The best co-working spaces in Tokyo for remote working

As a hub for tech, finance, and design in Asia, Tokyo has long embraced remote working. Tokyoites are known for their nose-to-the-grindstone business culture; people tend to work long hours and professional relationships require a lot of face time. With the city’s greater metropolitan area spanning about 10,000 square kilometres (around six times the size of London), it is no surprise that there are a wealth of options for remote working.

Where to work from in Tokyo

Before rental offices became a thing, Tokyoites could always depend on the city’s ubiquitous karaoke rooms or manga cafes for a private space to get stuff done. Many still do because daytime rates are cheaper than a latte and come with free soft drinks.

Peripatetic professionals in the city can select from by-the-hour artsy workspaces in youthful Shibuya to the more buttoned-down offerings in business-focused Otemachi. Elsewhere, embrace the erudite charm of a local bookshop or set up office at one of the many laptop-friendly cafes, in a city obsessed with third-wave coffee. When you’re done, refuel at one of Tokyo’s izakaya restaurants, or embrace the city’s vibrant live music scene.

Shibuya

Trunk Hotel Cat Street

Best For: Remote working in one of Tokyo’s trendiest hotels
Address: 5-31 Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0001
Price: Drinks from 450 YEN (3 USD)

The lounge of boutique hotel Trunk is a cafe by day and a bar and live music venue by night. Guests can enjoy comfortable laptop-friendly furniture, with high-speed WiFi and no shortage of plug outlets. There is also an outdoor plaza, draped in greenery, and no shortage of locally-made snacks. After hours, swap their cold brews for craft suds or a signature cocktail and embrace a regularly changing schedule of pop-up events and exhibitions, which attracts creators from youthful Shibuya’s art and design scene.

.andwork Shibuya

Best For: Young creatives that like to book ahead
Address: 4F 1-20-13 Jinnan, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0041
Price: Hourly rate 1,100 YEN (7.50 USD); day rate 3,300 YEN (22 USD)

Located inside The Millennials hotel down the street from the iconic Shibuya Crossing, this popular lodging/workspace hybrid is part of the nationwide Share Lounge network run by book and music retailer Tsutaya. Space can be reserved via its app, although drop-ins are also fine. Alongside flowing free coffee and phone booths, guests can enjoy unusual perks like nap rooms and showers. The colourful neon-tinged design embodies the youthful vibe of the neighbourhood. Come quitting time, Tahona Mezcal Bar across the street is an off-the-beaten-track destination for dinner and drinks.

Megutama

Best For: Hungry shutterbugs
Address: 3-2-7 Higashi, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0011
Price: Drinks from 440 YEN (2.90 USD), meal sets from 1210 YEN (8 USD)

This unique arthouse restaurant near the expat enclave of Hiroo offers a rare chance to try katei-ryori, a humble and healthy Japanese homestyle cooking not usually found in the dining scene. A meal set consists of a hearty main dish, a handful of small seasonal sides, miso soup, pickles, and rice, though a la carte drinks, food, and desserts are also on the menu. If that’s not reason enough to choose Megutama for your mobile office, consider its artistic cred: architecture by sustainability-focused Takashi Murai, interior design by Yukio Hashimoto (also behind the Peninsula Hotel and Happo-en garden), and a collection of 5000 photography books curated by art historian and critic Kotaro Iizawa. It can be a bit crowded at peak meal times but is usually quieter through the afternoon. As an added bonus, the owner often hosts cultural events like rakugo performances in the evenings, or you can combine a visit with the neighbouring Nihonga-specialist Yamatane Museum of Art for your cultural fix.

Shinjuku

Solo Yama

Best For: Singletons who like to snack while they work
Address: 8F 1-15-9 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Price: Hourly rates from 1430-3500 yen (9.50-23.50 USD)

Solo Yama sits in the heart of the Shinjuku business district, and its open-air terrace has excellent views of the neighbourhood’s tower-packed skyline. At lunch, it operates as a
restaurant, but from 3pm, it becomes a by-the-hour co-working space with significantly better food and drink options than most. In addition to tea, coffee and espresso drinks, you can help yourself to beer, wine, and Japanese sours (shochu-based cocktails), and a food menu that runs from freshly-prepared hors-d’oeuvres to hot pizza and a specialty littleneck clam and cloud-ear mushroom curry. As the name suggests, the space is designed with solo customers in mind, so it’s best for working on your own.

Tokyo/Otemachi

Personal Lounge Maruzen no Sangai

Best For: quiet and comfortable co-working
Address: 3F 1-6-4 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku
Price: Hourly rate 1,650 yen (11 USD), day rate 4,400 (29.50 USD), cashless only

Just across the street from Tokyo Station’s classic red-brick facade is the massive flagship store of venerable book and stationery purveyor Maruzen. A well-appointed lounge offers a comfortable place to work near the business hubs of Otemachi, Yurakucho, and Ginza. Visitors can choose from a variety of plugged-in workstations, ranging from partitioned desks to high-backed armchairs facing the floor-to-ceiling windows. The ambiance is sedate, with only the sound of soft jazz and the occasional faint rumble of a train, so you’ll want to step outside for calls. Drinks and snacks are provided, including highly moreish chocolate-covered mikan jellies, along with a selection of the latest magazines and books. Food picked up from the area’s many take-out options is welcome.

Regus Pacific Century Place Marunouchi

Best For: A dependable workspace
Address: 13F 1-11-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, plus 67 other locations around Japan
Price: Monthly pass from 18,900 yen (125 USD)

Regus offices are a bit like Starbucks: not especially thrilling but reliable and ubiquitous. If you plan to travel around Japan and want to ensure that you have a dependable meeting room, a multi-use or monthly pass for Regus will get the job done. Its minimal polished offices are conveniently located near business hubs and transport links. Tokyo’s soaring Marunouchi location has sky-high views, and is the same building as the Four Seasons hotel, which means you can break for a plush Parisian-style coffee or lunch at Michelin-favourite Daniel Calvert’s Maison Marunouchi.

Ueno/Akihabara

From Afar

Best For: Aesthetes, coffee connoisseurs
Address: 2-5-12 Kotobuki, Taito-ku
Price: Drinks from 450 yen (3 USD)

From Afar is an airy cafe in a quiet residential neighbourhood, just a short hop from tech hub Akihabara and up-and-coming trendy neighbourhood Kuramae. Its retro aesthetic captures the charm of Japan’s beloved mid-century coffee kissaten with antique Imari porcelain cups and vintage wooden furniture, but nods to modernity with third-wave espresso drinks. Sweettooths will enjoy the dessert menu for moreish bites like houji tea chocolate cake and a regularly changing seasonal fruit tart. Staff keep the noise level to a murmur even when crowded, so it’s a pleasant place to get lost in your writing. For inspiration, the walls are lined with a selection of interesting books curated by the staff.

Roppongi

BLINK Roppongi

Best For: Meeting people (and dogs), 24 hour working
Address: 3-1-6 Motoazabu, Minato-ku
Price: Day rates from 1,100 yen (7.50 USD), monthly pass from 22,000 yen (146 USD)

BLINK is a foreigner- and pet-friendly co-working space in downtown Roppongi, just minutes from the Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown complexes. The five floor 24-hour workspace includes the usual hot desks, phone booths and meeting rooms, while the ground floor cafe and terrace are a lively networking space, which host regular events. For those looking to start up a business in Japan, BLINK provides a virtual office plan that allows you to use its address in registration documents. Insider lunch tip: nearby Ginza Kagari has some of the best ramen in town with a rich chicken-based soup topped with truffle oil and seasonal vegetables.

Nakameguro

Midori-so

Best for: Laidback artsy types
Address: 3-1-1 Aobadai, Meguro City, Tokyo 153-0042
Price: Day pass 2,200 yen (14.50 USD)

On a tranquil side street not far from Nakameguro’s famous cherry-lined canal is Midori-so, a co-working space recognisable by its verdant facade. The building is subsumed in a voracious mass of greenery, which stands out against its more residential neighbours. Indoors, the decor is less impressive, but it draws a relaxed, creative crowd with its colourful mismatch of functional furniture and eccentric clutter. Midori-so is popular with the artists and designers that congregate in Nakameguro and includes a rentable gallery and event space that hosts frequent workshops covering all manner of crafty pursuits such as silk screen printing, Polaroid emulsion lifting, and knitting. The cosy 2F lounge has launched many collaborations, and popping in to work there for a day or two can be a good way to get plugged into the local arts scene.

Koenji

Koenji Sankakuchitai: Manuscript Writing Cafe

Best For: Procrastination-prone writers
Address: 2-1-24 Koenji-kita, Suginami-ku
Price: 30 minutes from 240 yen (1.60 USD)

As a freelancer, procrastination is a daily challenge. Sometimes it helps to have someone looking over your shoulder, making you accountable for a day’s work. That’s exactly what you can expect at Koenji Sakakuchitai, a pay-by-the-half-hour small cafe space in the underground culture hub of Koenji. Customers set a productivity goal when they come in and can’t leave until they reach it, with owner Takuya Kawai gently prodding them along the way. He offers three levels of frequency for what he calls his “support,” but most opt for the once-an-hour progress check. Unlimited coffee and tea are included in the price, and budding writers can also make use of noise-cancelling headphones and other helpful tech. Hours are irregular as the cafe is also rented out as a filming set and event venue, so make sure you check the schedule in advance.