When people think of Osaka (大阪, Ōsaka) and Kyoto (京都, Kyōto), the main things that come to mind are food and temples respectively. However, did you know that these two cities are also great for cafe hopping? There are so many different wonderful cafes in both cities, each with their own niche, and there's definitely cafes that would suit your interest. From the coffee connoisseurs to those who want to enjoy some good desserts, here are the Top 10 Cafes That You Must Check Out in Osaka and Kyoto.
26 Jan 2024
Written by Pitari Japan Team
Top 10 Cafes in Osaka and Kyoto That You Must Check Out
Cafe Hop Your Way Across These Great Cafes
1. Internationally-Renowned Cafe: %Arabica
アラビカ
% Arabica
World-Renowned Coffee Chain From Kyoto
%Arabica is a unique Japanese homegrown coffee brand that is headquartered in Kyoto. While the brand now has outlets around the world, this particular shop in Arashiyama has a beautifully minimalist design and also overlooks the Katsura River (桂川, Katsura-gawa) and the Togetsukyō Bridge (渡月橋, Tōgetsu-kyō Bridge).
A simple coffee stand, their in-house blend is recommended for its unique fragrance. While coffee aficionados would have their own preferences, for the generic coffee drinker, the Kyoto Latte comes recommended as their signature drink. The Kyoto Latte is a latte that is lightly sweetened, and the flavors of the coffee, milk, and sweetness blends together to produce a sublime taste.
アラビカ
% Arabica
2. Best Coffee-Specialty Cafe: Sanwa Coffee Works
サンワコーヒーワークス ルクア1100
Sanwa Coffee Works
Osaka's Best Homegrown Coffee Roaster
Sanwa Coffee Works is an Osakan homegrown coffee chain that has its origin in a kissaten (喫茶店, Traditional Japanese Cafe) that started from the Tenma area in 1959. The philosophy of Sanwa Coffee Works is to "enrich one's daily life a little with coffee". As a coffee roaster and a shop that sells coffee bean, Sanwa Coffee Works has an extensive selection of coffee beans from light roasts to dark roasts with almost 30 different beans available.
You can choose from Drip Coffee or a Cafe Latte on their menu. Drip Coffees have their house blend, the coffee of the day, and a selection of blend, specialty, and single-origin coffee available. For lattes, you can choose the regular, light roast, or thick based on your own preference. A range of desserts including cakes and ice cream is also available.
サンワコーヒーワークス ルクア1100
Sanwa Coffee Works
3. Best Chocolate Cafe: Ek Chuah
エク チュア
Ek Chuah
Osaka's Best Chocolate Cafe w/ Historic Interior
Ek Chuah is a chocolatier that runs a chocolate-specialty cafe in their main shop at Karahori Len (からほり れん, Karahori Ren). Get plenty of chocolate-based desserts, and chocolate-based drink in this beautiful retro cafe. A wide variety of chocolates are available to choose from, including the sweeter milk chocolates, and the more bitter dark chocolates. You can even choose how thick you want your chocolate drinks, going as high as 3x thicker.
The cafe sits on the second floor of the building, while the first floor is a retail shop where you can buy fresh chocolates from an extensive display of refrigerated items like pralines, fresh chocolates, and more. Any of the items served on the first floor can also be consumed in the restaurant.
エク チュア
Ek Chuah
4. Best Machiya Cafe: Blue Bottle Coffee Kyoto
ブルーボトルコーヒー京都
Blue Bottle Coffee Kyoto
Beautiful Cafe Inside a Machiya
Located near the base of the Keage Incline (蹴上インクライン, Keage Inkurain), you can find Blue Bottle Coffee, an American coffee roaster that has repurposed an old 100-year old Kyoto machiya (町家, Traditional wooden townhouse) into a modern cafe that blends together traditional and modern aesthetics.
The two-story building features high atrium ceilings, and a glass window door that spans the entire two floors. The building itself exposes many of its wooden pillars and beams within its mud walls to showcase the rugged interior aesthetic of the building.
It’s a great place to sit, relax, and enjoy the atmosphere as well as the beautiful design of this over a hundred year old building that has found a new lease of life as a modern cafe.
ブルーボトルコーヒー京都
Blue Bottle Coffee Kyoto
5. Best Wagashi Cafe: Fumon Chaya
普門茶屋
Fumon Chaya
Higashiyama's Hidden Eat w/ Matcha Desserts
Fumon Chaya is a modern cafe that specializes in warabi mochi (わらび餅, Bracken Starch Mochi) and matcha (抹茶, Maccha, Powdered Green Tea). The cafe is located near Kiyomizudera Temple (清水寺, Kiyomizu-dera) and boasts a modern chaya (茶屋, Teahouse) interior. Their warabi-mochi is also served in an eye-catching manner atop a large leaf on ice. The warabi-mochi is lightly dusted with kinako (きな粉, Roasted Soybean Flour) and is cut in large chunks that are nice and chewy, with more kinako and kuromitsu (黒蜜, Brown Sugar Syrup) on the side. It is also served with a monaka (最中) filled with anko (餡子, Red Bean Paste) and vanilla ice cream.
It’s a great place to relax before or after a visit to Kiyomizudera Temple, and to try out some of the best wagashi (和菓子, Traditional Japanese sweets) in Kyoto.
普門茶屋
Fumon Chaya
6. Best Matcha Cafe: Nakamura Tokichi
中村藤吉京都駅
Nakamura Tokichi Kyoto Station
Uji's Famous Matcha Shop
Nakamura Tokichi is one of the most famous teahouse brands from Uji, having been first founded in 1854. Today, they sell a wide variety of teas including matcha (抹茶, Maccha, Powdered Green Tea), hojicha (ほうじ茶, Hōjicha, Roasted Green Tea), and more, in both their drink form as well as a variety of desserts.
At Nakamura Tokichi, a complementary tea of the day is brewed for all customers fresh on the table. Additionally, you can choose from a wide range of matcha or hojicha desserts including parfaits, and soft serve.
Their Marugoto Parfait (まるごとパフェ) comes in matcha and hojicha flavors, with layers of matcha jelly, anko (餡子, Red Bean Paste), rice crisps, mochi (餅, Rice cake) and more.
中村藤吉京都駅
Nakamura Tokichi Kyoto Station
7. Best Gourmet Cafe: Saganoyu
嵯峨野湯
Saganoyu
Hipster Cafe in a Former Bathhouse w/ Tofu Pasta
Saganoyu is a popular cafe located in a former sentō (銭湯, Sentō, Public Bath), that has been repurposed with a stylish retro interior while keeping certain features of the original bathhouse, such as the walls and the tiling.
The cafe’s atmosphere and interior is one of the most unique around, and truly embodies the concept of blending together the old and new.
The food is also no slouch, the two highlights of their menu are the White Saganoyu Tofu Pasta Set and the Saganoyu Cheese Curry Set.
Both sets come with a drink of your choice, and perhaps what’s even more attractive than the drink is the complementary cookie served on the side. This cookie is buttery, lightly salted, and just melts in your mouth. Previously, it only exclusively came with the drink, but after popular demand, are now sold in the souvenir section as Arashiyama Cookies.
嵯峨野湯
Saganoyu
8. Best Tea Desserts Cafe: Chavaty
チャバティ京都
Chavaty Kyoto
Tea-based desserts & scones in Arashiyama
Chavaty offers a Japanese take on the classic combination of tea and scones, using Japanese teas such as matcha (抹茶, Maccha, Powdered Green Tea) and hojicha (ほうじ茶, Hōjicha, Roasted Green Tea). They offer a variety of menu items including all-day breakfast, crepes, tea-flavored soft serve, scones, pancakes, tea, tea lattes, cocktails and more. It’s a great place for brunch, or a mid-day tea break.
Their scones come in plain, matcha, or a seasonal flavor. They are crispy and flaky on the outside, moist and buttery on the inside, and are served with salted whipped butter, or even better, nuts & dried fruits in honey. We recommend getting the plain scones, and using the nuts & dried fruits in honey dip for the best experience.
チャバティ京都
Chavaty Kyoto
9. Best Industrial-Style Cafe: Brooklyn Coffee Roasters
ブルックリン難波
Brooklyn Roasting Company Namba
Hipster American Cafe
Brooklyn Roasting Company is a popular American cafe that boasts a modern industrial-aesthetic interior, and cozy sofa seats as well as work tables with power plugs. It's a great place to rest, or get some work done. In general, the place boasts some really great vibes and a nice cozy environment to relax and destress for a little.
They offer a wide variety of drip coffees, and beans from around the world. The beans and blends are typically rotated on a daily basis. You can choose from one of two different beans for your Espresso shot, there is a bean of the day for drip coffee, and another bean of the day for iced coffee.
ブルックリン難波
Brooklyn Roasting Company Namba
10. Best Ice Cream Cafe: Japanese Ice Ouca
ジャパニーズアイス櫻花
Japanese Ice Ouca
Unique Japanese Ice Cream Flavours
Japanese Ice Ouca infuses wafū (和風, Wafū, Japanese-style) flavors into the Western-style dessert of ice cream, revolving around the theme of seasonality (季節性, Kisetsu-sei). Flavors constantly change throughout the year, with new flavors being created based on the different seasonal ingredients from all over Japan. Their ice cream is often light and tasty, without being overwhelmingly rich.
The ice cream comes in cups of three sizes: ko-mori (小盛り, Small serving), nami-mori (並盛り, Regular serving), and ō-mori (大盛, Ō-mori, Large serving). The small and regular come with three flavors, while the large comes with four flavors. Both their regular ice cream, and sherbet options are great. Comes with a senbei (煎餅, Rice cracker) and shio (塩, Salt) konbu (昆布, Kelp) to cleanse the palette
While the flavors often change, some of the perennial flavors for ice cream include: milk, matcha (抹茶, Maccha, Powdered Green Tea), kuromitsu (黒蜜, Brown Sugar Syrup) hojicha (ほうじ茶, Hōjicha, Roasted Green Tea), kuro-goma (黒胡麻, Black Sesame), ichigo milk (苺ミルク, Ichigo Miruku, Strawberry Milk), and more. The sherbet flavors tend to be the seasonal fruits available at the time, including apples, oranges, lemon and more.
ジャパニーズアイス櫻花
Japanese Ice Ouca
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