New York-style coffee and bagel shops have been on the scene for years now, but another Manhattan staple is just beginning to spill into Tokyo's streets: soup cafes.
A growing number of cafes and delis serving up soup as their main menu item have opened in the metropolitan area in the past year.
Machiko Tojo, director of Dear.Soup in the Ginza district, says soup bars in recent years have become part of the lifestyle of New Yorkers, who can be seen carrying a soup cup on a park stroll during lunchtime.