Best Coffee and Matcha in Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka

Siya P · 31 Oct 2026

Best Coffee and Matcha in Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka

Japan was brewing coffee one careful cup at a time long before anyone called it third wave. The old kissaten coffee houses perfected hand drip and siphon decades ago, and today's specialty roasters build on that craft. Add matcha whisked properly, and Japan may be the best country in the world to be caffeinated.

Our Japan team keeps this list for travelers who plan their days around the next cup: the specialty roasters, the classic kissaten, and where to drink matcha the way it is meant to taste. Every spot links to Google Maps. This is part of the Akshar Travels Founders Series: the lists our own team uses to plan Japan.

Last checked October 2026. Places our team has been are written from experience, and anything we found but have not tried yet is marked. If a place has changed, tell us and we will update the list.

A pour over station, drippers lined up on the counter
Hand drip, the way Tokyo has poured it since the kissaten years.

Coffee in Tokyo

Tokyo has more serious coffee than you can drink in a week. These are the ones worth crossing the city for.

Turntables and records at a Tokyo kissaten

Want a coffee and matcha day in Tokyo or Kyoto built into your trip? Send us your dates and we will plan it, an Uji half day included.

Coffee in Kyoto

The bamboo grove at Arashiyama, a few minutes' walk from % Arabica

% Arabica Arashiyama

On the river in Arashiyama

Go first thing. The latte with the view. Go early, before the bamboo grove crowds, because the line builds fast.

% Arabica on Google Maps
The copper counter at a Kyoto coffee bar

Kaikado Cafe

By the Kamo River, near Kawaramachi

Then the slow one. In an old tram depot, run by the family that has made hand beaten tea caddies since 1875. Buy a caddy for your matcha while you are there.

Kaikado Cafe on Google Maps
The Smart Coffee menu board: hot cake, French toast, pudding

By the afternoon, three small counters, all worth finding.

Coffee in Osaka

Our Osaka list has the full city. For coffee, start with these.

  • Glitch Coffee Osaka

    Nakanoshima

    The Tokyo roaster's Osaka shop, on the ground floor of Festival Tower West in Nakanoshima. Open from 8 on weekdays.

    Glitch Coffee Osaka on Google Maps

  • Haiku Coffee Roasters

    North of Nakazakicho

    A small batch roaster that started in Nakazakicho and now sits a short walk north. Pour overs roasted on site, and vegan cookies on the counter.

    Haiku Coffee Roasters on Google Maps

  • LiLo Coffee Roasters

    Near Shinsaibashi

    A small standing bar near Shinsaibashi with beans from a long list of origins.

    LiLo Coffee Roasters on Google Maps

Where to drink matcha

Real matcha is whisked, not stirred, and it should taste sweet and grassy, not bitter.

If it tastes like lawn clippings and regret, it was poor matcha or water that was too hot. In Japan you will be served two kinds.

Usucha is thin tea. Whisked until frothy, light and bright. This is what you get in most tea rooms and what to start with.

Koicha is thick tea, made with the best leaf and almost syrupy. Served in formal ceremonies. Try it once.

A bamboo chasen, the whisk that froths usucha
Tsuen, the tea house by Uji bridge, serving since 1160
A tea tasting: a tall glass of sencha and a row of small cups
The Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in reflected in its pond, Uji

Uji is about 20 to 30 minutes from Kyoto by train, and an easy half day: tea shops, the Byodo-in temple, and a riverside walk.

How to order

Small habits that make every cup better, and how to bring it home. Tap a phrase to see how to say it.

Hand drip, please

Hando doripu de onegaishimasu. Hand drip is the pour over; ask for it by name.

To go

Teiku auto de. Takeaway. Most places will also happily let you sit.

Black, no sugar

Burakku de. Black coffee. Milk is miruku, sugar is satou.

Thin tea, please

Usucha o onegaishimasu. The light, frothy bowl. Koicha is the thick one.

Ordering

  • Ask for hand drip, hando doripu, if you want a pour over.
  • Takeaway is teiku auto. Most places will also happily let you sit.
  • Most people do not walk and drink. Finish your cup by the shop, then go.

Kissaten

  • The old school coffee houses are about slow coffee, thick toast and dark wood.
  • Some still allow smoking, so check the door if that matters to you.

Bringing beans home

  • Roasters sell small bags of beans. Ask for whole bean and the roast date.
  • Coffee beans and sealed matcha are fine in your luggage.

Bringing matcha home

  • Buy small tins and keep them sealed and cool. Opened matcha fades within weeks.
  • A bamboo whisk, a chasen, is the one tool worth buying with it.
Two flat whites with latte art
Kinkaku-ji, the golden pavilion, Kyoto
A tin of Uji tea

Plan around the next cup

The coffee bar on the way to the temple, the tea house booked for the right afternoon, an Uji half day between Kyoto and Osaka. Send us your dates and we plan it at that level of detail.

Akshar Travels plans luxury Japan too: the hotels and ryokan worth the splurge, the best rates we can find for your dates, and reserved seats on the bullet train in the weeks they sell out.

More Japan guides

Pictures in the matcha section from Wikimedia Commons: the chasen by D-Kuru (CC BY-SA 4.0), Tsuen tea house by Miya.m (CC BY-SA 4.0), and the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in by 663highland (CC BY 2.5), the tea fields at the top by vera46 (CC BY 2.0) and the Uji tea tin by おいでやす千年の都 (CC0). The rest are ours.

FAQ

What is the best coffee in Tokyo?

For a full tasting, Koffee Mameya Kakeru in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa. For everyday specialty coffee, Glitch in Jimbocho, Fuglen in Tomigaya and Onibus in Nakameguro.

What is a kissaten?

A traditional Japanese coffee house, often decades old, known for slow hand drip or siphon coffee, thick toast and dark wood interiors. Cafe de l'Ambre in Ginza is a classic.

Where is the best matcha in Kyoto?

Ippodo's Kaboku tearoom on Teramachi, and Nakamura Tokichi in Uji, the town south of Kyoto where much of Japan's best matcha is grown.

What is the difference between usucha and koicha?

Usucha is thin tea, whisked frothy and light, and is what most tea rooms serve. Koicha is thick, made with the best leaf, and served in formal tea ceremonies.

Can I bring coffee beans and matcha home from Japan?

Yes. Roasted coffee beans and sealed matcha are fine in your luggage. Buy small tins of matcha, because it fades within weeks once opened.

Tours in this post

See all Japan tours

Related posts