Nikko Coffee

Pretty Good Coffee but Awful Service

I really love Nikko, it's one of the first trips I actually took in Japan and have probably been back over 10 times at least. That was of course years ago so I was super excited when Nikko Coffee had opened up just about 3-4 years ago, I went a few times and enjoyed it on my own or with one other friend. I was even excited to see their ads in nearby JR stations. However one November it seems the atmosphere changed a lot, for the worse. The cafe workers expected us to wait outside in freezing cold weather while there was most certainly space inside the shop near the front. It even seemed like they took their time preparing the table for us when about two were empty and only needed to be a little cleaned off. Then the coffee took a very long time, way longer than usual which got a little ridiculous considering it's just a drip coffee, but they were only focusing on other food orders and such. Then a friend of mine took a picture and since they use film there was a flash, immediately we were told not to take pictures. A few minutes later, the table next to us started taking pictures with a flash, no one spoke to them. Finally when it came time to pay, we were hoping to split the bill as most places and indeed this place usually let's you do. However since it was kind of close to closing time they said they didn't want to do they extra work to split the bill and wouldn't even give us change. Nikko Coffee was never a great cafe, even before this incident. They're just a kissaten that has some coffees that don't taste like burnt mud, and for a place most people only go to travel that seemed great. But if they're going to act like they're hot shit and don't care about customers, they're not worth even a minute of consideration. There's already tons of actually good cafes in Tochigi, just go to one of those and get a drip bag for your trip to Nikko.