Cafeography
Kyoto · Kawaramachi & Teramachi

Cafés in Kawaramachi & Teramachi

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

Photo: Faheem Ahamad, Pexels License

Teramachi means "temple town". In 1590 Toyotomi Hideyoshi rebuilt the street and ordered about 80 Buddhist temples moved onto it. Between Oike and Shijō it is now a covered arcade, closed to traffic by day, which with Shinkyōgoku and Kawaramachi-dōri makes up a pedestrian shopping district.1 Nishiki Market, about 400 m long with some 130 shops, runs west from Teramachi to Takakura, one block north of Shijō.2

No other area has a wider choice of cafés, and here they run from Smart Coffee's room on Teramachi, open since 1932, to sweets teahouses, bakeries, a roastery south of Shijō and cafés with owls or cats.

Local tip: Get to Smart Coffee at 08:00, when it opens, and order the hot-cake set: ¥1,400 with a drink on its October 2026 menu.

At a glance

239Cafés listed
20With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: KRFT, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–15:00).
  • Closes latest: BLUE BOOKS cafe, until 23:00 (Daily 11:30–23:00).
  • Most listed streets: 寺町通 (2), 中京区新京極通三条下ル桜之町 (2), Teianmaenocho (2).
  • Most common features: specialty (2%), bakery café (2%), vegetarian options (2%).

宇治久兵衛

Ujikyubey Mattcha Cafe

  • 〒604-8046 京都府京都市中京区東側町５０３−１５
  • Daily 12:20–21:00
  • +818085041052
  • Takeaway
  • Indoor seating
  • Card payment
  • Toilets
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Coffee chains in Kawaramachi & Teramachi

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Starbucks

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Doutor Coffee Shop

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Getting to Kawaramachi and Teramachi

Hankyū's Kyoto Main Line ends at Kyoto-kawaramachi Station, under the Shijō-Kawaramachi crossing; it opened in 1963 as plain Kawaramachi and was renamed in October 2019. Keihan's Gion-Shijō Station is just across the Kamo River.3

Along Kiyamachi-dōri runs the Takase River, dug by Suminokura Ryōi in 1611 to bring in materials for rebuilding the Great Buddha at Hōkō-ji. Flat-bottomed takasebune boats worked it for about 300 years, until June 1920, and a restored one floats by the Ichi-no-funairi, the old loading inlet, three minutes' walk from Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae subway station, the stop for the north end of the area.4

Smart Coffee and the Teramachi kissaten

Smart Coffee, a kissaten (old-style coffee house), began in 1932 as Smart Lunch and took its present name after the war; it roasts its own original beans.5 On its menu as of October 2026 the house blend is ¥650, a hot cake ¥800, egg sandwiches ¥850 and a hot-cake set with a drink ¥1,400.6 It opens 08:00–19:00 every day on Teramachi-dōri.

Cafe Bibliotic Hello! is on Nijō-dōri and has Wi-Fi, and School Bus Coffee Stop opens 09:00–18:00 daily at the north end of the area. Le GABOR is on Nakajima-chō and Café Aalto on Tsuchiya-chō.

Nishiki Market and eating on the move

Fish was reportedly sold on Nishiki as early as 782, the cold groundwater keeping the catch fresh, and the shogunate licensed the market in 1615. After Kyoto's Central Wholesale Market opened in 1927 many shops moved there, and from 1928 sellers of produce, meat and other foods opened; the street has been called Kyoto's kitchen since.2

The market association asks visitors not to eat while walking, and to eat in front of the shop that sold the food or inside it.7 Finish a takeaway cup from Teramachi before you turn into the market.

Roasters, sweets teahouses and late cafés

South of Shijō, Kamee Coffee on Takatsuji-dōri opens 09:00–17:30 daily, and KRFT opens 07:00–15:00, the earliest start in the area. Weekenders Coffee's roastery on Ishifudōnochō opens as a café on Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00–17:00.

Umezono's Kawaramachi shop, south of Sanjō, is an amatō chaya (sweets teahouse) open 10:30–19:30 with no fixed closing day; its own dishes include cream anmitsu, a jelly-and-bean-paste dessert, and a matcha parfait.8 Ujikyubey's matcha café opens 12:20–21:00. BLUE BOOKS cafe stays open until 23:00 every day, and Mumokuteki, with vegetarian dishes, until 22:00.

Sources

  1. Teramachi Street, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Nishiki Market, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Kyōto-kawaramachi Station, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Takase River, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. スマート珈琲店について, Smart Coffee (スマート珈琲店), accessed October 2026
  6. 喫茶メニュー, Smart Coffee (スマート珈琲店), accessed October 2026
  7. To everyone visiting Nishiki Market: request and information, Nishiki Market Shopping Street Association, accessed October 2026
  8. 甘党茶屋 京 梅園 河原町店, Umezono (梅園), accessed October 2026
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In Kawaramachi & Teramachi, also browse: Wi-Fi Vegetarian options Bakery cafés Outdoor seating Open late

FAQ

Kawaramachi & Teramachi cafés: questions

When did Smart Coffee on Teramachi in Kyoto open?

Smart Coffee opened in 1932 as Smart Lunch and took its present name after the Second World War. It roasts its own beans. On its October 2026 menu the house blend costs ¥650, a hot cake ¥800 and a hot-cake set with a drink ¥1,400, and it opens every day from 08:00 to 19:00 on Teramachi-dōri.

Can you eat while walking in Kyoto's Nishiki Market?

The Nishiki Market association asks visitors not to. Its notice asks you to eat in front of the shop where you bought the food or inside it. The market is about 400 m long, with some 130 shops, and runs from Teramachi west to Takakura, one block north of Shijō.

Which station is closest to Kawaramachi and Teramachi in Kyoto?

Hankyū's Kyoto-kawaramachi Station lies under the Shijō-Kawaramachi crossing at the end of the Kyoto Main Line, and Keihan's Gion-Shijō Station is just across the Kamo River. For the north end of the Teramachi arcade and the Takase River's old loading inlet, use Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae subway station.

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