Coffee in Kyoto, where to actually go

Why Kyoto is a coffee city

Kyoto has one of the highest coffee consumption rates per household in Japan, which surprises people who associate the city with tea. The reason is partly the student population, with several large universities, and partly a long-standing local roasting culture dating from the mid-twentieth century.

The result is a city where you are never far from a serious cafe, where the standard is high, and where sitting alone with a book for two hours is entirely normal.

The machiya cafe

A machiya is a traditional Kyoto wooden townhouse: narrow street frontage, long depth, an internal courtyard garden, and tatami rooms. Many have been converted into cafes.

This is the format that is specific to Kyoto and does not exist elsewhere. You sit on tatami or at a low table, look out at a small garden, and drink coffee in a two-hundred-year-old building.

They are found throughout the centre, particularly in the Nishijin weaving district in the northwest, around Gion, and in the streets west of the Kamo river. Look for a wooden facade, a noren curtain, and a small sign.

Where to walk between cafes

The centre around Sanjo, Karasuma, and the Nishiki market area has the highest density and is the easiest to work through on foot.

The Kamo river banks are the best place to sit outside with a takeaway coffee, and in warm months the whole city gathers there in the evening.

The north, around Demachiyanagi and Kyoto University, has the student cafes: cheaper, scruffier, and open later.

The Philosopher Path in the east, walking between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji, has cafes along it and is best combined with a morning temple visit before the crowds.

• Sanjo and Karasuma: highest density, easiest to walk
• Nishijin: machiya cafes in the old weaving district
• Demachiyanagi: student cafes, cheaper and later
• Philosopher Path: combine with an early temple morning

What to order

Hand drip, single origin, is the standard in the modern cafes and is usually excellent. In an older kissaten, order the house blend.

Kyoto-specific things worth trying: coffee jelly, a cube-set coffee gelatin served with cream, which is a Showa-era dessert done well here. Iced hand drip in summer, which Japan does better than anywhere. And matcha, obviously, though the good matcha is in tea houses rather than cafes.

Many cafes also do an excellent morning set before 11:00, with thick toast and egg included with the coffee.

Etiquette and practicalities

Quiet. Kyoto cafes are quieter than Tokyo ones and a group speaking at normal European volume is very noticeable. Two or three people is the natural group size.

Long stays are fine. Ordering one coffee and staying ninety minutes is expected in most places, though busier cafes near tourist sites may have a time limit posted.

Photography inside machiya cafes is often restricted, and photographing other customers is not acceptable. Look for signs.

Cash is still useful, particularly in older establishments, though card acceptance has improved substantially.

Many cafes close on an irregular weekday rather than at the weekend. Check before making a special trip.

Fitting coffee into a Kyoto day

The best Kyoto structure is temples early, cafes in the middle, dinner late. The major temples open at 08:00 or 09:00 and the difference between arriving at opening and arriving at 11:00 is the difference between a quiet garden and a queue.

So: temple at opening, cafe at 10:30 when the crowds arrive at the temple you have just left, another site in the early afternoon, a second cafe, then the Kamo river in the evening.

This also solves the heat problem. Kyoto in July and August is 33 to 36C with high humidity in a valley, and an air-conditioned cafe between 13:00 and 16:00 is not a luxury.