Downtown Kissaten and Coffee

The front of Salon de thé François features a high, curved wooden window that resembles the prow of a ship. This building opened in nineteen thirty-four, shortly after the founder, Shoichi Tatebayashi, traveled to Europe and returned with…

Soirée is defined by its deep, saturated blue light that spills through the front windows onto the sidewalk. Opened in nineteen forty-eight, the coffee house maintains the exact decor and stained glass style chosen by its founder,…

A stone monument stands in Komeyacho, marking the former site of the Tsukiji of the Kyoto City Hall. This land served as the administrative center during the Edo period when it functioned as the Kyoto Magistrate's Office. Officials…

The Elephant Factory Coffee sits behind a heavy, dark wooden door tucked into a narrow alleyway in Nakagyo. It occupies a renovated building that served as a family home for generations before becoming this quiet, dimly lit space for…

Rokuyosha has a dark wooden exterior and a small, vintage sign that marks it as a coffee house. It opened in nineteen sixty-seven, a time when Kyoto was filling with sleek, modern cafes, but Rokuyosha stayed committed to a dim, quiet…

Smart Coffee occupies a street-level space marked by a simple, classic storefront with a dark wooden frame and a long, glowing sign in cursive script. It opened in nineteen thirty-two as a high-end coffee shop during a time when Kyoto…

The main shop of Inoda Coffee features a large red brick exterior and a rounded entrance that stands out along the quiet Doyucho street. Shichiro Inoda founded the shop in nineteen forty-seven, beginning his business by selling coffee…