Best Breakfast Spots in Tokyo

Oct 15, 2021

Best Breakfast Spots in Tokyo

You might not know this, but Japanese cuisine was added to UNESCO’s intangible heritage list in 2013, meaning the cooking is something unique in the world, not found anywhere else. I could eat my fill of sushi, takoyaki, udon, soba any and every day of the week, but one thing that I constantly pine for is a hearty breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon with toast, hash browns, and pancakes, or heaven help me, WAFFLES and SAUSAGE! I grew up in a family where my first meal is sometimes bigger than the other two. And after decades of Japan living under my belt, a top ten question is always “where can I get a decent down-home breakfast around here from many a gaijin. Allow me to share a few of my favorites.

World Breakfast All Day

This appropriately named establishment does precisely what it says on the label; serve breakfast foods from around the world all day. Thai, Mexico, Poland, Germany, France, the UK, and America are all represented with decent portions and prices.

3-1-23 Jingumae, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo
https://www.world-breakfast-allday.com/
Open Everyday 7:30~20:00
Access: Gaienmae Station [G]

Sarabeth’s

“The Breakfast Queen of New York” is at Lumine II above Shinjuku Station. When it first opened, I couldn’t get in the place to have a meal because it was always crowded, but thankfully since then, they’ve opened more locations around Tokyo. My favorite NYC export on the breakfast scene and probably the only place where I can get Eggs Benedict with lox here in the Metropolis.

Multiple locations and hours; check Sarabeth’s Japan locations web page for more info.

Jade5 Breakfast & Brunch

Have you ever been out in some part of town doing something and afterward intent on getting home but then stumbled upon a diamond of a find and wound up spending more time and money than you should have? That describes my experience with Jade 5 perfectly. After a night out in the area, I fell into this cafe and was blessed with a menu that had BREAKFAST BURRITOS and BLUEBERRY PANCAKES! ‘Nuff said. You know that ain’t appearing any other menus in Tokyo, so I suggest you find your way to Hiroo for some comfort breakfast stat! (Lunch is also good with a BLT with for-real bacon and actual apple pie like granny makes.)

5-17-6 Hiroo, Shibuya, Tōkyō
Open Tuesday-Sunday, 7:30~18:00.
Access: Hiroo Station [H]
Jade 5 on Facebook

Royal Host

This entry on the list is specifically aimed at those people like myself who were extraordinarily disappointed upon finding out that Denny’s in Japan is a Bizzaro twin to its American sibling. Not a single Grand Slam breakfast to be had. On the other hand, Royal Host has all-day breakfast, a drink bar with unlimited coffee (my savior), and is found in most major cities in Japan.

Multiple locations and hours; check Royal Host’s locations page (in Japanese) for more info.

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— By Jason L. Gatewood
Images:

Royal Host Breakfast by Jason L. Gatewood

Eggs Florentine at Jade 5) by John H, Yelp

German Breakfast at World Breakfast all day by Kazuhiro Hasegawa via Google Maps