Shinjuku is one of Tokyo’s most iconic, frenetic, and delicious neighborhoods. This bustling district is an intoxicating blend of serene parks and shrines nestled between towering skyscrapers, atmospheric back alleys, and neon-drenched entertainment districts. Eating in Shinjuku (I) – Breakfast, Coffee & Dessert.
With so many culinary delights packed into Shinjuku’s relatively small footprint, it can be overwhelming for visitors to decide where to eat. So let’s start our edible exploration with the most important meal of the day: breakfast and morning fuel-ups like coffee and pastries.
Rise and Shine in Shinjuku
There’s no better way to kick off a day of adventuring around Shinjuku than with a hearty, restorative Japanese breakfast. Despite the area’s frenetic pace, you’ll find plenty of serene traditional eateries and charming cafes tucked away serving up satisfying morning meals.
One such sanctuary is Kagetsuan, a quaint shop dating back over 100 years. Step inside this converted wooden machiya townhouse, and you’re transported to an oasis of calm with sweet-voiced servers gliding between tatami mat rooms. Their iconic Tokyo-style breakfast set includes impeccably grilled salted salmon, perfectly cooked rice, a sampling of seasonal tsukemono pickles, miso soup, and complementary sides that change daily.
Another classic choice for a traditional Japanese morning feast is Shinjuku Nakamuraza. This bustling basement operation has been dishing up soul-warming fare since 1966. It’s culinary time travel, with low wood-beamed ceilings and servers manning rowboat-styled counters to ferry plates of pristine sashimi, grilled fish, pickles, rice and savory eggs to hungry patrons. It’s boisterous, convivial and the perfect intro to Japanese breakfast culture.
For a more modern morning meal with Western flair, Shinjuku has incredible bakeries, patisseries and trendy cafés to satisfy any craving. Fu-ku Baguette Bakery, an offshoot of the Michelin-starred restaurant, crafts crusty baguettes and decadent pastries that will have you wondering if you teleported to a Parisian café.
Rambling Dessert Bars
If you’re not interested in a full sit-down breakfast, Shinjuku’s dessert scene has plenty to keep your energy levels topped up. Sweet fiends won’t want to miss Shinjuku Mylord, a food mecca dedicated to all things sugary and decadent.
The basement of this seven-floor cake and pastry paradise is where you’ll find many of Japan’s most legendary dessert temples like Dominique Ansel Bakery, Lady M, and Harbs. Pop into Ansel’s Tokyo outpost for gravity-defying croissants in flavors like shoku pan (Japanese milk bread) or matcha. Then swing by Lady M for a thick slice of their signature mille crêpe cake – delicate handmade crepes layered with ethereally light pastry cream. Complete the indulgent trifecta with a German-style baumkuchen cake swirled with chocolate at Harbs.
If you have a sweet tooth but are looking for more unique treats, Shinjuku offers a dizzying array of edible novelties. Go full kawaii with adorable animal-shaped donuts or cream puffs at Floresta Nature Donuts, where the baked goods are technically edible art. Or pick up premium-grade matcha, dorayaki pancake sandwiches and seasonal Japanese sweets at Kinseiken Yoko-cho, a picturesque confectionery shop straight out of a storybook.
Exceptional Coffee Craft
For those in need of a morning caffeine buzz, Shinjuku delivers. The craft coffee scene in Tokyo is legendary, and this dynamic neighborhood has your java fix on lockdown.
Tucked down a quiet alley, Streamer Coffee is a world-class micro-roaster and tasting room serving impeccable cups of single origin coffee. Pull up a stool at their sleek wooden tasting bar and watch the masters meticulously weigh, grind, and hand-brew each pour over in temperature-controlled vessels with reverential precision. You’ll taste nuances you never knew existed in your daily cup.
The sprawling NEWoMan complex is also home to an impressive concentration of exceptional coffee shops like Unlimited Coffee Bar, Roof Caffè Tokyo, and Valley Coffee Roasters. Cult classics like these regularly make global lists of Tokyo’s best cafes, renowned for sourcing and roasting premium direct-trade beans.
If you prefer your java with ambiance and people watching, look no further than Omotesando Koffee. This Omotesando Hills icon occupies a cavernous domed room with soaring ceilings and dual spiral staircases that are a prime roost for sipping single origin pour overs while gazing out over the Shibuya skyline.
Day-Stopping Shinjuku Sweets
After maxing out on coffees and pastries during your morning adventures, the sugar rush may start to wear off by mid-afternoon. That’s when you’ll want to beeline for some of Shinjuku’s most over-the-top sweet shops for a decadent pick-me-up.
Japanese-French patisserie Sadaharu Aoki is renowned for precision in both flavor and visuals. You’ll find seasonal fruit tarts and entremets (layered mousse cakes) as beautiful as fine art behind the dazzling displays here, each creation demonstrating Aoki’s mastery of European technique and reverence for high-quality Japanese ingredients like Kyoho grapes and Shizuoka matcha. Don’t leave without trying their legendary “bites” – miniature dome-shaped cakes like macha, sesame noir or fromage blanc.
Another local legend specializing in mashups of French and Japanese pastry traditions: Année Patisserie. This modern-day confectionary conjures otherworldly hybrid sweets like Basque tart muffins with cherries, Funabara choux pastries sandwiched with matcha cream, and featherweight French baked cheesecakes infused with flavors like sweet potato or oolong tea. Take a number and get ready to be dazzled by whatever dreamworlds in pastry form the patissiers have whipped up that day.
If amid all the decadence you find yourself craving something lighter, make your way to artisanal shaved ice haven Tsujiri. Opened in 1860, it’s one of Japan’s oldest purveyors of iced treats like kakigōri (shaved ice drenched in syrups and toppings). But the highlight is their exquisite matcha soft serve parfaits layered with matcha azuki (red bean), matcha mochi, matcha powder, and sometimes even matcha espresso jelly if you need an extra jolt.
Whether enjoying an elegant tea house breakfast or sampling rare coffee varietals and cutting-edge pastry artistry, Shinjuku has your morning meal and midday sugar fix covered. From old-world charm to avant-garde creativity, this dazzling district offers endless appetite-whetting ways to start your day in Tokyo. I hope this Eating in Shinjuku (I) – Breakfast, Coffee & Dessert post helps you.