Akihabara / Ueno: Cafe Asan (カフェアサン)

Summary: Free Wifi, power sockets, iPad rental, beautiful souffle pancakes and hammocks.

Have you ever wanted to relax in a hammock while eating the fluffiest souffle pancakes ever? 

No? Well, you will now, once you set foot into Cafe Asan, located between Akihabara (or Nakaokachimachi) and Ueno.

Located in the middle of the art space of 2K540, Cafe Asan is a cosy cafe tucked away from the busy city life. Within 2K540, you can find cool items like handcrafted leather goods, handmade Japanese goods and glass speciality items. It is an excellent place to find souvenirs or unique gifts.

With hammock-style chairs, free wi-fi and plugs for computers and smartphones, this cafe is a haven for the technology savvy looking to kick back and relax.

Cafe Asan boasts a wide selection of flavored coffees and teas, but their main draw here would be their amazing desserts (more on this in a bit).

By the way, Asan stands for Asian Animation. While there are mangas (Japanese comics) and anime drawings around the cafe.  , the interior isn't Anime-ish at all. 

The interior is stylishly furnished, and anyone can come easily regardless of their gender or hobbies.

While the hammocks and coffee selections are cool, it doesn't mean anything if food is bad.
Thank goodness, Cafe Asan's made-to-order soufflé hotcakes are heavenly - fluffy, moist and perfectly sweet.

They come in two different sizes - S (small) and R (regular).
I always get their S size when I drop by - while it is supposedly small sized, I always find it to be very filling.

cinnamon apple 

While they can take 20~40 minutes to come to your table, they are definitely worth the wait.

right: walnut custard caramel
left i forgot

forest berry 

The forest berries souffle pancake was amazing - the sauce was tangy but sweet, and it perfectly matched the soufflé.

I would probably say it was the best soufflé I have ever had in Japan. It would like something like a cross between an angel food cake and a pancake.

Address: 5-9-9 Ueno, Taitou-ku, Tokyo 110-0005
〒110-0005 東京都台東区上野5-9-9 2k540内
Phone: 03-6803-0502
Hours: Thu - Tue 11:30am - 7pm (last order 6:30pm, last order for soufflé 6pm).
Closed on Wednesdays
Website: http://www.cafeasan.jp/