Coffee recommendations in Kyoto and Osaka ☕
Saturday, June 14, 2025
I was watching this cool tour of coffee shops and roasteries in Vancouver that hits a lot of the famous places. The Youtuber does some of these tours when he visits locations so I prepared some reccos for him for the next time he is in Western Japan. Thought I should share them here for you
KYOTO
WEEKENDERS COFFEE TOMINOKOJI maps.app.goo.gl/yX4yemvBa…
Ambiance is top. They aren’t open very often. Don’t bother bringing a laptop since there are no tables. Moon viewing benches or rocks only.
Okaffe ROASTING PARK maps.app.goo.gl/D2vFkVTrX…
A coffee FACTORY. Cool vibe. I sit on the outdoor upstairs. Watch out for bees in the spring since there are so many flowers.
Goodman Roaster Kyoto maps.app.goo.gl/cZUnK4adw…
Great cakes!
Blue Bottle Coffee - Kyoto Kiyamachi Cafe maps.app.goo.gl/7YEKH1pZm…
Okay, just a regular Blue Bottle, BUT the location is amazing (in an old elementary school!) and the outdoor park is amazing at night. Also, Blue Bottle in Japan sells this amazing yōkan that is matched to coffee rather than matcha!
Here are some old school Kissa if you are interested:
Otafuku Coffee maps.app.goo.gl/ae1UDN9Dw…
The classic. It is in Merry White’s book “Coffee Life in Japan” and they have her book on display! Be prepared to breathe decades worth of second-hand cigarette smoke seeped into the furniture.
Smart Coffee maps.app.goo.gl/xBRWRc8ZV…
Founded in 1932, this is also old school. They have very good Japanese style sandwiches and pancakes here.
If you want the tea ceremony experience in English, go to my friend’s cafe RanHotei. Make a reservation and he will take you through the whole matcha process and answer all your questions. maps.app.goo.gl/4GM17iCTV…
OSAKA
Sanwa Coffee Works maps.app.goo.gl/5TMvD9yPZ…
Lovely place to work. Good roasts. Good pastries. Nice owner.
HAIKU COFFEE ROASTERS maps.app.goo.gl/t2XRQNBDm…
Husband and Wife duo. She is from Maui. This shop is all about the regulars… and they have a lot! Coffee nerd Mecca. You can do a pan roasting workshop here. Coffee is people.
Salon de AManTo maps.app.goo.gl/fpxLPa1U2…
Ambiance is WILD (Pics)
GLITCH COFFEE OSAKA maps.app.goo.gl/9nwmo6KMN…
Very fancy coffee under the stairs. Get ready to SPEND 💰 (Photos)
Akutagawa Coffee Shinfukushima maps.app.goo.gl/EBoVkbCdp…
Another place with cool ambiance. Good desserts too!
There are TONS more excellent shops, these are just a selection of ones that I went back to often.
Some more shops:
- micro.chadkohalyk.com/2024/04/1…
- micro.chadkohalyk.com/2024/04/1…
- micro.chadkohalyk.com/2024/01/2…
- micro.chadkohalyk.com/2024/07/0…
BONUS if you are in Shinjuku:
After All Coffee maps.app.goo.gl/QuCDG5Ze8…
The owners were super nice and laughed at my Kansai-ben.
coffee swamp maps.app.goo.gl/ms5q8PzHe…
I squeezed into this tiny hole in the wall to get out of the rain. The wife was working the cash register and the husband was doing pourovers with wicked precision. Behind him were tons of vinyl on display. There was a tiny record player on the counter with this weird single little speaker beside him. At one point between pours he quickly flipped the record before going back to the pour! 💫