Explore everyday life in Japan
These days, you can get coffee to go anywhere in Japan. All of the convenience stores, from 7/11 to Daily Mart have machines that will grind you one cup worth of beans and brew you a fresh cup of coffee, hot or iced. Is it the best coffee? No. But it isn’t bad either.
In addition to convenience stores, coffee can be bought all across the country at Starbucks Coffee and other chain coffee stores like Tully's and Doutour as well.
With all this coffee available to you, why then should you want to go to a kissaten (Japanese coffee and tea house)?
One thing that makes going anywhere in Japan special is the level of high-quality service you are almost guaranteed to get wherever you go. Another thing that makes visiting Japan unique is the multitude of uniforms that so many people wear to work. And one more thing that makes Japan different from many places is the depth and degree to which people go to create a specific mood or atmosphere for a specific place. It often borders on fetishism.
Water slowly dripping through tablespoons of espresso over the course of a few hours.
If you go to a convenience store, yes, you can get a somewhat decent cup of coffee for under 200 円. At a Starbucks, you can spend anywhere from 300円 to 700円 and get the same quality coffee that you are used to getting in your hometown.
But for the same amount of money you would spend at a Starbucks, and sometimes less, you can immerse yourself in the dark, moody corners of a kissaten where you will have access to a full menu of coffee drinks and coffee varieties. Not only that, but you will most likely be waited on by a very professional and knowledgeable coffee barista in a smart uniform of some kind—possibly a black vest over a white collared shirt with black slacks and a good pair of shoes.
That's not all. If you choose your kissaten wisely, you will also have the privilege of watching the barista make your coffee with a siphon brewing machine. If you aren't familiar with the siphon coffee technique, it can be quite magical to watch.
Water is boiled in a balloon shaped flask. As it boils, it lifts its way upward into a second chamber. When the water reaches a specific temperature, coffee grounds are added to it. After a short period of time, the water suddenly sucks back down through a filter into the base chamber and you are left with a deeply flavored, delicious cup of coffee to enjoy as you take in the quirky characters around you.
You can see the process in the video below.
People say that the old kissatens are disappearing across Japan. So, if you find yourself here, I highly recommend that you put having a cup of coffee in an old, dark, and possibly dirty kissaten on your list of must-dos.
Image Credits: The images in this post are original. The video in this post was found on YouTube.
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.