Cafeography
Osaka · Karahori & Uehonmachi

Cafés in Karahori & Uehonmachi

Karahori's registered old house, a Tanimachi roaster from 1959 and jazz below Tanimachi 9-chōme.

Photo: Guohua Song, Pexels License

This stretch of Chūō and Tennōji wards runs from the lanes around Tanimachi 6-chōme east to Tamatsukuri and south to Tanimachi 9-chōme. Karahori (空堀) is the old part of it, and LEN (練), its best-known complex, had its storehouse, main house and front gate registered as tangible cultural properties in December 2012.1

The coffee here covers a wide range of ages. 大洋珈琲 (Taiyo Coffee) has been roasting in Tanimachi since 1959, more than 50 years before that registration.3 Newer arrivals include a plant-based breakfast room at Hōenzaka that marked its fifth anniversary in November 2023, and an alley tea bar that pours nothing but Uji tea.26

Local tip: Skip Wednesday if LEN is the point of the trip, since most of its shops close that day.1 On any other day, finish at Yuion once the tea bar opens at 18:00.2

At a glance

216Cafés listed
10With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: アサカラグッドストア, from 07:00 (Mon 08:00–18:00 · Wed–Fri 08:00–18:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Sub Jazz Cafe, until 23:00 (Mon 15:00–23:00 · Wed–Thu 15:00–23:00 · Fri 11:00–23:00 · Sat 13:30–23:00 · Sun 15:00–23:00).
  • Most listed streets: Shimoajiharacho (2), Esashimachi (2).
  • Most common features: specialty (2%), vegetarian options (1%), smoking allowed (1%).

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Coffee chains in Karahori & Uehonmachi

LEN: chocolate and crêpes in an old Karahori house

LEN gathers about a dozen tenants, from a takoyaki stand to a kimono school, around one old property at Tanimachi 6-17-43.1 It opens from 11:00, and most of its shops close on Wednesdays.1

Ek Chuah calls its shop here the Karahori "Kura" (蔵, storehouse) main store, and it serves chocolate made with Belgian couverture in the old building until 20:00.1 A few steps away, 囲茂庵 (imoan) makes crêpes with seasonal fruit, along with drinks, and will pack them to take out.1

Uji tea by day, tea cocktails after 18:00

日本茶バー 結音茶舗 (Yuion Japanese Tea Bar) sits at the back of an alley at Tanimachi 6-14-2.2 All of its tea is from Uji, including sencha, kabusecha (冠茶, shade-covered tea) and gyokuro, bought from single farms.2 The kitchen uses tea too, in rice steamed with hōjicha (roasted green tea) for its inari, and the drinks list turns tea into cocktails.2

Lunch runs from 12:00 to 15:00, and the tea bar takes over from 18:00 until midnight.2 It closes on Mondays and on the third Tuesday of each month.2

Two roasters: custom orders and French press

大洋珈琲 roasts to order: you pick a level from medium to dark, and the beans are done in-house.3 The shop is about five minutes on foot from Tanimachi 4-chōme, Tanimachi 6-chōme and Matsuyamachi stations.3 There is no parking.3

Over in Tamatsukuri, Hirofumi Fujita Coffee takes a slower route. It adjusts roasts for the season and the weather, picks out defective beans by hand after roasting, and brews with a French press.4 The café has just eight seats, and also sells homemade cakes and brewing gear; it opens 12:00–19:00 and closes Sundays and Mondays.4

Early breakfast at Hōenzaka, late jazz at Tanimachi 9-chōme

アサカラグッドストア (Asakara Good Store) calls itself a wholesome kitchen and mixes American diner dishes with vegetarian and vegan plates, with seasonal items such as tarts made with organic flour.6 It opens at 08:00 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends, and its site lists Tuesday as the day off.6

The evening option is at the other end of the district. Sub Jazz Cafe is a listening room in a basement near Exit 6 of Tanimachi 9-chōme Station, with a collection of jazz vinyl and live sets three or four nights a week.5 Most days it opens at 15:00 and runs until 23:00, and walk-ins are welcome.5

Sources

  1. からほり「練」LEN, Karahori LEN (official site), accessed November 2026
  2. 結音茶舗, Yuion Chaho (official site), accessed November 2026
  3. 大洋珈琲, Taiyo Coffee (official site), accessed November 2026
  4. HIROFUMI FUJITA COFFEE, Hirofumi Fujita Coffee (official site), accessed November 2026
  5. Sub Jazz Cafe, Sub Jazz Cafe (official site), accessed November 2026
  6. Asakara Good Store, Asakara Good Store (official site), accessed November 2026
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In Karahori & Uehonmachi, also browse: Specialty coffee Open late Outdoor seating

FAQ

Karahori & Uehonmachi cafés: questions

What is LEN in Karahori, Osaka?

LEN is a complex in an old property at Tanimachi 6-17-43 in Karahori, with about a dozen tenants including Ek Chuah chocolate and the crêpe café imoan. Its storehouse, main house and front gate were registered as tangible cultural properties in December 2012. It opens from 11:00, and most shops close on Wednesdays.

Where can you drink Uji tea at night near Karahori in Osaka?

Yuion Japanese Tea Bar, at the back of an alley at Tanimachi 6-14-2, serves only Uji tea from single farms. Lunch runs from 12:00 to 15:00, and the tea bar, which also mixes tea cocktails, runs from 18:00 until midnight. It closes on Mondays and on the third Tuesday of each month.

Which roasters in Karahori and Uehonmachi, Osaka, sell beans to order?

Taiyo Coffee, founded in Tanimachi in 1959, roasts in-house and lets you pick a level from medium to dark. It is about five minutes on foot from Tanimachi 4-chōme, Tanimachi 6-chōme and Matsuyamachi stations. In Tamatsukuri, Hirofumi Fujita Coffee adjusts its roasts for the season and hand-picks defective beans after roasting.

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