I drank a whole lot of coffee in Japan this last trip. I started each day by taking my family to a carefully selected coffee shop. I’ve listed and described them here. The list is organized by city, in no particular order. For the reader’s convenience, I’ve also provided a Google Maps link to the location of each of the places, in case anyone’s curious.

Kyoto

Cafe Shikino Hanakoyomi (on the Philosopher’s path)

Even though we visited this on our last day in Kyoto, I put them first on the list. The staff here are the kindest people we’ve met in a long time. While my dad and I took a short walk up the hill to Hōnin-en, my mother, wife, and son stayed here to rest and enjoy some coffee. The staff were incredibly considerate to them while they waited for us to return. They turned on the TV so my son could watch cartoons, and they were incredibly attentive to all their needs. If we lived here, we would definitely come often. They really deserve it.

• Location: near Hōnen-in ( Maps link )

Here Coffee

Here Coffee was amazing, too. This was the very first place we went to in Kyoto, seeing as they have a location right on the way to Kiyomizu-dera, one of the standard tourist sites and the first spot on our itinerary. The interior is well-designed, although seating is limited, especially since this location is near one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city. I had an espresso, and my father had a latte with an extra shot. Their coffee is well balanced, with a fruity acidity along with the sweet toffee and chocolate flavors that come with a medium roast. It was an excellent start to our coffee journey.

• Location: Near Kiyomizu-dera ( Maps link )

Söt Coffee Roasters

Söt Coffee roasters was a great little place. Staff were friendly and clearly dedicated to their craft. They roast their own coffee beans in Kyoto, focusing on specialty light roasts. We immediately decided we would be coming back for more.

We indeed did come back for more, and on the second or third time we came in, I ordered a pour-over coffee. After we were served, the barista brought another cup and told me he thought he could have made it better. I, for one, had thought he’d done a fine job the first time, but I was happy to accept his generosity. Both coffees were great, and the second one was a bit sweeter as he’d said it would be.

• Location: Southern Higashiyama, near Shichijō Station ( Maps link )

Tully’s Coffee (twice)

Thanks to my parents’ jet lag, we were able to get out sightseeing before 9:00 AM each day. On our second day in Kyoto, we went to Arashiyama to see the temples and the bamboo forest. When we got there, the only café that was open was Tully’s Coffee, so we stopped here for a cup and some breakfast.

While they didn’t have amazing coffee, they did have cinnamon rolls. I love cinnamon rolls, but they’re almost impossible to find in China where I live. Chinese cuisine usually uses cinnamon for stew, not for pastries and desserts, so the sugar-cinnamon combination surprises Chinese taste buds in an unflattering way. That’s apparently not the case in Japan, though.

We also had Tully’s Coffee in Tokyo. It’s located near Higashi-Shinjuku Station where we were based. Like any international coffee chain, the coffee is consistent, if not great. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but it’ll do in a pinch. At least they usually have seating available, which often isn’t true at smaller local establishments.

• Locations: Arashiyama ( Maps link ), Tokyo ( Maps link )

% Arabica

% Arabica has locations all over the world, including several in Beijing where I live. My wife and I actually visited their Bund location in Shanghai the day before we came to Japan. The coffee in both locations was spot on. They apparently have their own custom-made espresso machines imported from Seattle. It’s definitely worth a try. The coffee I had both locations has been excellent.

I’ve also had their coffee at the 798 Art District location in Beijing, although I wasn’t as impressed with the coffee there. In general, though, my average experience has skewed positive.

• Location: Arashiyama ( Maps link )

Shio Veg Café

On our second day in Kyoto, my dad and I were walking about town around 5 PM and wanted some coffee. Unfortunately, our first choice, Söt Coffee, had just closed, so we were looking for an alternative. We went to Shio Veg Café, which was still open. We each had a coffee and a muffin. The coffee was dark and rich, and the barista was kind and friendly. The muffins were good, too. One of them was even vegan, which I didn’t you could do with muffins. I’d go again if I happened to be in the area.

• Location: A few blocks from Shichi-jō Station, southern Higashiyama, Kyoto ( Maps link )

Café Sekki

Thank you, next. This place was three times the price of other places and one third the quality. I found this place via Google Maps. It was open early and highly rated. I should have known better when I found out that it’s in the basement floor of a ritzy hotel.

I will give them credit for a really quiet and comfortable atmosphere. That, unfortunately, was offset by the sticker shock when I looked at the menu. I wouldn’t recommend it as far as its coffee goes.

• Location: southern Higashiyama, Kyoto ( Maps link )

Nara

Rokumei Coffee

The coffee was decent, but the service was a little odd. I get the feeling they’re tired of tourists. When we came in, we were greeted with “one person, one drink,” meaning each person in an the party must order something. We encountered this policy at multiple restaurants during our trip.

I tried my usual Americano, and my dad with his latte. The coffee was great, light, more on the sweet, acidic side of things. The decor was light and minimal, and there were plenty of seats for us. The barista took my order in English, and she repeated the whole order back to me to make sure she got it right. I appreciated the attention to detail. If you’re in Nara, I’d say it’s worth a try.

Tokyo

In Koreatown: Café Ecla

Strictly speaking, this place is more of a diner than a café. They have ample table seating for meals and their coffee selection is limited. They have nitro-infused coffee, which gives the coffee a silky mouthfeel from all the tiny bubbles. That being said, the coffee wasn’t amazing. We came here because it’s one of the few places open before 10:00 in the area, and we didn’t want to go back to Tully’s Coffee down the road.

• Location: Near Higashi-Shinjuku Station ( Maps link )

Excelsior Caffé

This place greets you as you exit the Skytree subway station. The name made me want to laugh, but the place was reasonably comfortable. The coffee wasn’t amazing. Mainly, we needed a place to rest a bit while we waited for our Skytree reservation time.

Given the circumstances, it was a decent choice. However, if you don’t need the extra space that Excelsior Caffé provides, then there are a plethora of highly rated cafés close by. One that we tried was Sol’s Coffee on the 7th floor of Solamachi.

• Location: Basement floor of Tokyo Skytree, Solamachi ( Maps link )

Sol’s Coffee

Sol’s Coffee was great, but a little bit acidic for my taste. They’re located on the 7th floor of the Solamachi mall complex under Tokyo Skytree. Owing to their good location, I reckon they’re often quite busy—they were packed when we went there. They have almost no tabled seating, so expect to be holding on to your drinks if you do get a seat.

Verve Coffee Roasters

Verve Coffee Roasters is located on the south side of Shinjuku Station. The company is actually a California-based coffee roaster, but they have several locations in both California and Japan. We came here to have coffee and breakfast before heading off to the airport to catch our planes home. Their coffee is excellent, and they make a decent waffle, too. This was one of the best coffee places we went to in Japan.

• Location: south side of Shinjuku Station, Tokyo ( Maps link )

My favorite cafés from the trip

We had a lot of coffee this trip. Aside from just being enjoyable, it helped stave off jet lag-induced exhaustion. These are my favorite places from the trip:

• Kyoto
  • Here Coffee: excellent coffee, great location
  • Söt Coffee Roasters: great coffee, passionate staff
  • Cafe Shikino Hanakoyomi: decent coffee, incredible people
• Tokyo
  • Verve Coffee roasters: amazing coffee, great food
  • Sol’s Coffee: great coffee, but limited seating

We had a great time exploring Japan’s coffee culture. If you’ve got a chance to go to one of these places, give it a shot. Here Coffee is probably the easiest choice due to its proximity to Kiyomizu-dera, and it’s also my favorite of all the places we went. Even with all the coffee we had, there are still many places I wanted to try but didn’t get to. I look forward to more coffee adventures next time in Japan.