Cafés in Japan From TikTok: Kyoto Coffee, Osaka Tea, Tokyo Brunch
Seven cafés across three cities, and tea outnumbers coffee. Kyoto has the classic pair for a Higashiyama walk, % Arabica and Ichikawaya Coffee, plus the Ippodo tea shop in Nakagyo. Osaka adds a black tea specialist in Higashisumiyoshi and a matcha parfait counter inside the Daimaru department store. Tokyo has a tea salon in Nihonbashi and a breakfast café in Setagaya.
The posts come in English, Japanese and Korean, and they read like personal lists rather than ads. Prices are moderate except Saryo Tsujiri, the one expensive stop. Several sit inside department stores or on tourist streets, so they are easy to fold into a day of sightseeing. Kyoto has the most, three cafés from a single post about lantern-lit streets, quiet temples and matcha.
Written from public posts on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Updated Nov 2026.
Where creators go
- % Arabica Kyoto Higashiyama
The global headquarters of % Arabica, on the old road up to Yasaka Pagoda in Higashiyama. Espresso and pour-over are the focus, with the Kyoto Latte as the signature, in a minimalist room. The space is small and often crowded, so it works best as a takeaway on the walk between temples.
- Ichikawaya Coffee
A coffee shop in a renovated 200-year-old machiya townhouse in Higashiyama, with a large roasting machine in the middle of the room. The coffee is roasted for low bitterness, and the signature food is demi omelette rice. Calmer than Arabica and a better place to sit down, from the same Kyoto post.
- Ippodo Tea Co. Kyoto Main Store
The main store of Ippodo in Nakagyo, Kyoto, selling and serving Japanese green teas: matcha, sencha and gyokuro. There is a tearoom for tasting before you buy. It comes from a Kyoto post that praises the city's 'very good matcha', and it is the most traditional stop in this set.
- Amsu Tea House
A black tea specialist in Higashisumiyoshi, Osaka, with blends, sweet soda teas and a black tea affogato, plus curry and sandwiches. The post is enthusiastic about 'unlimited tea': staff keep refilling your cup with different teas, as long as the café is not at peak capacity. Go off-peak to get the full experience.
- Saryo Tsujiri Daimaru Shinsaibashi Store
An Uji tea counter on the eighth floor of Daimaru Shinsaibashi in Osaka, known for matcha parfaits and Japanese sweets. A Korean creator's Osaka list says it serves some of the best matcha parfaits in the city. Expensive for a café, and matcha sweets can be bought to take home as gifts.
- Maison de L
A tea shop in Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo, with teas from around the world, organic options, seasonal desserts and sunrooms with glass walls. It is the sister store of the reservation-only Salon de Thé L'AVOND in Omotesando, and the post presents it as the easier way to get their fruit sandwiches. Takeout is available.
- RoJean
A breakfast café in Kitazawa, Setagaya, in Tokyo. The record is short, but the creator's recommendation is clear: grilled cheese with tomato soup, for a comforting and nostalgic meal. Moderate prices, and a morning stop if you are staying on that side of the city.
A Higashiyama coffee walk in Kyoto
Two of the Kyoto picks share a ward and a post. Start at Ichikawaya Coffee for a seat, a slow cup and omelette rice in the machiya, then walk up toward Yasaka Pagoda for a Kyoto Latte to go at % Arabica. Ippodo is across town in Nakagyo, which makes it a separate stop for anyone shopping for tea.
Good to know
% Arabica Kyoto Higashiyama on the road to Yasaka Pagoda, known for its Kyoto Latte; Ichikawaya Coffee in a 200-year-old machiya with demi omelette rice; and the Ippodo Tea Co. main store in Nakagyo for matcha, sencha and gyokuro. All three come from the same Kyoto post.
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