Dote no Coffee-ya Manchan — Restaurant in Hirosaki

My family arrived 20 minutes before closing on a snowy Hirosaki night. The ex-college sumo wrestler master/owner accommodated us when we said we only wanted to get coffee. When we said we were from the Philippines, he even offered to extend up to 15 minutes past closing. Had a very interesting conversation with him about the café and its history while we were sipping the wonderful syphon coffee we ordered (Hirosaki Blend for the missus and Dazai Blend for me). My daughter ordered the hot cocoa, which was also pretty good. The discussion was interesting, so much so that closing time extended to 30 minutes past. The master is a very affable fellow, even taking selfies with us and offering to take our pics at the entrance. Well worth the 20-minute trudge from Hirosaki Castle Park on snowy,...

This is a neat, rustic cafe, tucked away in a shopping street. According to the owner, Dazai Osamu used to frequent this cafe! There are bits of Dazai sprinkled around the cafe, and a wide variety of interesting customers who the friendly and quirky owner attends to. He gave my friend and I these bookmarks on our first visit! Coffee is also delicious. The second time we went was during the Hirosaki Sakura festival, and for that reason we didn't get the refills, but it was just a very minor...

It took us a bit to find this place initially. It’s kind of tucked into an alley off one of the main streets, but the food, drinks, and staff were awesome. We’ve tried their cakes, apple pie, coffee floats, and iced coffee. Our server was super nice, and even after though we’d only been there once several months ago, he still remembered us when we came back the second time. The place is comfortable and relaxing, and definitely worth the stop if you are...