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Writer's picturelarryhira

Japanese Café tradition starts here: SABOR & LADRIO @ Jimbocho

In the early 20th century, streets in Jimbocho in central Tokyo were getting busier with students when high schools and colleges were built one after another. At that time, textbooks were so expensive that students couldn’t afford to buy them new. Seeing an opportunity, second hand bookstores opened along the streets to appeal to those trying to save their pennies.

What did the students need next? Quiet space to study the textbooks was desirable. It's not surprising to see that many cafes chose to open around the area.


A block from Yasukuni main street, two-story wooden houses are connected to each other. One has a retro billboard of "SABOR", another has "SABOR 2", both representing their 60 years of café tradition. SABOR serves light meals such as pizza toast, while SABOR 2 proudly has the perennial students' favourite "Spaghetti Napolitan".









The simple dish of tomato ketchup pasta with bacon and sliced onion is believed by most Japanese to have originated in Italy. Although there are several stories about its origin, this was definitely invented in Japan. In Naples, you may find "Spaghetti alla Napoletana" on the menu, but the dish is far from the one in Japan.


To the delight of young students who are hungry all the time, the café with the traditional interior also keeps up the tradition of large portions. Tackling a heap of pasta is fun at any age, without worrying about your mouth getting covered with ketchup.



Over a small brick gate along a narrow corridor is a rustic billboard of "LADRIO". Inside the gate, unlacquered wood pillars and brick walls have been kept untouched since it opened in 1949.












The café is known as the birthplace of "Vienna Coffee", with abundant whipped cream on top, which sounds like an import from the European capital. In fact, one of the regulars in this café suggested that he or she might have seen this kind of coffee in Vienna. Convinced or not, Vienna Coffee captured students' hearts and was quickly imitated by many cafes in Tokyo. Now, it's on the menu all around Japan.







But hold on! Another story found "Cafe Viennois" in France, or "Vienna Coffee" on the Australian menu. The birth story of the coffee is somewhat dubious. Anyway, whichever city you are in, taking a sip of rich sweet whipped cream mixed with bitter coffee, will set you up for the rest of the day.


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