Known for its rich coffee history, Kyoto has traditionally been home to much-loved local coffee shops. Now, a wave of fresh, stylish cafes is reshaping the city’s coffee landscape.
[COYOTE] A Specialty Café Focused on Salvadoran Coffee
COYOTE is a rare café in Japan that exclusively serves coffee from El Salvador, a country in Central America. With the opening of COYOTE ROASTERY near Demachiyanagi Station in March 2024, COYOTE now operates three locations in Kyoto. The new store features the same blue and white colors as the flag of El Salvador, along with a roasting machine to serve freshly roasted coffee. Salvadoran coffee is known for its mild and mellow flavor, making it ideal for daily enjoyment.
The café's founder, Yusuke Kadokawa, left his previous job at a coffee company after graduating from university to volunteer with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in El Salvador. He lived on a farm for about two years, gaining hands-on experience in coffee production and exports. In addition to managing the café, Kadokawa imports beans from El Salvador and distributes them to cafés across Japan. Each year, he travels to the region during harvest season to inspect the quality of the beans and purchase them directly from the producers.
COYOTE ROASTERY
Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, Sakyo Ward, Tanaka Shimoyanagicho 3 East side
[Kaikado Café] A Café by a Historic Tea Caddy Manufacturer Since the Meiji Era
Founded in 1875 (Meiji 8), Kaikado is a renowned tea caddy manufacturer known for producing handmade items since the introduction of tinplate to Japan. The Kaikado Café serves a variety of coffee, black tea, and Japanese teas, enjoyed by the fifth and sixth-generation owners of this long-established company. The café, renovated from a Kyoto City Tram office built in 1927, features a café on the first floor and a shop selling coffee beans, tea leaves, traditional crafts, and more on the second floor.
The fifth-generation owner's favorite coffee is an original blend roasted by Nakagawa Wani Coffee, a specialty shop with nationwide fans. Each cup is carefully brewed by hand-drip. The fifth-generation owner's wife prefers Japanese tea from Marukyu Koyamaen, a long-established Uji tea shop, while the sixth generation favors black tea and stocks Postcard Teas from London and Lishan black tea from Taiwan. The café also recommends tea and coffee sets paired with traditional Kyoto sweets like monaka from Nakamura Seianjo and karaki mochi from Kagizen Yoshifusa.
Kaikado Café
Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, Shimogyo Ward, Kawaramachi-dori Shichijoagaru Sumiyoshicho 352
Tel.: 075-353-5668
[Cafe Madrague] Preserving Kyoto’s Traditional Café Culture
In 2011, Sanshiro Yamazaki took over Kissa Seven, a café that had been operating for nearly 50 years since 1963, after it closed its doors. Keeping the traditional coffee shop atmosphere, he made updates by removing curtains and glass doors and adding a bookshelf, creating a more inviting space for younger generations. His goal is to offer a café with a slightly more affordable menu and more food options, providing a comfortable environment for all customers.
About a year and a half after opening, Yamazaki inherited the specialty of the now-closed Western restaurant Corona and learned how to make their famous egg sandwich, which has since become a signature dish. However, the café’s main goal is not to become a modern café or sandwich specialist, but rather to be a cozy coffee shop where the egg sandwich complements the classic coffee and Neapolitan pasta served on a hot iron plate.
Cafe Madrague
Kyoto City, Nakagyo Ward, Oshikoji-dori Nishinotoin Higashi-iru, north side
Tel. 075-744-0067
[Nijogoya] A Cozy Café with Retro Interior and Soft Jazz Music
Located in a quiet residential area near Nijo Castle, Nijogoya is a small café housed in an old building with a long history. Upon entering, visitors are greeted by a stylish interior with jazz softly playing from a vintage record player. Designed by the owner, Akihiro Nishiki, who has a background in interior design, the space features a large L-shaped wooden counter and is primarily a standing café, although seating is available in a few spots.
The coffee menu offers five or six types of coffee, ranging from light to dark roasts, all made with beans from Hagiwara Coffee, a long-established Kobe store. The beans are delivered directly two or three days after roasting, ensuring they are at the ideal temperature for brewing. Each cup is carefully hand-dripped when an order is placed. The café offers reasonably priced single-origin hand-drip coffee, ranging from 500 to 600 yen, providing an affordable option for coffee lovers. The owner hopes customers will enjoy their daily moments here in comfort.
Nijogoya
382-3 Mogamicho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City
Tel.: 090-6063-6219
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