Before we enjoyed Hasegawa Happy Hour at the Suzukis, we spent the day together shopping in Asakusa and having lunch and coffee in the Taito Ward of Tokyo. We went to this charming old coffee shop called Kayaba Coffee.
The building that holds Kayaba was built in 1917 as a house. In 1938 the Kayaba family turned the house into a coffee shop that Mrs. Kayaba and her daughter Sachiko ran for almost 70 years until Sachiko died in 2006. When Sachiko died, Kayaba closed until 2009 when it was renovated and reopened. The outside of the building has remained the same since 1917 and much of the inside–the ambiance, chairs, signage, and china–are true to the past. The chairs are super-short, designed for Japanese people in the 1930s, but they were surprisingly comfortable. (Of course, I’m short, so…)
The menu is filled with drawings of the key historical points of the Kayaba building and history, and of the drink and food choices. They offer a huge variety of hot and cold drinks and food. (The egg salad sandwich is crafted to emulate the original recipe. I want to try it the next time we go!)
Naoto had a Russian, a classic Kayaba drink made from half hot chocolate and half coffee. It was rich and delicious.
I had a matcha latte and it was life-changing. The matcha, the foam, and the subtle sweetness were all perfection. And, it was stunning.
America, we need to up our matcha latte game!
Both of those drinks sound delicious!