Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2013

Tired of eating at home? How about eating at someone else’s place? World Neighbors Café (4-45-9 Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku; world-neighbors.com) looks like one of the coffee and set meal joints that are so plentiful in Tokyo. But this one is on the first floor of a “social apartment,” which mixes furnished private rooms and communal lounge areas. Residents get a ¥15,000 monthly credit at the café, but anyone can drop in for all day breakfast (¥580-¥980) or lunch sets (¥780-¥1,000). Four dinner choices (¥680-¥980), and draft beers (from ¥500) make it an affordable place to hang out of an evening. The residence bills itself as “absolutely foreigner friendly,” so a visit for a bite to eat just might just lead to a change of address.