Hideaway Treehouse Cafe – Harajuku
Update 2016/Jan/05: Since at least a few weeks ago when I last passed this cafe it has been closed and the tree house part of it removed. Too bad! RIP cute little cafe!
One of the oddest cafes in Tokyo must be the Hideaway Treehouse cafe in Harajuku, where for just one crinkly note can get a nice meal and a drink while enjoying nature at just a tap of the knuckle away. Or as they say, you can enjoy Treedom! I visited last week and took these photos in a gap between customers. The restaurant probably seats about 16 people when absolutely crowded. The thing with it is the tree which they built the restaurant around. When the wind blows harder the tree sways in front of you and it fun to sip on a ginger ale while looking at the birds walking around on the roof on top of you! Easily one of the must see cafes in Tokyo. The cafe seems to be run by a group working to promote treehouses around the world, and there’s plenty of literature on the subject on sale, as well as clothers, magazines, hammocks, camping gear and other odds and ends. I am already planning my next excuse to visit!
Oh, and I love the wonky anarchistic freedom in finding a cafe run like this in the middle of one of the most expensive areas of Tokyo, the biggest city on Earth. I can’t think of many western countries where the city officials wouldn’t get a heart attack from seeing this place!
Findiing it is part of the fun. Let’s just say it is somewhere in the maze of backstreets around Harajuku.
Tokyobling's Blog 
Cool restaurant. Cool pics. Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks Bones! (^-^)/
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It still not more than 10 years old isn’t it ?
Kissa-ten (Cafe, Tea-room) culture is peculiar to Japan and historically many legendary odd cafe existed.
And all of them had urban myth of famous Poet or Nobelist used to sitting there, hence young people
gathered there while skip a school = (pretend to be a rebel and cool —- in fact I was one of them :-D).
This one could easily be the oddest.
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I don’t know how old it is, not too old I think. I have seen many cool tea houses around Japan, but nothing like this in the middle of the city! (^-^)
I am sure you were a much cooler rebel than I was at that age! (^-^;)
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Love it!!!!
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Thanks Emily! We should go, with the offspring!
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Reblogged this on My Lovely Life and commented:
I want to go there
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DefiniteLy wiLL try to find it on my next visit to Tokyo.. hopefuLLy it wiLL stiLL be where it is now ^^
Thanks for sharing!
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I am sure it will! Thanks for the kind comment! (^-^)
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This is like a little bit of the American Northwest in Tokyo. I wonder if the owners might be from Portland or Seattle.
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Probably not, but there sure were a few books from the area in their “library”! (^-^)
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Utterly fascinating! A bit of search found the designer, who makes treehouses all over Japan. Can I hire him?
http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/treehouse-hideaway-cafe-in-harajuku/
I didn’t know there was a whole blog devoted to green spaces in Tokyo, either. Just added to the RSS feed. Very cool.
And there is a map 😉 http://treehouse.jp/hideaway/map.html
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Oh, and I forgot to mention how nice it was to see interior shots! Every time I look at architectural features, I always want more interiors. (Kinda like more cowbell.) It seems really cozy and a great place to have a party, even.
The food prices look good too…now that the yen is back to normal (in terms of exchange rates, heh) that is!
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Haha… thanks! (^-^)
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I think you can, but the thing about tree houses is that you are supposed to build them yourself (and in my case, build the ladder as well, and then throw it away after having climbed up). (^-^)
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Reblogged this on oditzac.
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Oh, vad fint café! Har det funnits där länge? 🙂
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Tack! Minst några år! Jag har inte lagt märke till det förrän förra sommaren tror jag. Det tog ett tag att få baken ur vagnen och ta sig dit med kameran. (^-^;)
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I’ll be taking a couple of friends to Tokyo in a couple weeks, and this would be fun to find! Could you give me a few hints how to start looking (north or south of Takeshita-dori, for instance)?
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Great! C posted a map in the comments, I hope you can find it and that your friends will enjoy it! (^-^)
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When I went to Japan in 2007, I never saw it. I hope I’ll go to Japan again to visit this place.
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I am not sure it was even around in 2007, I only noticed it a couple of years ago! I hope you get a chance to visit!
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Reblogged this on Japanese Wannabe player and commented:
What do you think of this place?
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[…] Sadly though as you can see from the photo above, the actual “treehouse” has been removed, as shown below in photos I found here. […]
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