Waseda: Cat's Cradle Travel Books & Coffee (キャッツ・クレイドル)

Summary: Quiet little neighbourhood cafe for those who like travel and books. 

Back when I was a student at Waseda University, I used to spend my weekend afternoons at Cat's Cradle, a book cafe located about 2 minutes away from the university. 

Cat’s Cradle Travel Books & Coffee is a well-kept local secret for those living around Waseda (at least till now - sorry guys!).

From the outside, the cafe looks rather uninspiring, but once you step inside, you are immediately transported into an antique bookshop, similar to the one featured in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

all these books for me to read...!

 

The cafe is quiet, unpretentious, and its bookshelves (all handmade!) are lined with different travel guides and beautiful photography books carefully and lovingly selected by the cafe owner.

Their food and drink menu was quite basic - standard cafe food served at most cafes in Japan.

I usually get their sandwiches whenever I am at the cafe, but they also serve other food like curry rice, various kinds of donburi and desserts.

toasted egg sandwich

ham and cheese toasted sandwich

curry rice - basic but very yummy!

The sandwiches here are simple but good. I have had them a couple of times so far, and they were always perfectly toasted, and I love that the sandwich bread is not too thick (what is with Japan and fat slices of bread..?)

banana pie and cafe latte

Besides their sandwiches, I really like their cakes as well. I was quite surprised by how my banana pie looked (for a moment I thought I ordered apple pie in accident) but the taste was as banana-y as it could get, with huge chunks of bananas in my pie. The ice cream on the side was good as well, not too sweet but creamy. It was a light and refreshing contrast to the richness of the banana pie.

My cafe latte was very foamy... It was more like a cappuccino but taste wise I've definitely got no complaints. One of the rare places with good coffee in Japan!

love the cute little coffee cups

iced cafe latte

While not quite the exciting type of cafe that tourists are interested in, Cat's Cradle is a great cafe for those looking to spend an afternoon curled up with a book or to study.

This is definitely one of the most memorable cafes I have been to in Tokyo so far.

Address: 538, Tsurumakichou, Waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3205-4356
Hours: Mon, Wed - Sat 11:30am - 10pm, Sun 11:30am - 6pm
Closed on Tuesdays
Website; https://www.facebook.com/catscradle2007