Hagiso is an interesting building that touts itself as the “Smallest Cultural Complex”, an old wooden apartment from the 1950s that was refurbished in 2013 to what it is now. Today, it houses a cafe, an art gallery, and a rental event space on the first floor, and on the second floor it houses a hotel, a shop and a design studio. The idea of being the “Smallest Cultural Complex” comes from its roots of being an atelier and share house for the students of the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2004, and prior to that it was a regular wooden apartment built in 1955.
The cafe on the first floor serves hand-dripped coffee, and a menu designed using seasonal ingredients from local vegetable sellers, butchers, and fishmongers. They serve homemade cakes, parfaits, as well as a variety of breakfast and lunch items. We recommend trying out their traditional Japanese breakfast sets that change seasonally. In general, Japanese breakfasts are served with a hot bowl of soup, a bowl of rice, and an assortment of either fish or vegetables. The breakfast is served between 8am and 10am each day.
If you come in the afternoon, you can try out their lunch sets from 12pm to 2pm that change weekly, with a curry-based set as well as a pasta-based set. There is also a wide variety of coffee and tea options, with seasonal desserts and sandwiches.
