It was 9am when we ventured out of our apartment in search of coffee. We’d been told that Fukuoka has a thriving specialty coffee scene, with many espressos waiting to be discovered, at least for my partner Rich, not me. In fact, the city is home to several World Barista Champions
The closest café open is Manu Coffee, just a few blocks down Tera-machi-dori Avenue. Its bright yellow exterior calls us in like the morning sun (which, today, is hiding behind clouds). We’re not the only ones drawn in. Manu has been introducing locals to high-quality espresso for decades. Apparently, they even have their own theme song, written and performed by a local musician named JUNN. What a brilliant idea, I’ll have to track it down.
Inside, it’s cozy, by which I mean tiny, but we manage to grab a table. The full menu is posted outside, almost like a drive-through. It even seems to suggest a hierarchy: coffee clearly comes first, while hot chocolate sits at the bottom, after teas and even toast with butter.
We order, and despite how busy it is, our drinks arrive before we’ve properly settled in. We’d planned to linger, but the pace nudges us onward, as if encouraging us to get out and explore the city. Alongside the coffee and hot chocolate, we order a small plate of sweets, including a remarkable piece of dark chocolate with bright, tropical fruit notes. It’s clearly well crafted, though the maker isn’t identified. Hardly surprising, given how many exceptional chocolate makers there are across Japan and Kyushu.
Bags of coffee beans line the back wall, while soft Japanese jazz music plays in the background. The hot chocolate is essentially a glass of warm milk. If there’s chocolate in it, it’s still waking up, much like the city at this hour. That said, the small dish of chocolate more than makes up for it, and I do find a few flecks of unmelted chocolate lingering at the bottom of the cup. If it had been mixed properly, it might have satisfied my morning drinking chocolate craving better. But the bright yellow mug made me happy, it made us all happy.
Manucoffee is also involved in several thoughtful sustainability and arts initiatives, which you can explore on their website. One particularly interesting project invites artists to spend time on a coffee farm, creating work inspired by their stay. Those pieces are then sold in the café, a lovely way to connect coffee, place, and creativity.
From here, wander through the surrounding streets and cut across toward the Naka River. You’ll come across Loco Works Coffee, another excellent spot, and just below it, the Yanagibashi Rengo Market. The market is full of beautiful seafood and a bakery which I’m warning you in advance, you will end up buying a lot from. With caffeine and a hint of the sea, you’re ready to explore the Tenjin area, packed with shops, food, and easy access to the rest of the city.
We stayed in a few neighbourhoods during our time in Fukuoka, but this area was easily our favourite (and the coffee, Rich’s favourite).
Manu Chocolate, Border Tower 1F, 3-11-2 Watanabe-Dori, Chuou-ku,
Fukuoka-City, Fukuoka 810-0004, JAPAN Open from 9am to 25:00 everyday according to their website. They are so good they have managed to add an extra coffee focused hour to the 24 hour day. Only in Japan. @manucoffee.official https://www.manucoffee.com/about/
