Tokyo is not a city that rises early, but if you want to start your morning off right, head for Trueberry for fresh squeezed juices and healthy smoothies.
This tiny juice bar is tucked into a side alley just steps from Exit 1 of the Hiroo metro station. It offers at least half a dozen juices, ranging from choices such as "The Green" (kale, cabbage, celery, lemon and ginger), "Blood Tonic" (Japanese spinach, spinach, cabbage, pineapple, lemon), "Jazzy Carrot" (carrot, apple, ginger, lemon) and "Beet Purple" (the same ingredients as Jazzy Carrot but with beets included). If you are unsure of which juice you might want, the staff offers small tastes from the bottles in the fridge to assist you in your choice.
It's Trueberry's smoothie menu that really draws in the customers. It will take some time to peruse the nearly three dozen choices, including some seasonal specialties. Standouts for me included the "Nuts Green" (kale, apple, avocado, mango, raw almond, raw cashew,hemp seed) and the "Raw Cacao Avocado Shake" (banana, coconut milk, avocado, raw cashew,raw cacao powder, dates), but I ended up settling for a "Mango Coconuts" (mango, coconut milk, raw cashew, flax seed). The smoothies are fairly thick so, unlike the juice, you won't be finished in five minutes and wishing you could afford another. I'm determined to return sometime before December to try one of the apple and pumpkin-flavored smoothies the shop has dreamed up for the autumn season.
If you're there over lunch, Trueberry offers a small food menu, with vegan taco rice and veggie-filled nori rolls as the main choices. There is also a selection of raw desserts; be sure to check the refrigerator near the door to see what the staff has prepared for the day. You can even arrange for a vegan birthday cake.
The shop is small but does offer up seating for about eight people at a long bar by the window and one table for four at the rear of the shop. Most customers opt for take-away and the shop can even set you up with a recurring juice delivery for dedicated juice cleanses.
