A flavorful twist to your standard Nagoya red bean ogura toast
Are you visiting Nagoya? Then you must have heard all about their typical morning routine: a cup of coffee together with an ogura toast (小倉トースト), basically toast with red bean paste. It’s a sweet way to start your morning. Coffee Shop KAKO puts a twist on the regular ogura toast — they add a bit of jam and some cream that makes each piece of it special.
I found the place on Tabelog one morning, my go-to source for quality Japanese food. I walked maybe ten or fifteen minutes after arriving at Nagoya station to get to this little coffee shop.
A cute Nagoya cafe full of locals
Coffee Shop KAKO is full of locals chatting away, and the place was jam-packed when I walked in. Fortunately, there wasn’t a line when I arrived, but when I was leaving, there was already one forming. (Lines are a good sign in Japan! Usually if people are willing to wait, it signals good quality food.)
I sat with a couple of older men and one young guy — you get sat down wherever there is space. The younger one took a photo for me (yay, fellow tourist!), and I was able to chat with the two older men. One of them was a local chef! They were very friendly and gave me tips for tourist areas in the city. I guess they get a lot of travelers coming by!
If you enjoy getting to know the culture of a place, this is a great cafe to stop by. Join the locals for their morning ritual!
Morning Menu
Coffee Shop KAKO is a cafe, so the prices are about average. I got the Shanty Rouge Toast set together with some black coffee. If I recall correctly, you can get a free coffee refill. Their menu was generally in the 600-800 yen range (about $6-8 USD).
Pro tip
Go in the morning between 7am – 11am, when they have the ogura toast! They’ll have a different menu around lunchtime.
