5 Popular Specialty Coffee Shops in Kyoto for 2025

From shops that blend into Kyoto’s unique atmosphere and showcase charm different from other areas, we’ve picked five representative specialty coffee shops.

Kyoto Specialty Coffee Shop ① Kurasu Kyoto

The menu’s highlight is offering high-quality specialty coffee at affordable prices. Additionally, you can enjoy their unique “tap coffee” system, where coffee is automatically poured when you place your glass on the tap machine.

The interior is compact yet sophisticated, primarily featuring a standing-style service. There are a few seats in the back, but whether you can sit down during busy times is a matter of luck. Since they open early in the morning, the shop is appreciated by early-rising travelers and locals alike. Despite being located near Kyoto Station, it’s notable as a community space frequented not only by tourists but also by many local regulars.

Kyoto Specialty Coffee Shop ② WEEKENDERS COFFEE TOMINOKOJI

The founder, Mr. Kaneko, is known as a pioneer who was among the first to spread espresso culture in the Kansai region and start home roasting. Even after 17 years since its founding, his continued pursuit of specialty coffee has earned high praise from coffee enthusiasts both in Japan and abroad.

The star of the menu is light-roasted single-origin coffee. They offer beans from various origins such as Honduras, Kenya, and Ethiopia, bringing out the unique character of each to the fullest. The shop is compact with hardly any seating inside; after ordering, the basic style is to stand and drink in the limited space outside or in what resembles a parking area (securing a spot is particularly difficult on rainy days).

Kyoto Specialty Coffee Shop ③ Nijo Koya

Stepping inside, you enter a different world where time flows gently. The renovated traditional Japanese house features various drippers and tools hanging from the beams, which blend into the space as interior decoration. The lighting is subdued, with downlights softly illuminating the space, and jazz or classical music quietly plays from large speakers.

A distinctive feature of this shop is its standing counter style. While there is space to sit along the wall, it’s basically a space for adults to enjoy coffee while standing. Using beans from Hagiwara Coffee, they offer house-blended coffee and 7-8 varieties of single-origin beans, each carefully hand-dripped. When you order, watching the quiet owner drip coffee right before you is a performance in itself.

Kyoto Specialty Coffee Shop ④ Coffee Base NASHINOKI

Its greatest feature is the coffee experience that can only be savored here. Specialty coffee made with “Somei Water,” one of Kyoto’s three famous water sources, can be enjoyed in various menu items including cold brew. The beans come from “Coffee Base KANONDO” in Shijo Karasuma, freshly roasted in Kyoto-made roasters. In addition to drinks, they also offer Japanese sweets such as chestnut manju. Special menus like “Coffee Course with Seasonal Sweets” are also available.

The interior space is limited, with a basic standing style featuring just two table seats, but on nice days, you can enjoy your drinks on the veranda or benches in the shrine grounds. Coffee enjoyed amidst the natural surroundings of the shrine grounds, which change with the seasons (particularly famous for its bush clover), offers visitors a special moment.

Kyoto Specialty Coffee Shop ⑤ blend kyoto

The most distinctive feature of this shop is its unique concept where customers themselves select two types of beans from nearly 30 varieties to create their original blend. The high-quality beans carefully selected from around the world are home-roasted by the owner, with light roasting as the basic approach to preserve the beans’ original flavors.

Here, you don’t just drink coffee; you enjoy the entire experience—the process of selecting beans, the moment of enjoying the aroma of freshly ground coffee, the time spent watching the extraction process, and savoring the taste that changes with temperature. You might even get tips on drip techniques, making it a place where your understanding and appreciation of coffee deepens.

Did any of these shops catch your interest?
Let’s enjoy exploring specialty coffee shops!