Onibus Coffee, one of Tokyo’s top specialty coffee roasters, keeps growing. With the popularity of their wholesale beans, and with more and more people seeking out quality third wave cafes in Tokyo, the little roaster was struggling to keep up with demand. Whether they wanted to or not Onibus had to expand, and so we welcome Onibus to Nakameguro which will be their new main roaster and cafe location.
The little red Diedrich Roaster at their original location in Okusawa will keep roasting, but it has a new big brother in Nakameguro: A fifteen kilogram Diedrich. This cafe, formally an okayu (rice porridge) restaurant now has an impressive build out. In just two months this little building, sandwiched between a park and some busy train tracks, has transformed into an extremely hip cafe with a full coffee menu. The espresso, is pulled on a La Marzocco Linea PB. For filter coffees, made via glass Hario V60s, they over a variety of single origin beans.
Onibus Nakameguro has a striking design by Kazufumi Suzuki, who also designed their About Life Coffee Brewers store in Shibuya. The interior, serving as a home to their roaster and their cafe workspace, is inspired by traditional Japanese elements. The side wall is decorated with hand made tiles from Tokoname, a famous pottery town in central Japan. The back wall features a hand drawn mural by local artist Chalk Boy, which details much of the coffee process from seed to cup. The glassware too is stylish. Their cups are specially made by Yumiko Iihoshi Porcelain, a company based just a few stations away from Nakameguro.
Outside seating includes benches as well as a counter to stand by as you enjoy your coffee. In the back of the building you’ll find a staircase leading to a communal sitting space with custom made tables and stools. On a nice day the room is flooded with natural light that comes in through the old fashioned Japanese windows. Here you can sip down your pour over while listening to children play in the park below and watching trains pass directly outside the window.
Though he won’t rule out more cafes and further expansion in the future, it seems that the owner of Onibus, Atsushi Sakao, is ready to slow down for a time. He wants to focus on running his four cafes (Onibus Coffee Okusawa, About Life Coffee Brewers, Ratio Coffee & Cycle, and Onibus Coffee Nakameguro) properly and becoming part of the cafes’ surrounding community.
Onibus Nakameguro is located at: Meguro-Ku, Kamimeguro 2-14-1, Tokyo
Open 9am-6pm 7 days a week
Tokyo Coffee 
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