From The Straits Times    |
 

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Around the CBD area with nowhere to head to for a meal? Japan Rail Cafe (JR Cafe), opened by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), is a one-stop shop for dining, shopping and allows you to purchase railway tickets if you’re planning for a trip to Japan.

 

 

 

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The modern glasshouse-esque cafe located at Tanjong Pagar Centre serves up Japanese fusion food such as curry rice and burgers. As for drinks, a wide range of beverages including a black honey and soybean powder latte and seasonal fruit teas from Japan are available. Customers can also choose from alfresco or indoor dining areas at the cafe.

 

 

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 Once you’ve filled your tummy, head over to the retail area located right next to the cashier to check out their seasonal offerings like drinks, snacks, souvenirs and clothes. The cafe switches up the products on sale regularly so you’ll definitely get a surprise every time you visit.

 

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If you’re planning for an upcoming trip to Japan, you can purchase your railway tickets via the small counter situated at the retail area. Aside from JR East tickets, tickets from JR Kyushu, JR West, JR Shikoku and JR Hokkaido are sold too.

You might be wondering, “why purchase at the cafe when you can get it in Japan?” Well, tickets are sometimes sold $10 to $20 cheaper than retail price and it is a safer option for those who are more wary of where they get their tickets.

 

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Another feature that the cafe has to help you plan for your trip to Japan is the tourism presentation. Every month, the cafe would hold a special event where locals from the prefecture would give a short talk to introduce the lesser known prefectures to customers.

During your meal, the staff would present to you specialty snacks from that particular area in Japan. While I was there, a presentation to introduce Gunma was going on. The friendly Japanese staff passed snacks like mochi, deep fried udon and konnyaku jelly around to let us have a taste of the prefecture.

Free activities like crafts workshops that are special to the prefecture will be held and natural cosmetics samples will be handed out to customers as well.

 

Where: 5 Wallich Street, #01-20/21 Tanjong Pagar Centre, Singapore 078883 (Tanjong Pagar MRT)

Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm (Mon – Sat), 11am – 8pm (Sun, PH)

 

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