Cafe Mame-Hico in Sangenjaya

For lovers of beans and anything out of the ordinary

Ran Matsumoto Jan 17, 2014 - 2 min read

<p>Their prized galettes and many other plates use special Japanese beans that are nearing extinction</p>

<p>A small bean-shaped clock hangs at the door (The "mame" in the name of the cafe means "beans" in Japanese)</p>

<p>A 7-meter walnut cabinet lines the wall, and in the center of the 5-meter-long table is -- you better believe it -- a tree.</p>

<p>Organic soy beans, black beans, red beans, and other products made in the Mame-hico farm in Hokkaido. Plum syrup is also visible in the background.</p>

<p>Cafe Mame-hico prizes itself on seasonal menus: pickled plum in early summer, baked apples in the autumn, lemon cake in the winter. The writer's personal favorite is the June special: hydrangea cake.</p>

<p>This butter-on-bread accompanies Mame-hico's specialty galettes. The galettes are good, but the bread is absolutely mouthwatering. The hot butter melts on the softest piece of bread you can imagine... it's exquisite.</p>

<p>In the early summer months, hydrangea line the railroad tracks near Sangenjaya Station and are a real treat to see. If you're in the vicinity, check out the Gotokuji Temple, home to over 1000 manekineko (fortune cats)!</p>

Although Cafe Mame-Hico boasts delicious food and coffee, it offers much, much more. Mame-Hico is not your ordinary cafe. It has a farm in Hokkaido, an Internet radio program, a free magazine, and to top them all, its very own movie production.

"Mame" means "bean" in Japanese, and true to its name, Mame-Hico prizes itself on its beans: coffee beans, organic soybeans, black beans, red beans, and so on. Many of the products used in the food are made in the Mame-Hico farm in Hokkaido, where employees of the Tokyo Mame-hico cafes work during the summer. Ever conscious of the ecosystem, Mame-Hico's specialty galettes and many other plates use special Japanese beans that are on the verge of extinction.

Cafe Mame-hico prizes itself on seasonal menus: pickled plum in early summer, baked apples in the autumn, lemon cake in the winter. The writer's personal favorite is the early summer special: a pink-purple hydrangea cake that matches the gorgeous hydrangeas lining the railroad tracks of Sangenjaya.

If you ever visit Cafe Mame-Hico in Sangenjaya, be sure to walk a block to Gotokuji, the birthplace of the maneki-neko cat. It's a sight you don't want to miss!

Ran Matsumoto @ran.matsumoto

Originally from Tokyo, I now divide half my time between attending college in the U.S. and the other half in Japan. I'm excited about this opportunity to introduce interesting places in Japan to the English-speaking world!