Kyoto and Osaka aren’t just about visiting temples, gardens, and neon lights – they’re also packed with some of the cutest and most delicious cafés. Whether you are craving fluffy pancakes, want to experience kissaten traditional cafes, try some matcha, or enjoy the character cafés that will overload you with kawaii vibes, you will find them all in Kansai.
To make café-hopping easier, I made a list of my favorite finds by district, so you can plan a coffee (or dessert) break exactly where you’re sightseeing.
Cutest Cafes in Kyoto by District
The old gorgeous Kyoto does not only offer vibrant culture with temples and shrines, samurai and geisha districts, palaces and gardens, but also numerous cafes ranging from old Japanese establishments to kissatens to modern specialty shops, which originated in the city.
I have compiled the list of cafes in Kyoto according to the district to make it easier for travelers to choose what cafe they want to visit according to the area they are sightseeing at the moment. Even though I absolutely wanted to, trying everything was impossible, especially given that many of these cafes have very short opening hours or only open on the weekends (yes, there are such).
Best Cafes in Kawaramachi
Kawaramachi is the main area for cafes and restaurants and shopping within the central Kyoto. People flock here before or after exploring Gion. However, the cafes aren’t as crowded, as on the other side of the bridge, so it might be your best bet to come here if you are looking for drinks or food.
One of the best specialty coffee shops that originated in Kyoto. It quickly became internationally famous and now you will find it in the UK, Canada, UAE, Vietnam, Egypt and so on. And they are planning to open new locations in other countries, it truly amazing quick growth. I have to say it’s deserved. Their coffee is strong and very well-made. I love their moto: “See the world through coffee.”
This particular branch is located on the ground floor of the small shopping center, you won’t have to walk much after entering. They have a modern design with few seats. This being Kyoto, you might find queues earlier times of the day. But when we visited in the late afternoon, it was absolutely not crowded.
If you are a lover of Macha, this popular café might be for you. People love it. I personally am not a fan of this green delicacy, so can’t attest to its quality myself.
This delicious pancake spot is one of the sister branches of similar cafes in Tokyo and Osaka. I love their pancakes – properly fluffy and melting, like Japanese pancakes should be. You might have to queue (that’s Kyoto for you), but if you come early or later towards evening, you might be lucky to find it less crowded.
This café is located slightly north of Kawaramachi, a bit of a walk but it’s worth it. Their theme is library, as the name suggests and the walls are lined with books. It has lounge style seating and feel. It’s very cute and cozy.
If you are very hungry, this café won’t help you, as their food is provided in small portions and you will probably have to wait quite a while, as we and many other people did. That said, it’s quite tasty and their coffee is great.
This 70s café is beautifully decorated, with partly European style.
This is a small chain with several locations in Kyoto offering breakfast options and coffee.
This kissaten style café has wooden décor and leather seats. It offers coffee in cute china.
This is a very popular café and they say, it’s great, but as the name says, it works only on weekends and has short operating hours. As if they are making it impossible for people to try it 😊 We didn’t get a chance, maybe you will.
Best Cafes in Gion, Ninenzaka and Sanenzaka
These areas are unsurprisingly very crowded, so most cafes in the area have queues, practically any time of the day. Still, you may manage to squeeze in a short break in one of the cafes.
This café serving Japanese pancakes became social media popular and you know what that means – looong queues. You also don’t have an option to come late, when many people already go to dinner, as it has short opening times – only 10am-4pm. So try it out, if you have at least a couple of hours to spare, as you probably have to wait a while for your turn to enter. We didn’t have nerved for waiting at least an hour, so while I love Japanese pancakes, I had to skip it.
I am mentioning all branches of this coffee, as you definitely should try it at least in one of the locations. This branch has tiny space with only bar style stools, so practically grab and go.
Probably my favourite café in Kyoto. Located in a very crowded area of Sanenzaka, but in an alley, which is quiet and nice. While all around was extremely crowded, here we only had to wait a very short while for our seats.
The atmosphere is lovely – a mix of modern and old vibes with a cute tiny garden in the middle. The seating is cozy, so we could relax among all the hustle and bustle of Kyoto. Their coffee was delicious – they have various blends of coffee you can choose from and they know how to make a great Cappuccino. Cakes are very tasty too.
I know you will be surprised that I am included Starbucks on this list. Well, there’s a reason for that. This particular branch of the chain is housed in a gorgeous old house with beautiful decorations. There’s even a part with traditional Japanese seating. But of course there’s a catch – crowds. Unsurprisingly it’s very popular.
This tiny coffee shop is one of the many in this terribly crowded area. Unfortunately, none of them offer very relaxing seating. This one is also practically to grab coffee and move on. But the coffee is pretty good.
Best Cafes in Arashiyama
Arashiyama is another extremely crowded area, thanks to the popularity of bamboo forest. You don’t necessarily have to come here for bamboo though, you have a few other locations, like Kodai-ji for instance – I will go in detail on that in other articles. If you are in the area though, you have a few spots, you can check out – don’t expect a quick café visit though, as it’s highly likely that you will have to queue.
This hidden café in this very busy area is gorgeous. It offers traditional Japanese sweets and treats with combo menus. It also has seating on the floor.
I know I am listing a few branches of this café, but as it originates from Kyoto and it offers delicious coffee, I am compelled to mention every branch of it. This one is near the riverside at a very crowded area, so you will highly likely have to queue, unless with some magic you will find a quiet time. It opens at 9am though, so maybe coming that early is your chance.
Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama
This small pastry chain has delicious things. Their croissants and coffee are absolutely wonderful. This branch is also located in a gasscho-style house – those that have “praying hands” style. And it offers traditional Japanese seating on the floor.
Arashiyama Rilakkuma Tea House
If you are (or even aren’t) a fan of this cute bear, you should visit this character café for the cuteness fix. You can order cute food and drinks and take photos with plushies 😊
Best Cafes Nearby Kyoto Station
If you are travelling around Japan, you will highly likely end up around the Kyoto station at least once. Plus this area is close to all the attractions. So here are some cafes nearby.
As the name suggests, this café is tiny. You get only a few bar style seats, but we still enjoyed getting a break for a coffee fix here. The staff were very welcoming and the coffee was strong, what else does one need near a train station 😊
This branch of Unir is not as cozy and lovely looking, as the branch in Saneizaka, but their coffee is just as great, so visit it, if you are in the area.
A beautiful spacious café in a former post office building, with wooden decorations.
Best Cafes in Otsu
While Uji and Otsu are not in Kyoto proper, they are within the Kyoto area, so I am including them in this guide.
This café appealed to me too much because of it’s lovely location at the lakeside. We checked it out, while walking around Otsu. The seating upstairs, at the windows, or outside at the porch, is lovely, the vibes are nice. However, coffee and sweets – not so much. Coffee was very bland and didn’t taste, and sweets were over-sugarized. So come here for the vibe, but don’t expect much from their products. Plus, keep in mind that they don’t accept cards (at least they didn’t when we visited) – cash only.
Best Cafes in Uji
Are you a fan of Macha? If so, then Uji will be heaven for you. Uji macha is famous and they have quite a few tea houses for it.
One of the famous macha spots in a very central location in Uji.
Another famous location for macha delicacies.
Osaka Café Guide
Osaka might be best known for takoyaki, comedy, and neon-lit nights – but it’s also a café lover’s heaven. Whether you’re craving fluffy Japanese pancakes that jiggle with joy, a delicious fruit filled sundae, or that black coffee in a beautiful china in a kissaten – Osaka’s café scene has it all.
We’ve been to Osaka twice (and made more day trips than we can count), usually exploring in the evenings – which means we had to prioritize our sweets and caffeine wisely. This list is a compilation of our favorite finds: cute, cozy, delicious, and quirky. Here’s your go-to guide for the best and most kawaii cafés in the city. Happy planning!
Best Cafes in Osaka Namba
I am starting with these delicious Japanese pancakes. While this café has few options you can choose from and it seasonally changes, they have one of the most light fluffy pancakes. I had to go for the plainest one, as the ones with jams and macha – the offers at the time we visited – didn’t appeal to me. We also tried the other version of the pancakes – non fluffy ones – and all I can say is: don’t choose them.
Surprisingly, we didn’t have to wait too long on the day we visited – a weekend day in September around 11am. While the café was full, we just had to wait 10 mins to be seated. But keep in mind, as a general rule, they take quite a lot of time to bring you the pancakes.
This one was high on my list for Japanese pancakes as well. It stays open quite late, so if you come later, no queueing would be involved. I am definitely trying it out next time.
This is not a café, but a stand inside department store selling Japanese pancakes. All I can say is, if you are in Osaka, don’t miss it! Their pancakes are delicious – they only do one big sized ones with raisins at the bottom. I am not a raisin lover, but they are concentrated at the bottom, so you can easily leave them, while enjoying your pancake.
There will highly likely be a queue. Every time we passed by any of their branches, there were at least a couple dozen people waiting for their turn to buy this deliciousness. But the queue isn’t too slow. We got our pancakes after about 20 minutes of waiting. While I am not the one to suggest to stand in a queue for anything, I will again for this. Try and decide for yourself, if worth it 😊
If you are a fan of character cafes, this one is pretty huge. They have reservations only 3rd floor area, however, lower floors don’t need pre-booking.
Another pancake place in the area that I didn’t get a chance to try.
Best Cafes in Osaka Umeda
While this is a chain café with branches around Japan, we tried this one and it was a lovely branch. The atmosphere was cool, the signature leather seats, but unlike other locations, booth style private seats too.
We tried both types of souffle pancakes – both are called oven-baked, one just is two pieces of pancakes stacked on each other and the second – vanila souffle pancake, which comes hot in a jar. I have to say the first was very dry and too sweet, absolutely not what Japanese souffle pancake should be. Second one was light and tasty, although not your usual souffle pancake.
You can find Rikuro here too. I already explained earlier, why you definitely should try it at least once😊
A pastry shop near Umeda station. This one is social media famous.
Masahiko Ozumi Paris Hankyu Umeda Store
Another social media favourite with beautifully decorated cakes – want fruit shaped cakes, or maybe a bag or pillow-shaped ones? Then visit this one.
Cute little café with wooden chairs, coffee and cakes.
Lovely kissaten style café.
This cafe at Shin Osaka station was a great way to grab coffee before taking the train for a very long day ahead. The coffee was strong and I definitely recommend trying it.
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