Flânons

Kyoto · Japan · To eat

Itoyufu

Location & practical

Coffee & Gallery

  • Coffee still goes out through the tobacco window.
  • Butter cookies bear the café’s curling stamp.
  • A small gallery waits at the back.
  • €3–10 / person
  • Tenjinchō, Shimogyō-ku
  • Japanese

Look closely at the sign above the old tobacco window near Higashi Honganji. Behind the words Café & Gallery, the ghost of tabako is still legible. The window serves takeaway coffee now. On the shelves where the cigarette packets used to sit, a row of ceramic creatures makes a decent case for using the door.

Inside, dark timber frames stretches of rough plaster. This machiya, a Kyoto townhouse about a century old, once served as a storeroom for Qutoten., a local craft label that started out making plant pots. In 2026 it opened Itoyufu here, with a café at the front and a small gallery farther in. The name can mean a thread of spider silk drifting in the air or the shimmer of heat haze.

At the counter, a barista tips a black kettle over a pleated paper filter. The beans are also sold by the bag, with the grower’s name on the label. A latte comes in a Qutoten. mug with a band of bare clay below the glaze. A slice of cake might come with fresh fig and ice cream. The butter sandwich cookies carry the café’s curling emblem pressed into the biscuit and a generous seam of filling.

There’s time to see what’s on in the gallery while the next coffee drips. Then it’s back to the table with a fresh cup and the butter cookie that looked just a little too substantial half an hour ago.

  • Urban setting Tenjinchō, Shimogyō-ku

Good to know.

Location
396番地4 Tenjinchō, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 600-8184, Japan
Open map & directions
Contact
itoyufu.jp
Opening hours
  • Monday 09:00–18:00
  • Tuesday Closed
  • Wednesday 09:00–18:00
  • Thursday 09:00–18:00
  • Friday 09:00–18:00
  • Saturday 09:00–18:00
  • Sunday 09:00–18:00
Parking

There is no dedicated car or bicycle parking. The café directs visitors to nearby parking facilities.

Getting around

About 5–6 minutes on foot from Gojō Station on the Karasuma subway line or 11 minutes from Kyoto Station.

Arriving

396-4 Tenjinchō, Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto. The café entrance is beside the former tobacco window. Itoyufu recommends Instagram messages via @itoyufu.kyoto for enquiries.

Accessibility

The entrance has a raised threshold visible in the exterior photograph. Ask the café about wheelchair access and the washroom before visiting.

Dietary options

Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten free

Worth knowing

  • 09:00–18:00 Kyoto time, closed Tuesdays, according to Itoyufu’s menu. Google Maps showed the next opening at 09:00. The café’s contact page lists 07:30.

  • Allow about €3–€10 per person. Kōmyō tea costs ¥550 (€3.11). A matcha latte with oat milk and a croque monsieur rosso total ¥1,800 (€10.18). EUR estimates use the ECB rate of ¥176.83 per euro on 13 November 2026.

  • The menu labels the Uji matcha tiramisu vegan and gluten-free. Black coffee, Kōmyō tea and grape juice are listed as vegan. Ask staff about allergens and cross-contact.

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About this edit · 7 sources
  • Café menu Published yen prices, ingredients, dietary labels, payment and drink requirement. The menu body lists a 09:00 opening. · Read 2026-11-14
  • Contact and access Address, walking times, 07:30–18:00 hours, Tuesday closure and contact channel. · Read 2026-11-14
  • Concept QUTOTEN., gallery, meaning of the name and town house conversion. · Read 2026-11-14
  • QUTOTEN. fourth anniversary exhibition No dedicated car or bicycle parking. · Read 2026-11-14
  • Architectural and café feature Former tobacco counter, frontage and reported building age. · Read 2026-11-14
  • Japanese yen reference rate 13 November 2026 reference rate of ¥176.83 per euro. · Read 2026-11-14
  • Itoyufu Google Maps listing Verified the next opening time of 09:00. The menu page supplies the closing time and Tuesday closure. · Read 2026-11-14