A Piece of Cake

The little cafe that sits on the forecourt of the Taro Okamoto Museum has the potential to be one of Tokyo's nicest coffee spots. After all, what could be better than munching on homemade cake and knocking back freshly ground joe, all within arm's reach of some of Japan's most famous pop art?

Happily, the cafe is situated just before the museum's ticket booth, so the small, well-decorated patio can be a destination in its own right, and many of the customers seem to be here for this reason alone. The menu doesn't venture beyond homemade cakes, herb teas and freshly roasted coffee, so it's more of a coffee morning place than somewhere you might hit up for lunch, but what is on offer is tasty, served with a friendly air, and extremely well presented (the coffee cups have an Okamoto-esque appeal to them).

The only real downside, of course, is that the garden is swarming with Okamoto fans, making a quiet moment difficult to come by. However, if you have the time to drop by on a mid-week morning, you shouldn't find too much distraction. Just be sure to bring a full wallet – museum prices in a prime Aoyama location mean that you won't get away without a minor fleecing.