Free toast with your coffee? How about an entire loaf of bread, ice cream, and a souvenir to take home?

There are few places in Japan that have a thriving morning cafe culture at the same level as the Tokai area, which includes Aichi, Shizuoka, Gifu, and Mie. A mo-ningu (“morning”) is an early-morning service offered by cafes that, when you order a drink, also gets you an added light meal for free or at a discounted price. One cafe chain with such an offer is Takumi Coffee Edison, located in and around Gifu City, where not only do they serve up a decent meal, they’ve taken breakfast to the next level.

At Edison, their morning set comes free with any drink, but with just a small upgrade fee, you can transform your breakfast into something that’s likely to set you and your stomach up for most of the day, assuming you can even finish it. The breakfasts in the store are so popular that at 10:00 a.m. there could be a 30-minute wait, which can even stretch to an hour at times.

The cafe interior blends retro charm with some modern flourishes, complete with adorable hanging lights and a squadron of cat robot servers whizzing past the tables.

With so many robots, this cozy little cafe also has a side that feels more futuristic than some nationwide coffee shop chains, and the high-tech servers skillfully navigated the floorspace.

Edison has a decent range of options for their morning menu, but their regular morning set, which is included for free with your drink, is already impressive enough by itself: with salad, banana, egg, and an entire slice of thick toast, despite the photo on the menu suggesting only half of a slice. It’s an amazing deal for the price of just a 550-yen (US$3.63) coffee.

However, it’s with the options that the true fun lies, as if you upgrade to the Rich Morning set, for just an extra 150 yen, you’ll get to witness an entire loaf of fluffy bread be brought to you on your plate.

Or you could go for a more Japanese-style breakfast by enjoying the Rice Ball and Egg set, which is equally stomach-filling and only sets you back an additional 50 yen.

It doesn’t stop there, though, with the Surprising Rich Morning set being sure to send your jaw hurtling to the floor in shock for only 300 yen more: double the amount of bread of the Rich Morning set, served with generous helpings of whipped cream, sweet red bean paste, and soft serve ice cream.

Although it’s a morning set, it might take you the better part of the day just to finish the entire thing.

The experience doesn’t end as you scrape the last crumb off your plate and into your mouth, for as you carry your bursting stomach out of the store, you walk past Edison’s souvenir corner.

If you just glanced at it, and weren’t in the know, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was a mini shop inside of the cafe.

However, this is the final topping on the cake—the final knob of butter on some deliciously fluffy bread—of Edison’s hospitality. Each person can take home one item of their choice from the wide variety of products on display, from candy and drinks to vegetables and eggs, entirely for free.

If you aren’t sick of the sight of bread at that point, you can even select the store’s full loaf of bread from the Surprising Rich Morning set.

Even in the morning cafe culture region of Japan, Edison stands out as being top-tier for its entertainment value and generosity. So, if you ever visit Gifu, this is one breakfast experience you shouldn’t miss.

Store information
Takumi Coffee Edison NEXT / 匠珈琲 恵時尊 NEXT
Address: Gifu-ken, Gifu-shi, Yanaizu-cho, Higashizuka 3-1
岐阜県岐阜市柳津町東塚3-1
Open 6:45 a.m.–9:00 p.m. (last order 8:15 p.m.)
Website

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