We found a literal hole in the wall in Tokyo for great coffee at amazing prices
Harajuku is one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in Tokyo, and also one of the most fashionable in Japan, for that matter. Clothing stores are the first thing that come to mind when many people think of Harajuku, but no one wants to shop until they actually drop, so along with boutiques, the district is dotted with cafes. That includes major chains, and while you could pop into one of them when you get thirsty, if you've come all the way out to Harajuku it's usually more fun to head for a unique hole in the wall instead, which is exactly what we did by visiting Himitsu no Drip.
The cafe's name translates to 'Secret Drip,' and it definitely has a mysterious-looking interior. Stepping inside, we were greeted by photos of the drink lineup and a map of Japan showing where the produce is sourced for the cafe's selection of fruit coffees. However, we saw only a single staff member, who takes orders and payments, but not a single waiter, waitress, or barista.
And yet, the menu has a surprisingly wide variety of beverages to choose from, with 16 different types of fruit coffee using 14 different types of coffee beans. They're incredibly low-priced, too, priced at just 300 yen (US$2.10), and basic black coffee, made with your choice of beans, is even less, only 90 yen.
After making your selection, you pay the attendant, who will give you a plastic tag with a number on it.
Then you take this tag over to the wall…
…and drop it into this hole.
After a short wait, the base of the larger tear-drop shaped hole above where we'd dropped our tag began to rotate, and when it had turned all the way around, there was our drink!
Himitsu no Drip, which is a limited-time cafe run by Japanese coffee company UCC, is as particular about the presentation of its drinks as it is the shop's interior. Everything we'd ordered came beautifully arranged in tall glasses, looking like something that you'd ordinarily pay at least three times as much as Himitsu no Drip charges for a swanky Harajuku cafe drink.
With our drinks in hand, we headed deeper into the cafe, to its seating area, where the furniture is also very visually unique.
As a matter of fact, some of the seats are so creatively designed that we recommend being careful as you sit down, so that you don't end up on the floor instead.
With our hindquarters sufficiently secured, it was tasting time, and we started with the Yamanashi Pear Honduran and Colombian Coffee.
Fruit sandwiches may be a firmly established part of food culture in Japan, but fruit coffee is still decidedly unorthodox. Himitsu no Drip shows that the concept can work, though, as this drink, which has a touch of carbonation, is invigoratingly refreshing, with the juiciness of the fruit, which is grown without any pesticides or chemical or animal fertilizers, gives way to a lingering sense of spice at its finish.
Next, the Miyazaki Banana Charcoal-roast Coffee.
This is one of Himitsu no Drip's most popular drinks, and it was easy to see why. Though it has a smokey coffee flavor at its base, the banana, milk, cream, and chocolate sauce give it enough rich sweetness that you could classify this as a legitimate dessert drink. We do have one complaint, though. According to the menu, the organically grown banana's peel is edible, and we can confirm that that's true. Just because the peel can be eaten, though, doesn't mean that, flavor-wise, we'd recommend doing so.
▼ Thankfully, this problem is easily solved by just removing the peel and eating the fruit itself.
And rounding out our trio was the Aichi White Fig Special Blend Coffee.
This one uses a generous amount of white fig jam, something you don't come across all that often in Japan in general, let alone in coffee. We're glad Himitsu no Drip came up with this idea, though, as the gentle mix of flavors brought our taste-testing to a comforting close.
…or so we thought! Each fruit coffee comes with a piece of paper with a QR code on it, and if you show it to the cafe staff member, they'll get you a sample-size cup of the coffee used for your drink, so you can see what the brew tastes like without the fruit too.
And the deal gets even better if you upload a photo of the cafe or your order to social media. Show the post to the staff, and in exchange you'll receive a cake from Yoku Moku, one of Japan's most popular confectioners.
In other words, you can get two tasty drinks and a dessert for 300 yen, which is an astoundingly good deal. The only drawback is that each customer is limited to two orders per seating (we sent a two-person team for this article), but there's no rule against getting back into line after that and waiting to be seated again, which, depending on what time/day of the week you go, could be a very short wait.
Himitsu no Drip will be open until August 3.
Cafe information Himitsu no Drip / ひみつのドリップ Venue: Rand Omotesando / Rand表参道 Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 4-24-3 Court C 東京都渋谷区神宮前4-24-3 COURT C） Open 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
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