Cafe Loto Kyoto

Cafe Loto opened in February 2023 on Furumonzen-dori near Gion, its facade designed by Yasushi Horibe Architect & Associates specifically to sit alongside the street's older machiya townhouses rather than stand out from them. Inside, an oval bar holds an olive green Mavam espresso machine, and the house blend, a mix of Guatemala and Brazil beans, was put together by Junichi Yamaguchi, the 2014 Coffee Fest Latte Art World Champion who runs his own Kyoto shop called Here.

Pastry maker Masayo Takeda handles the sweets side, turning out madeleines, scones and monaka, a red bean paste wrapped in crisp mochi, and teaches cooking and pastry workshops on the second floor above the counter. The combination, a machiya facade, a champion's coffee blend and a pastry chef's workshop space upstairs, gives Loto a broader identity than a standard stop for a cup on the way through Gion.