Chain cafés
Starbucks, Tully's, Doutor and Komeda Coffee are everywhere, and most have free Wi-Fi. Outlets vary by branch, so look for the counter seats along the wall. Easy, cheap, but busy at lunch and on weekends.
Small apartments, thin walls, and a desk that doubles as a dining table. Sooner or later everyone in Tokyo needs somewhere else to get things done. Here are the four kinds of places that actually work, and the etiquette nobody tells you.
Starbucks, Tully's, Doutor and Komeda Coffee are everywhere, and most have free Wi-Fi. Outlets vary by branch, so look for the counter seats along the wall. Easy, cheap, but busy at lunch and on weekends.
A Japanese idea worth knowing: quiet rooms with partitioned desks, outlets and a drink bar, paid by the hour or by membership. Search 自習室 or "study café" on Google Maps. One example: Benkyo Cafe in Akihabara, where non-members can come in on weekday afternoons and weekends.
Free, quiet and underrated. The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library in Hiroo has around 900 seats and wireless internet, plus books in English. Most city libraries have reading rooms too, though rules on laptops differ.
Paid lounges with comfortable seats, good coffee and no one hurrying you out. Daikanyama T-Site has a lounge you pay for by the hour, and many big stations now have small coworking booths for short stays.
Buy Me a Matcha shows you people in Tokyo who speak English and also want new friends. You match, pick a café, and meet one-on-one over a matcha or a coffee. Free, and not a dating app.
Get it on the App Store