The other day, this writer worked hard to finish a hearty "Triple Curry " at the student cafeteria "Sky Lounge Dawn" at Meiji University's Surugadai Campus. Since I had become interested in school cafeterias, I decided to sneak into the student cafeteria at Waseda University this time.

Waseda University Student Cafeteria

Okuma Garden House Cafeteria

Our first destination was the Okuma Garden House Cafeteria, located right next to the Okuma Auditorium at Waseda University. The path through the trees is overgrown with greenery, and the atmosphere is a bit like the field that appears in the second chapter of a foreign horror game. I quite like this space.


Passing through the Okuma Garden, you will see the entrance to the Okuma Garden House. The dishes offered differ according to the floor, with curry, rice bowls, buffet, etc. on the second floor, and specialty sections such as noodles, pasta, and grills on the third floor.






The "Okuma Teishoku" you are looking for is served on the third floor. When ordering at the counter, you are told to "choose one side dish of your choice. The author selected spinach with sesame paste, and received mackerel grilled with salt, fried fish, miso soup, and white rice (medium size), paying 500 yen (tax included) at the cash register.


The combination reminded me somewhat of a school lunch. The flavors are all quite ordinary. This set may be a good choice for those who live alone and tend to have an imbalanced nutritional balance. When I was a student, I lived in a room without a fish grill, so I often ate grilled fish in the school cafeteria.




Okuma Garden House is mainly used by students on the main campus. Since we were in the mood, we decided to take a peek at the student cafeteria at the Toyama Campus (a.k.a. Bunka-Campus), which is located a short walk from here.

Uni. Shop & Cafe 125

Near the entrance of the road leading to the Okuma Garden House, I found a trendy cafe, so I stopped by. Shop & Cafe 125, an official goods and café opened to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Waseda University in 2007.



The store is filled with Waseda University goods. Waseda fans (?) The store has a wide range of goods that Waseda fans (?) would not be able to resist. I thought the background music might be a jazz arrangement of the school song, but that was not the case. Is it only me who can't help but think of Rahmens' "Kanebe no Theme" when I hear Waseda's school song?



They also offer light meals, so I ordered a "pineapple frosty" (440 yen including tax) to try. This dessert drink, which is like a loose sorbet, refreshed my palate. The glass walls of the building give it an open and comfortable feeling. I am sure I would get a lot of work done studying here.

Toyama Campus "Toyama Cafeteria

Looking up at the Okuma Auditorium, we walked about 4 minutes from the main campus to the Toyama Campus.



The Toyama Cafeteria is located at the top of a leisurely slope. The menu is almost the same as at the Okuma Garden House mentioned earlier, but there are fewer items on the menu.






A quick glance at what the students around us were eating revealed that many of them were having the Chicken Tatsuta Donburi (medium size, 464 yen including tax ). Three pieces of crispy fried chicken tornadoes are topped on a bowl of white rice.


The juicy fried chicken Tatsuta goes well with the white rice soaked in the sauce! I love how the batter is crispy and light.


My personal impression is that there is no one dish that I can say, "This is it! I personally feel that the cafeteria offers a wide variety of dishes, including regularly changing menus and buffets, although there is no one dish that stands out. If you visit the Toyama Campus, be sure to check out the bakery-cafe Milk Hall.

Waseda University
Address: 1-104 Totsukacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo