Musashi no Mori is a chain coffee shop / cafe with branches all over Japan. Their coffee is particularly renowned and appraised. The menu and recipes are the same throughout all branches. The architecture and interior decor is also very similar between most branches. However, some branches have lovely outdoor areas, while others don’t have any outdoor seating at all. This post has general information for the chain cafe and specific information for the Kitamoto branch in central Saitama Prefecture.
Musashi no Mori
Musashi no Mori is a well known chain coffee shop by Skylark, the people behind many familiar family restaurant brands such as Gusto and Bamiyan. I had heard about this coffee shop long before I actually got to visit one. Because Saitama Prefecture only has ten branches of the cafe and, until 2019, none of them were near where I live. I had heard that it was very reasonably priced, which I agree with to a degree. The menu is very good and their drinks and some of their meals are reasonably priced. But I personally think its a little on the expensive side for pancakes.
Kitamoto Branch
The Kitamoto branch is a lovely space and done very well. It is quite chic. It is quite a large branch and it seems its always busy! They have tables with comfortable armchairs and others with sofa seats. There are booths as well as more open style. You see people studying here and even conducting work. Moreover, they have shelves of magazines and some books that you can borrow freely. They even have a rack of newspapers which is something I am seeing less and less of in recent years.
My main complaint is that the pancakes are below par in my personal opinion. They look the part though, as you can see in the photo above. They are nice and airy, but the flour taste was overwhelming. Drowning them in maple syrup helped! As I mentioned above, I find the pancakes expensive at 1480 yen. Especially considering they aren’t that good AND they are a chain store pancake I thought it was on the expensive side. Although, the rest of the menu is fairly priced in my humble opinion.
Information
| Musashi no Mori Kitamoto Branch むさしの森珈琲北本店 | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 2 Chome-70-3 Motojuku, Kitamoto, Saitama 364-0005 |
| Phone: | 0485907570 |
| Hours: | from 7 am to 10 pm |
| Cost: | budget for 1000 to 2000 yen per person |
| Online: | Official web page for Saitama Prefecture. |
| Access: | There is a relatively large parking lot. It is less than a ten minute walk from JR Kitamoto station, which is on the Shonan Shinjuku line. |
the desserts look pretty nice! I know its shocking as an Australian but I dont drink coffee at ALL!