Cafeography
京都

Cafés in Kyoto kissaten and matcha salons

A 1932 kissaten on Teramachi, matcha on Shijō-dōri, roasters by the station and coffee on the Fushimi Inari approach.

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1677Cafés listed
3Open by 6am
16Open past 10pm
41Specialty & roasters

Kyoto households buy more coffee by weight than those of any other prefectural capital or major city in Japan: 3,265 g a year for households of two or more, averaged over 2023–2025, against 2,544 g nationally. Only Ōtsu spends more on it.1 Some of its kissaten (喫茶店, old-style coffee houses) are nearly a century old. Smart Coffee opened on Teramachi in 1932 under the name Smart Lunch, was renamed after the war and still roasts its own beans.2 Inoda Coffee dates from 1940.3

The city came through the Second World War largely unbombed, and Henry Stimson had it taken off the atomic-bomb target list.4 Its tea trade predates the kissaten: Tsujiri, founded in Uji in 1860, opened its Gion shop in 1948 and its Saryō Tsujiri tea salon in 1978.5 Specialty roasters are newer: a December 2024 Sprudge guide included About Us Coffee in Fushimi, opened in 2019, and Solkatt Coffee near Tō-ji, which opened in September 2024 in the founder's father's former bicycle shop.6

Agaru, sagaru: pick an area

Kyoto by area

Kyoto addresses still give a crossing and a direction from it: agaru (上ル, north), sagaru (下ル, south), higashi-iru (東入ル, east) or nishi-iru (西入ル, west).16 Kaikado Café, for one, is on Kawaramachi-dōri, Shichijō-agaru.17 The Kawaramachi grid and Gion are the busiest café areas, and Gion's Shijō-dōri is the place for matcha.

Kawaramachi & Teramachi

The Teramachi arcades, Nishiki Market and the Takase canal, from a 1932 kissaten to matcha cafés.

239 cafés

Karasuma

The downtown grid around Karasuma-Oike and Shijō: early espresso, Inoda's main shop and the Gion Matsuri floats.

159 cafés

Gion & Higashiyama

Matcha salons on Shijō-dōri, Maruyama Park and the stone lanes up to Kiyomizu-dera.

189 cafés

Okazaki & Nanzen-ji

Heian Shrine, the Lake Biwa Canal and the Philosopher's Path, with a 1970 jazz kissa by Kumano Jinja.

86 cafés

Kyoto Station & Shichijō

Roasters, an Inoda branch and tea rooms around the station, Higashi Hongan-ji and Kawaramachi-Shichijō.

133 cafés

Fushimi

Fushimi Inari's torii, the old sake breweries and cafés from the shrine approach to the brewing streets.

121 cafés

Demachiyanagi & Kyoto University

The Kamo river delta, Shimogamo Shrine and the student streets around Kyoto University.

162 cafés

Nishijin & Kitano

The weaving streets of Nishijin, Kitano Tenmangū and the Kamishichiken teahouses.

125 cafés
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Wi-Fiあり

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi and a table, now that the city's free network has left the subway.

29 cafés
ベジタリアン

Vegetarian options

Plant-based plates in the city of temple cooking, if you ask about the stock.

17 cafés
ベーカリーカフェ

Bakery cafés

Bread and coffee in a city that spends more on bread than almost anywhere in Japan.

28 cafés
テラス席

Outdoor seating

Tables outside, best in spring and autumn, away from the river platforms.

13 cafés
夜カフェ

Open late

Coffee after dinner: a siphon kissaten until 02:00 and station cafés until 22:00.

16 cafés

New in Kyoto

Recently opened and recently added

Kawaramachi & Teramachi 239 cafés

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Karasuma 159 cafés

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Gion & Higashiyama 189 cafés

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Okazaki & Nanzen-ji 86 cafés

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Kyoto Station & Shichijō 133 cafés

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Fushimi 121 cafés

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Demachiyanagi & Kyoto University 162 cafés

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加茂みたらし茶屋

  • 左京区下鴨松ノ木町53
  • Mon–Tue 09:30–18:30 · Wed Closed · Thu–Fri 09:30–18:30 · Sat–Sun 09:30–19:00
  • +81757911652
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Kitaōji & Kitayama 91 cafés

麒麟

Coffee and Tea Kirin

  • 1-2 紫明通
  • Mon 09:00–17:00 · Wed–Sun 09:00–17:00
  • 0754318020
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Imperial Palace 78 cafés

Nijō 62 cafés

Nishijin & Kitano 125 cafés

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Ukyō 99 cafés

Yamashina 16 cafés

Arashiyama & Saga 72 cafés

Nishikyō & Rakusai 32 cafés

ハウスこのゆびとまれ

  • 大枝西新林町三丁目 1-16
  • Thu Closed
  • +81-75-332-3446
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Kamigamo & Iwakura 13 cafés

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Coffee chains in Kyoto

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Ogawa Coffee

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Colorado Coffee Shop

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Caffè Veloce

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Before you sit down

How coffee works in Kyoto

Order the house blend: at Smart Coffee it is listed simply as 珈琲 (kōhī), and as of October 2026 it, an アメリカン (American) and a café au lait each cost ¥650, and a ウィンナー珈琲 (Vienna coffee) ¥800.7 In 2025 a cup at a table-service coffee shop averaged ¥566 in Kyoto, above Osaka's ¥448 and below the ¥613 of Tokyo's wards; a small cup at a self-service chain averaged ¥386.8

Tea has its own rooms. An amami-dokoro (甘味処, sweets parlor) serves matcha with wagashi (Japanese sweets), anmitsu (agar jelly with sweet bean paste) or a parfait, and in September 2024 a matcha parfait at the Gion salons cost ¥1,600–1,694.9 Prices are moving up: Umezono, an amatō chaya (sweets teahouse) on Kawaramachi, revised some prices in November 2025 and all of them from October 2026.10

Tipping is not the custom in Japanese cafés, bars or restaurants. Kokorozuke, a gratuity "from the heart", exists for some situations, but nobody expects it over a coffee.11

Indoor smoking has been banned in principle since April 2020, though small places already open then, privately run or capitalized at ¥50 million or less and with no more than 100 m² of seating, may still allow it; anyone under 20, staff included, is barred from smoking areas.12 Inoda's main shop is smoke-free inside apart from a booth, and allows smoking in its garden seats.13

Kyoto's coffee starts early and ends early. Caffetteria Imaya in Karasuma and Nakayama, on the south side of Kyoto Station, open at 06:00, and Inoda's Hachijō-guchi branch inside the station at 08:00 every day of the year.14 Most cafés close by 18:00, and only a few near the station and on Kawaramachi stay open to 22:00 or later.

What coffee costs in Kyoto

DrinkTypical price
珈琲 (kōhī)
Hot coffee at a table-service coffee shop		¥557–583
Kyoto city monthly averages, 2025
コーヒー（セルフ）
Small coffee at a self-service chain		¥380–387
Kyoto city monthly averages, 2025
ミックスサンド
Mixed sandwich at a café		¥912–934
Kyoto city monthly averages, 2025
抹茶パフェ
Matcha parfait at a tea salon		¥1,600–1,694
Two Gion salons, September 2024
コーヒー
Coffee at a roastery café		¥1,100
Kaikado Café, September 2025

The first three rows are Kyoto city's monthly averages for 2025 from the national Retail Price Survey; the coffee-shop figure rose from ¥557 in January to ¥583 in December.8 Parfait prices are Saryō Tsujiri's and Gion Komori's, as of September 2024.9 The roastery price is Kaikado Café's in September 2025.15 Smart Coffee's prices are from its menu as of October 2026.7

Sources

  1. 家計調査（二人以上の世帯）品目別都道府県庁所在市及び政令指定都市ランキング 2023年～2025年平均（飲料）, Statistics Bureau of Japan, accessed October 2026
  2. スマート珈琲店について, Smart Coffee (スマート珈琲店), accessed October 2026
  3. イノダコーヒ, Inoda Coffee, accessed October 2026
  4. Kyoto, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. 私たちの歴史, Gion Tsujiri (祇園辻利), accessed October 2026
  6. The Sprudge Guide To Coffee In Kyoto For 2024, Sprudge (December 2, 2024), accessed October 2026
  7. 喫茶メニュー, Smart Coffee (スマート珈琲店), accessed October 2026
  8. 小売物価統計調査（動向編）調査品目の月別価格及び年平均価格 2025年【14】（2162・2165 コーヒー、2161 サンドイッチ）, Statistics Bureau of Japan, via e-Stat (April 24, 2026), accessed October 2026
  9. 京都・祇園の抹茶パフェ・甘味の名店, Mapple (updated September 26, 2024), accessed October 2026
  10. 甘党茶屋 京 梅園 河原町店, Umezono (梅園), accessed October 2026
  11. Tipping in Japan, Japan National Tourism Organization, accessed October 2026
  12. 既存小規模飲食店への経過措置と届出, Kyoto Prefecture, accessed October 2026
  13. 本店, Inoda Coffee, accessed October 2026
  14. 八条口支店, Inoda Coffee, accessed October 2026
  15. 【京都】茶筒の「開化堂」が手がけるレトロ建築カフェ, Rurubu & more (updated September 28, 2025), accessed October 2026
  16. Japanese addressing system, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  17. Kaikado Café, Kaikado Café, accessed October 2026
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FAQ

Cafés in Kyoto: common questions

How much does a coffee cost in Kyoto?

A hot coffee at a table-service coffee shop averaged ¥566 in Kyoto in 2025, against ¥448 in Osaka and ¥613 in Tokyo's wards. A small coffee at a self-service chain averaged ¥386, and a mixed sandwich cost ¥912–934 by month. A coffee at Kaikado Café was ¥1,100 in September 2025, and a matcha parfait in Gion ¥1,600–1,694 in 2024.

Which area of Kyoto has the most cafés?

Kawaramachi & Teramachi and Gion & Higashiyama have the most cafés, followed by Demachiyanagi & Kyoto University. Kawaramachi keeps the Teramachi arcade, where Smart Coffee has served since 1932; Gion has the matcha salons of Shijō-dōri.

What is a kissaten in Kyoto?

A kissaten (喫茶店) is an old-style Japanese coffee house, the kind Kyoto has kept for nearly a century. Smart Coffee on Teramachi opened in 1932 as Smart Lunch, took its present name after the war and still roasts its own beans. Inoda Coffee dates from 1940. A table-service coffee averaged ¥566 in Kyoto in 2025.

Can you smoke in cafés in Kyoto?

Mostly not. Indoor smoking has been banned in principle since April 2020, but small places already open then, privately run or capitalized at ¥50 million or less with no more than 100 m² of seating, may still allow it. Nobody under 20 may enter a smoking area. Inoda's main shop allows smoking only in a booth and at its garden seats.

Do you tip in cafés in Kyoto?

No. Japan's national tourism organization says tipping is not common for services in cafés, bars, restaurants, taxis or hotels. There is a gratuity custom called kokorozuke, given "from the heart" in some situations, but it is not expected for a coffee.

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