Café & Sweets · Jimbocho

Sabouru さぼうる

Jimbocho's cave-like 1955 kissaten, with carved wood, graffiti-scratched walls and a totem pole at the door, where students and booksellers eat towering Napolitan spaghetti.

HoursApprox. 9:30–23:00

ClosedSundays (holidays irregular)

PriceCoffee: ¥550
Napolitan spaghetti (Sabouru 2): ¥900

Getting thereJimbocho Station (Hanzomon/Shinjuku/Mita Line, exit A7), 1 min

Time needed45 min

Best timeWeekday mid-afternoon

Address1-11 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo

About

Sabouru has been the living room of Jimbocho's book town since 1955. You duck through a low door past a carved wooden totem into a split-level den of dark timber, stucco and decades of scribbles; it feels like a mountain hut dropped into the backstreets. Regulars order blended coffee, cream soda or the strawberry juice, and its sister shop Sabouru 2 next door serves the famous mountains of Napolitan ketchup spaghetti. It is famous among Tokyoites yet almost unknown to visitors, and is the classic reward after a day digging through second-hand bookshops.

Highlights

Low-ceilinged wooden interior unchanged since the 1950s
Totem pole and red phone-box style entrance on Suzuran-dori backstreet
Strawberry juice and cream soda in old-school glasses
Sabouru 2 next door for giant Napolitan spaghetti
Book-town regulars reading their latest finds

Tips

Closed Sundays; arrive before noon or after 14:00 to avoid lunch queues
The cosy basement and mezzanine seats fill first, ask if one is free
Order the Napolitan at Sabouru 2; the main shop focuses on drinks and light toast
Cash is safest

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

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Sabouru さぼうる

About

Highlights

Tips

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