whether these complaints were about the ineffective "Smoking Zones" or about people smoking in non smoking parts of the platform is unknown. It stands to reason though that these fish-tanks are a response to public pressure to offer a healthier travel service.

Now if only JR would place an occupancy limit on their carriages.

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Proud Cafe

Name: Proud Cafe
Type: Cafe
Station: Futako Tamagawa

Location: Turn left as you exit the ticket gates and turn left again as you walk out of the station. Head towards the river, along the main road and then cross to the other side. You should see a very tall, new apartment building called "Proud Towers". On the ground floor is the Proud Cafe.

Info: Currently no contact resources available.

Just an eight minute train ride from Shibuya on the Tokyu Denentoshi Line is the area known as Futako Tamagawa, a rather expensive river side shopping area with some very pretentious shops and restaurants for those looking to treat themselves or simply window shop.

Unfortunately, with the exception of the rather nice Starbucks in Takeshimaya next to a beautiful rooftop garden in the same building, every eatery in the area seems to be very much pro smoking.

Luckily, one day on a walk down to the river I noticed this nice cafe on the ground floor of Proud Towers and gave it a go. Not only was it 100% smoke free, but it offered several organic coffee options as well as some lunch alternatives such as hot dogs and croissants.

The two guys running the place are friendly and more importantly, not too friendly like most Japanese businesses. The menus are in English (sometimes humorously so) and the surroundings quiet. Almost every time I've been here, I've been the only customer which is quite strange considering how busy the area is, but hey, I'm not going to complain.

Proud Cafe also has a take out option which is something to think about when reminded that the cafe is literally across the road from a rather tranquil river. The only bad point I could think of is that the cafe allows pets inside with the customers. If you've got an allergy to dogs or cats this may be a problem, but as I mentioned before the business is almost always empty so it shouldn't be an issue 90% of the time.

Proud Cafe is a surprising find. Check it out.

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Ootoya

Name: Ootoya
Type: Japanese Style Restaurant Chain

Location: The Ootoya restaurant chain has heaps of restaurants in almost every major area of Japan making it very easy to find when you want to. A lot of places, such as Shibuya for example have two.

Info: Web Site, E: Email Form

After seeing these Ootoya signs all over Tokyo for my first two years in Japan, I still had no idea exactly what kind of restaurant they were or even if they were non smoking, but after being introduced to Ootoya by a friend of mine, I've never looked back.

Ootoya is a very wide spread restaurant chain that has branches all over Japan. They're all 100% smoke free and offer some of the freshest modern Japanese food I've seen here. Most "sets" they serve come with the main dish, pickles, rice and the best miso soup you'll ever taste. I've actually found myself on several occasions going to Ootoya just for the complimentary miso soup, it's that good!

The interiors are always well designed and the staff friendly. Ordering is very easy but unusual as you order and pay for your meal before you sit down. Which I guess is good if you're in a rush as you can run as soon as you finish eating. Note that one of the branches in Shibuya (near my favourite comic book shop, Blister) requires you to sit down and order old school restaurant style. This branch seems to be the exception though.

Ootoya is a very nice surprise for a first timer and one that I guarantee you'll come back to again and again once you try it.

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No Smoking Bar Musicman

Name: No Smoking Bar Musicman
Type: Jazz Bar
Station: Jiyugaoka

Location: Turn right after taking the main exit and cross the road. It's on the 2F of the old shopping centre. You should be able to see it listed on the ground floor listing. The building's across the road from the station.

Info: Web Site, Ph: 03-3725-0615.

You've got to give props to an establishment, especially in Japan, which advertises the fact that it's 100% smoke free to the point that it mentions it in it's own name.

No Smoking Bar Musicman is a tiny little jazz bar run by one of the friendliest bar owners I've met in Japan who despite not knowing much in the way of English was more than willing to help me an my friend navigate the drinks menu (which thankfully had some English in it) and help us feel at home.

Something that's great about this bar is that it's so close to the station (literally across the road) yet because it's off the street level, you're given a better chance of getting a seat at the bar.

This tiny gem offers a wide variety of beers and other alcohol as well as a great selection of music to listen to while you unwind (a listing of some of the owner's collection can be seen on the website, unfortunately only in Japanese).

You may not head out to Jiyugaoka that often, I only head out there for work, but the station's only a seven minute express train ride from Shibuya on the Toyoku Line and there is some great shopping to be had there making it well worth a trip at least once.

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