There are also a few cafes which are laptop friendly. (That's notable in Tokyo, as most are not -- a combination of high traffic, poor power/wifi situations, and the staff not being pleased with someone holding a table for extended periods.)<p>The one which I know off the top of my head is Nakameguro Lounge, about one minute from Nakameguro Station. The effective price per hour is 600 to 1,000 yen. Also their lunch menu is really fantastic for only about 1,200 yen.<p>Also, as it is about two minutes from my apartment, if you're ever passing through Tokyo drop me a line and your coffee/lunch is on me.
Drop In should probably be Drop-In. After reading the title, I though there was a fall in the number of coworking spaces in Tokyo, which is the exact opposite of the article.
Four more<p>The Terminal - Harajuku (where I'm posting this from ;)
<a href="http://theterminal.jp/about.html" rel="nofollow">http://theterminal.jp/about.html</a><p>ii Office - Ueno
<a href="https://iioffice.liginc.co.jp/" rel="nofollow">https://iioffice.liginc.co.jp/</a><p>Jelly Jelly Cafe - Shibuya
<a href="http://jellyjellycafe.com/" rel="nofollow">http://jellyjellycafe.com/</a><p>Open Source Cafe - Shimokitazawa
<a href="http://www.osscafe.net/en/" rel="nofollow">http://www.osscafe.net/en/</a><p>The Terminal is around ~$13 a day if you pay ~$20 for a year membership. Includes free soft drinks. Yea, just $20. Or you can get a monthly pass for ~$160<p>II Office is around ~$10 a day also including free soft drinks<p>Jelly Jelly is really tiny and the one time I went it was 100% full so I haven't actually used it.<p>Open Source Cafe is also pretty tiny. It's 2 small rooms, both hold maybe 7 people though I've seen them cram in 15+ for a meeting.<p>I've been to a few on the list<p>co-ba I signed up for a year ago. Plus, if you become a member they give you a security card and it's open 24 hours.
Minus, it's pretty minimal, especially the 2nd floor. Feels like I sitting in an elementary school class.<p>kokemasaz feels like someone decorated their garage. Nice DIY vibe. The guy making Voxatron (<a href="http://voxatron.com" rel="nofollow">http://voxatron.com</a>) who goes by Zeb online says he sometimes hangs out there.<p>I guess I should mention he runs the picopico cafe (<a href="http://picopicocafe.com" rel="nofollow">http://picopicocafe.com</a>) in Kichijoji. It's only open 3pm to 10pm Saturday and Sunday and even then only if they haven't rented the place out (check their calendar) but, possibly because he's an indie game dev a lot of other mostly non Japanese indie game devs hang out there.<p>What kind of shocks me is how much more expensive co-working spaces are in SF and LA. They claim you'll get <i>networking</i> but they're usually > $500 a month for just an unassigned seat at an open table.
This list is missing Open Source Cafe, where I'm sitting right now! I'll be here for another few weeks if anybody is interested in dropping by.
<a href="http://www.osscafe.net/en/" rel="nofollow">http://www.osscafe.net/en/</a><p>It's in Shimokitazawa, really cool neighbourhood not far from Shibuya.
I'm an ex-Melbournite doing a PhD in bioinformatics algorithms (and succinct data structures) in Tokyo.<p>I'm mainly interested in co-working spaces for cross-pollination of ideas, and friendly challenges.<p>So, if anyone in Tokyo wants to meet up to work on some stuff (together or separately, but in proximity), let me know.
There is also a pretty comprehensive list of co-working spaces (all in Japanese though) here: <a href="https://www.makeleaps.jp/%E9%83%BD%E5%86%85%E3%81%99%E3%81%B9%E3%81%A6%E3%81%AE%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AD%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9A%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7/" rel="nofollow">https://www.makeleaps.jp/%E9%83%BD%E5%86%85%E3%81%99%E3%81%B...</a><p>Also if you're in Tokyo, don't forget to check out the Hacker News Tokyo community meetup events.<p>The next one is on the 13th of May. Hope to see you there !<p><a href="https://hntokyo.doorkeeper.jp/events/24116" rel="nofollow">https://hntokyo.doorkeeper.jp/events/24116</a>
Places I haven't tried! All your base are belong to us!<p>Coworking spaces are pretty hit or miss. There's also Academy Hills (<a href="http://www.academyhills.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.academyhills.com</a>) on the 49th floor of Mori Tower in Roppongi that runs you 10,000yen/mo.<p>Other options:<p>Jiyugaoka — Robek's Juice — no WIFI, but spacious and has lots of power.<p>Near Jiyugaoka — Radio Plant Cafe — free wifi, but quite small.
I'll be back in Tokyo May 1-3ish -- psyched to check out Nakame lounge; that's new to me.<p>Fuglen and Maruyama are my two go-to places though neither are great for "working"<p>Streamer/Lattest I would say are not really appropriate for 'working' either. Sure, I've sat in them for an hour or two on occasion, but it doesn't feel exactly appropriate.<p>I'm in and out of TKO a lot. (Live in Shanghai) Will happily trades beers and coffees for tips on good cafes. ^^<p>Interesting that people mention Shanghai as having a good cafe scene; I like a few of the places here okay but I'd never choose them over a bunch of the better options in tko or the US...
This is great! I go to Japan about once a year and for 2016 I'm thinking about spending a month or two working remote from Tokyo. I recently got back from doing the same at a coworking space in Thailand.
Nice tips. In Osaka there's Knowledge Salon in Umeda, but you need to know somebody there that can invite you as a guest, so it's not really drop-in…<p>Oh, and you should also post this over at <a href="http://www.startjapan.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.startjapan.org/</a> :)
Interesting to see how Tokyo work culture impacts the co-working scene: A lot of them only open at 10 but stay open late in the evening. This is because, due to its size and property prices, many people commute up to 2 hours one way.
Cool, been looking for one. thanks!
I've also considered working from internet cafes, but if a coworking space is cheaper, it would make sense to go to one.
It's good to see all the Japan-based HNers goofing off at work today. HN usually starts dying this time of day (1445 JST) as the West Coast heads to bed...