Walden Woods Kyoto ★ 4.2
A white-on-white cafe in Shimogyo, Kyoto, named for Thoreau. Stepped wood platforms, espresso tonics, lattes and a quiet morning-only oat-milk programme.
Signature drink: Espresso tonic
Yugen Kyoto is a cafe in Karasuma Kawaramachi, Kyoto.
A modern matcha cafe and tasting room on Sanjo-dori, Kyoto. Matcha and hojicha by farm, plus the city's best Kyoto-style cold milk-matcha programme.
Address: Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0865, Japan
A white-on-white cafe in Shimogyo, Kyoto, named for Thoreau. Stepped wood platforms, espresso tonics, lattes and a quiet morning-only oat-milk programme.
Signature drink: Espresso tonic
Alt. in Nakagyo in Kyoto is a one-woman specialty coffee shop, ex-dietician owner roasting her own beans, daily batch brew and a single counter inside.
Signature drink: Single-origin batch brew
Order: Daily batch brew of the rotating single origin on the chalk board.
Tip: Six seats; the owner roasts and pours. Closed Tuesdays. Cash and IC card only.
A husband-and-wife cafe near Ichijoji in north Kyoto, with a no-laptops policy. Weekenders beans on the pour-over and homemade cakes refreshed daily.
Signature drink: Weekenders blend pour-over
An espresso bar and Smart Car showroom in Okazaki, Kyoto, beside the National Museum of Modern Art. Single O Japan and And Coffee Roasters on rotation.
Signature drink: Single O Japan pour-over
Australian-style espresso steps from Fushimi Inari's main torii gate in Kyoto. Flat whites and a sister cafe by the pond at the foot of Mount Inariyama.
Signature drink: Australian-style flat white
The Kyoto Station outpost of the 1854 Uji tea-house Nakamura Tokichi. The Maruto parfait, matcha or hojicha, is the depachika's standing all-day queue.
Signature drink: Maruto matcha parfait
A white-on-white cafe in Shimogyo, Kyoto, named for Thoreau. Stepped wood platforms, espresso tonics, lattes and a quiet morning-only oat-milk programme.
Signature drink: Espresso tonic