Asakusa: home of Sensoji and its grand Kaminarimon Gate; a neighborhood that brings to mind bustling crowds, kimono-clad tourists, busy rickshaws and fragrant incense wafting from the temple grounds. But Asakusa is more than its famous sights — there’s a hidden depth to this cultural playground, and you’ll find it in every nook, cranny and alleyway.
Tucked along the quiet Hisago-dori shopping street, Coffee Bar Sajiki is as much about celebrating culture as it is about serving great coffee. The shop — which shares a building with the Asakusa Kokono Club Hotel and the Asakusa Kyugeki theater, known for hosting performances of traditional Japanese performing arts like rakugo, nagauta and wadaiko drumming — positions itself as a communal hub, drawing both tourists from the hotel and locals, especially the charming older ladies who frequent the nearby theaters. The name “Sajiki,” in fact, draws inspiration from theaters, referring to the premium seats at traditional Japanese playhouses. The coffee bar offers all who visit a welcoming space where stories are exchanged over delicious drinks and pastries.
Kintsugi for All
Sajiki serves up more than just refreshments. From time to time, the café hosts exhibitions featuring traditional art forms, like ink wash paintings and live ikebana performances. It also welcomes instructors offering workshops, as well as local artists and creators who sell their wares at pop-up shops held in the café. Details for these and other events are posted on Sajiki’s Instagram — a must-follow for creative-minded coffee aficionados.
Fittingly, books, pottery, figurines and art pieces decorate the shelves of the café while the walls are adorned with posters of movies and plays. The current theme, “Kintsugi is Literature,” takes the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer and gold and turns it into a workshop experience that anyone can enjoy. Typically, urushi lacquer takes days to dry; however, this workshop puts a twist on tradition by using food-safe glue and a specially formulated putty to fill in the cracks. This adjustment allows the mended ware to dry more quickly, so participants can take their creations home as a souvenir on the same day.
Instructor Yuki Otani, also known as the Kintsugi Lady, divides her life between Japan and the UK. Scattered across the table is her kintsugi collection — a cream pitcher used as a brush stand, a Japanese teacup patched with antique British pottery fragments and another adorned with a tiny Union Jack.
“Kintsugi is not just about mending a broken plate or cup,” she explains. “It is also a meditative experience.” It exemplifies the principles of wabi-sabi, where imperfections are embraced rather than hidden away.
“Kintsugi is about fixing broken things and making the cracks beautiful in their own way,” she says, running a finger along a piece’s ebbing gold line of paint. “It’s about embracing the brokenness and turning each crack into something even more valuable, something with a story of its own.”
Sip Seasonal Brews
Even if timing doesn’t allow you to join a workshop, a visit to Coffee Bar Sajiki is more than worthwhile for lovers of coffee, culture and tranquility. The shop prides itself on using premium coffee beans, with seasonal highlights like Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and Costa Rica’s La Candelilla Honey making an appearance in September. The café also serves a robust iced coffee, brewed with the exquisite Asakusa blend, which strikes the perfect balance of bitterness.
Whether you favor a classic latte or a rich affogato, Sajiki’s espresso-based options perfectly complement quiet moments, like when you’re hard at work crafting your kintsugi masterpiece. For the dairy-free crowd, oat milk is also offered to ensure everyone feels at home. If coffee isn’t quite enough, Sajiki also features a bar stocked with craft vodka, whisky and gin sourced from all over Japan.
More Info
Address: 1F Kokono Club, 2-16-2 Asakusa, Taito-ku
Business hours: Monday to Saturday 9 a.m.–11 p.m. (last order 10:30 p.m.); Sunday 9 a.m.–9 p.m. (last order 8:30 p.m.); happy hour 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Price: Coffee starts at ¥430
*Free Wi-Fi and electrical outlets are available.
For information on events and workshops, follow Coffee Bar Sajiki on Instagram at @coffee_bar_sajiki. Find Yuki Otani, the Kintsugi Lady, on Instagram at @kintsugilady.
