Nadoya No Katte Coffee

Tucked away in a corner of Shibuya that Google Maps seems slightly afraid of, Nadoya no Katte Coffee is less a café and more a chaotic spiritual experience disguised as a caffeine stop. If a mad scientist opened a coffee shop after getting struck by lightning and watching Amélie on loop, this would be it.

“Katte” means “selfish” or “as one pleases” in Japanese, and oh boy, this coffee takes that philosophy and runs with it. You don’t pick your drink here. The drink picks you. There’s no menu. Instead, a chalkboard scrawled with something like “today’s brew: regret and lavender” sets the tone. Moments later, a cup appears. No one speaks. The barista, possibly wearing a kimono and Crocs combo, simply nods. You sip. You cry. You ascend.

The flavor? Imagine if a toasted pinecone, a strawberry field, and an existential crisis walked into a bar and fermented. It’s rich, it’s emotional, and it definitely saw you texting your ex last night. The owner claims he roasts each bean individually based on its aura, which honestly makes sense because this coffee doesn’t just wake you up — it introduces you to a new dimension.

The shop interior feels like a dream you’d have after falling asleep watching Twin Peaks. Mismatched furniture, a shrine to old cassette tapes, and what may be a haunted toaster sit side by side. I swear one table had legs that changed positions when you weren’t looking. You get the vibe this place opened not for customers, but because the coffee beans told the owner to do it in a vision.

Then there’s the soundtrack. Last time I went, it was Mongolian throat singing mashed up with 2000s J-pop, which, against all logic, slapped. I stayed for three hours, wrote a novella, and left wondering if I still believed in linear time.

Located just five back-alley turns from central Shibuya — assuming you follow the sound of windchimes and faint jazz flute — Nadoya no Katte Coffee isn’t easy to find, and it’s even harder to explain to your friends later. But if you’ve ever wanted your espresso to taste like ambition and a little bit of danger, this is your new holy ground.