| Free Cafe – Ginza |
| Written by David Moss |
| Thursday, 06 May 2010 10:17 |
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Location: Ginza The Japanese snack maker Harimaya Honten operates a free cafe in the Ginza area of Tokyo. Here you are able to try their traditional snacks for free along with either Tea, Coffee, Japanese tea or Juice. On entering the free cafe you are guided to a self service Tea and Coffee area. You pick yourself up a tray, a small paper cup and a plastic tray for the crackers to go on. Milk and sugar are also provided. Once you have poured your selected drink you then move over to the rice cracker table which has six neatly laid out jars each containing a different type of cracker called Okaki. There are signs everywhere in both English and Japanese clearly stating that you must not take more than one of each cracker, and you cannot have seconds of either the coffee or crackers. The place itself is very modern and bright and seems to be mainly frequented by older Japanese ladies. As with a lot of food in Japan the crackers for me are an acquired taste. I can’t say I would go out of my way to eat them but some people do. And chatting to our Japanese friends, Okaki are a traditional cracker that all Japanese people like. They are, of course, rice-based and so are great for peope with wheat intolerence! If you are wanting a break from a hard day's shopping in the Ginza area and your purse is already feeling empty, then head on over to the free café. Harimaya Honten run free cafes in other area is of Japan. Check their website to find if there is a free café near your holiday destination.
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