Otonari Coffee is located on a street corner in Jimbocho, Tokyo, the same area where CROWD ROASTER is based. It occupies an unusual location on the second floor of a coin laundry housed in an old wooden building that was originally a bookstore warehouse.

They offer coffee using carefully selected beans from specialty coffee roasters across Japan, with the roaster changing monthly – a unique style of service. We spoke with owner Yuki Shibata about her thoughts on roasters and her philosophy on coffee, Manabu .

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August is a collaboration month between CROWD ROASTER and Otonari Coffee! You can enjoy CROWD ROASTER coffee at Otonari Coffee.

This time, we are also offering a special, extremely rare, very small-lot "Panama Altieri Estate Geisha " coffee!

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Ms. Shibata's encounter with coffee began during her working holiday in Australia. Experiencing the charm of coffee as an integral part of daily life in the heartland of café culture became the foundation of her current activities. After returning to Japan, she served as manager of Shimofuri, a Hyakuto Coffee shop in Komagome, Tokyo, where she was involved in creating a beloved local establishment.

As a barista, Shin has a sincere dedication to coffee, having competed in the Japan Barista Championship (JBC) four times. He also participated in seminars by Takayuki Ishitani, the Japanese Barista Champion, to improve his skills. Furthermore, he has been involved in the world of competitions, having served as a judge twice at the Japan Brewers Cup.

Having gone through those experiences, Shibata opened "Otonari Coffee," a unique space unlike any other, pursuing a way to enjoy coffee.

"I want to cherish the things I can touch. I hope that those who drink coffee here can live in peace and security," says Shibata. These words reflect her unique perspective on coffee shops and the industry.

"Speaking from my own business partners, I hope that roasters can continue to operate in a healthy environment. I believe that this will ultimately help them select good beans and protect the people who grow those good beans."

 
What Shibata values ​​most are the customers and the roasters—the people who are "right beside him."

"I believe that being honest, sincere, and Shin with what's in front of me will ultimately lead to the continued success of my coffee. In today's world, it seems that being honest is becoming increasingly difficult, but even if it means my shop is on the verge of collapse, I want to see it through."

Otonari Coffee offers coffee from various roasters, a choice that stems from a deep respect for Japan's roasting culture.

"I think Japan's roasting culture is amazing, and the drip coffee culture, which started withネルドリップ (nel drip), is something that our Japanese predecessors have built up little by little. I think we can unravel it more thoroughly, not through the third wave, but by looking at the coffee shops that have been serving coffee for a long time, like the many in Jimbocho."

Shibata has a strong desire for the coffee made by people who are making delicious coffee with Shin to be appreciated. "I think Japan's roasting culture and craftsmanship are completely different from those of people overseas. Japanese people have a strong sense of delicacy and meticulousness, that kind of human quality."

 
My experience at Hyakuto Coffee was the catalyst for these feelings.

"There was a time when the owner of the roasting shop where I used to work taught me a little bit about roasting. The owner was a craftsman at heart, a man of few words, and he was much less expressive about the taste of coffee than other people. But I drank his coffee every day, and I got the feeling that he really understood how to express things when it comes to coffee roasting."

There are people who are good at roasting even if they aren't good at putting things into words, and I probably aren't very good at this kind of craftsmanship, so I thought I might be better suited to the side of communicating things."

Shibata, who cherishes Japan's coffee roasting culture, was also interested in " CROWD ROASTER CROWD ROASTER " a platform that showcases the individuality and skills of coffee roasters.

"I installed it right away when it first came out. I thought it was an amazing scheme. I wondered what it was all about, and who was going to do it. I thought it looked like a lot of work."

However, I deeply sympathize with that concept. "It's a competitive advantage, something that others absolutely won't do and can't do, so I think that's a huge strength. Even if you think something like that is good, you wouldn't think of doing it yourself, would you?"

The approach of highlighting the skills and passion of each individual roaster aligns with the values ​​that Shibata cherishes.

Inside Otonari Coffee, each coffee variety has its own unique "comment card." While these cards state "these are just my personal, fleeting impressions," they contain deep thoughts and feelings from Mr. Shibata.

"For example, if a professional tells you, 'This is the best coffee,' people tend to believe them, right? But I want to tell them that if you don't think it's delicious, then it's not delicious to you. I try to convey to them over and over again that what you consider 'delicious' is your own definition of 'delicious,' and that's what's important to you."

When asked why they provide these comment cards, they explained, "First and foremost, we want people to know that it's okay to perceive coffee in their own way." "Instead of simply accepting what someone tells you is the best, I think more people should embrace the idea that it's okay to live by their own feelings." To convey this message, they also provide cards where customers can write down their own impressions.

This philosophy of Manabu is consistent even in the operation of the store. "I write down the approximate numbers for the recipes and say, 'This is the outline for this month.' Then I tell the staff to taste it themselves and adjust it. Even if you brew it the same way, the taste will be slightly different every day, so you might change it a little from yesterday to the day before yesterday. I tell them to brew it in a way that they think is the most delicious on that particular day."

Ms. Shibata has a big goal: to share Japan's roster culture with the world. "I've been conducting long interviews with rosterers and publishing them, and for several years now I've been thinking about translating them and creating an English website."

"I'm doing this because I think that by interviewing Japanese roasters who have a craftsman-like mindset, I can draw out deeper insights from someone in the coffee industry. Rather than focusing on sourcing beans from overseas, even though it's still global, I want to focus on Japanese roasters."

Shibata's goal is to create "beautiful and sweet coffee." "I want to serve coffee that goes down naturally, and that leaves you thinking, 'That was delicious,' at the end. Rather than having a very strong flavor, I want a coffee that's sweet and that you can drink without thinking," he says.

In Otonari Coffee, a unique space that seems to reflect Shibata's philosophy, he quietly but surely continues to weave the coffee culture he pursues.

As they say, "In the sense that it's a place where a large number of people from different backgrounds gather, I think it's very important that people with different values ​​can be together," Otonari Coffee has taken root in the Jimbocho neighborhood as a place where diverse people gather.

And in that place, there is a rich atmosphere that allows you to reflect a little on your own life and way of living.

Otonari Coffee <br />2-48 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 2F

*The 1st floor is "Coin Laundry Xanadu Suidobashi Jimbocho Store".

Summer hours: 15:00 – 22:00
Summer holidays are from August 25th to August 28th (please check Instagram for other dates).

2025.08.04
Text by CROWD ROASTER
Photo by Takurow